Stange sound from electric vehicles while in reverse?
 

For a while now, I've been hearing this strange sound in my neighborhood. Kind of like holding a piece of metal against a spinning metal wheel. Hard to describe. Anyways, after hearing it the other day, I decided to investigate it and see what the cause was. Well, it was one of my neighbors backing their new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid out if their driveway. I've come to be familiar with it, and now I know every time they are backing the vehicle up. It's a very industrial sound and it does not sound like it was created to let people know that the vehicle is backing. Is it a separate motor to back the vehicle up? I'm curious as to what Toyota did to put the car in reverse.

Possibly the mandated noise manufacturers are required to incorporate in EVs for pedestrian safety? Some have reverse beepers, but I think the noise can be anything above a certain threshold.

Does it sound like the Rav4 in this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvX7NnlhiOE

That would be my guess.

There are a couple Amazon trucks around here that emit a cricket/chirpy/buzzy back up sound. It sounds to me like a legitimate back up buzzer that is not working right.

I will probably get backed over at some point because I'm wandering around trying to figure out what that noise is.

K

That's it, alright. So it is a pedestrian warning. Odd. I thought that it was some planetary gear engaging or something.

I turned off the Back-up warning on my truck, but the "Idiot in the blind spot" "blinking light" feature on the mirrors is something that has already saved me a couple of times.

Tom V.

"Side Blind Zone Detection" are the words you are looking for, I believe. ;)

That's why you and I are not in Marketing.

K

Yes mandated back up alarm noise so idiots know your backing up.
Government issued. LOL

Speaking of this - my neighbor just came home in her lame Toyota EV and I can't stand that planetary whine from it in reverse. DRIVES ME NUTS. So lame. Gosh I can't take it. There.

Not an electric car, but a hybrid
 

5 weeks ago my wife & I brought home new hybrid RAV4 XLS. Very sporty looking & perfectly fits her need for a daily driver into the city (& as our occasional road trip car). Nearly has as much room in the rear cargo area with rear seat folded down as our old 06 4Runner Sport. That was very important, as roadtrips often include hauling back properly wrapped bulky Pontiac parts.

Considering the new RAV4 hybrid has a lot of utility, & gets near triple the mileage in town & more than double the mileage on the highway over our previous good running V6 2wd 4Runner, I'd hardly consider that "lame". FWIW, its peppy enough that it would outrun the 4 Runner even if the 4Runner was near brand new.

The backup "noise".... the main time anyone notices the distinct backup feature is when backing up out of a parking spot in a somewhat enclosed area. I've not been in any parking garages, but up the road next to the interstate, we have a very busy huge upscale convenience store with a monster canopy that extends to the store. Backing up from the front row parking under that tall canopy accentuates the sound some. I've noticed it's typically little old ladies & rodeo folks walking from their horse trailer tow rigs that give the hybrid RAV4 a couple glances. Most have never seen or heard the sound before, my wife & i are just glad they are paying attention in that busy area :)

What is lame is the sound that comes from it in reverse. Worst sound ever manufactured. So lame it made me write "lame toyota". Everyone around here hates that sound in reverse. So bad. What was Toyota thinking. Can it be changed or turned off? Takes this woman forever to back in her Toyota so that awful sound is not just a few seconds.

But glad you enjoy your Toyota. I will never own any vehicle with that sound emanating from it (now that is pure noise pollution ;-), nor would I ever own a foreign car but that is just me.

One of the delivery trucks that comes out this way (UPS, Amazon, FedEx, hell - I cant remember which one) has a somewhat defective back up alarm. The sound could be most accurately described as what you'd hear if someone was slowly crucifying a Canadian Goose, which BTW - I'd totally be in support of..

I believe the sound is not necessarily just "reverse"... but any time the vehicle is operating on electric-only power. Which is always the case in reverse, because there is no mechanical reverse in the transmission - the reverse function is handled entirely by turning the motor backwards.

Just imagine what my 68 GTO sounds like in Reverse. Have a nice day.

It’s just in reverse on my Tesla.
Which is all electric
Best car I’ve ever driven. And I own a RAIV firebird, 960 hp turbo charged Firebird , a dodge 3500 diesel and a hellcat Durango. It runs 10 flat at 139 and costs $44 to fill it which gets me 330 miles handles fairly well and smokes my buddy’s lambo! What more could I ask for in a car.
And this is the SUV model x. Plaid. The model S plaid is even better .

Well worth the money .just an absolute joy to drive it!
The torque is amazing it’s like my turbo Pontiac !

I feel
Like it’s the Pontiac of today! It’s different than anything else, uniquely American just oozes power compared to anything else on the road . I imagine this is what it was like when the SD cars were prowling the streets and no one knew yet what Pontiac performance was all about.

Just curious, I do not know much about electric cars, but did you say it costs you $44.00 to recharge your Tesla for 330 miles?

Based on $44.00 for 330 miles in Kansas City - that equates to about 9.6 gallons of gas (based on gas at $4.60 per gallon in the KC area) - or about 34.4 MPG. Is that $44.00 based on charging at home?

Last year, in my 2019 Chevy Equinox, I drove from SE, MN to O'Fallon, MO on my way to the NASCAR Nashville Super Speedway on one tank of gas (about 500 miles and averaged 35.2 MPG and it cost me about $42.00 to fill up. Without the dramatic increase in gas prices over the last year (about $3.00 per gallon vs $4.60 in KC), it appears my Equinox is more energy efficient than a Tesla Model X Plaid. And I didn't have to go search for a place to recharge somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Iowa on the way. It only took 5 minutes to fill my tank and I continued on my way to St. Louis where we spent the night (had a wonderful dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House by the Arch).

No, my Equinox is not as fast a Model X, but for most people (not necessarily you), the reason to go electric is to be green and to theoretically save money. Of course, my Chevy Equinox Premier was well over $100,000 less than your Model X Plaid. I just traded in my 2019 yesterday and purchased an identically equipped 2022 Equinox and only had to write a check for less than $9,000 (including tax, title and license) after 4 years and 42,000 miles.

I have no experience with recharging an electric vehicle while traveling, but I've heard that many of the commercial recharge centers is much more expensive than charging at home and can't be done in 5 minutes.

I assume $44 to charge a Tesla was a typo. A quick check online indicates it's a fraction of that, either at home or at a charging station.

Going back to the original post question, I believe the noise generated is a federal law for anytime a hybrid or all electric vehicle is operating in all electric mode to notify pedestrians that you are there. I own two hybrid vehicles a 2013 Toyota Highlander and a 2017 Hyundai Sonata. Both were built before this simulated noise law was in effect. In both vehicles at low speeds , probably 10 MPH or less it is very easy to sneak up on someone at low speeds and could become a danger. Much faster and the tire noise will alert people you are there. A couple days ago while approaching the bare at Rocky Mountain National park, the attendant was turned around talking to someone for almost two minutes and did not respond to me until I cleared my throat. She apologized, saying she did not hear me pull up.

I Havel always been kind of a performance minded per looking for good good acceleration. I would describe my wife’s Toyota with a V6 electric combination as peppy. The electric motors give instantaneous response at any speed. Where hybrids really shine is around town and especially in bumper to bumper traffic as the gas engine only runs when it needs to, keeping the engine temps much lower because it runs considerably less giving highway equivalent gas mileage to an all gas vehicle. My Sonata doesn’t have near the performance of the Highlander, still has decent performance, better than a typical four cylinder gas engine and averages 42 MPG around town in the summer. I honestly did not buy hybrids for the economy but was more intrigued with the technology. With current fuel prices we are glad to have more efficient vehicles.

Thank you 5th T/A for returning the thread to its original from a covoluted "apples & oranges" type of vehicle mpg comparison.

As alluded to the "while in reverse" sound emanating from under hybrid & modern electric vehicles is an artificially induced sound required by Federal Safety standards. The sound is there for dumb#sses that don't pay attention to their surrounding in busy parking areas! From under our XSE RAV4, it's not that overbearing a sound. Alot less annoying than a loud Beep Beep Beep from a large power jack, electric forklift, or a piece of large dirt moving equipment. The sound in our hybrid comes from a small weatherproof speaker mounted behind the nose up high on the front side of the core support.

7:00 this morning I was backing out at the monster convenience station up the road from our place. This is VERY busy station, all 24 pump islands had SUV's & trucks being refueled, with another dozen vehicles waiting. The concrete apron area from the 3 entrys leading towards the monster canopy & pumps is close to an acre & a half in size. Add in near a dozen contractor truck & trailers parked sideways. The area up front between the pump islands & the long store is normal sized. In that area a ton of folks walk to/from the entry doors, many are on their phones. Very easy to surprise folks whipping in or backing out of that area. Hope ive drawn a good picture... that noted, the only time I park on the front row when the joint is hoppin, is when I'm in one of our normal sized vehicles. Its somewhat "fun" to back out of nearly any of the front row spaces in my Cummins Dodge (very long wb & a stick). Being the trip up there is nearly all on battery power, makes it easy to take the Hybrid.