Sometimes when I'm parked underground next to a wall or next to any barrier on the driver's side, I hear a spacey sound when I shift to drive or from drive to park. It's not alarming, but almost sounds like the cool, space effects upon starting the car. Has anyone else heard this?
Spacey sound from hood of car
- Thread starter HChannel
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See page 393 of the Owner's Manual for the official name: "Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System". It works in any mode up to a speed of approximately 12 mph. On that page you can also see where Canadian Claritys have a button to put the car into stealth mode that makes it easier to sneak up on pedestrians.
JustAnotherPoorDriver
Active Member
It's "spacey" to remind people crossing the street while staring at their phones that they are about to be reincarnated.
I wonder why they did not put a speaker in the back for reversing, like beeping trucks. That seems even more dangerous for pedestrian.
Mowcowbell
Well-Known Member
I'm just thankful they haven't done this. I can turn my head and look for pedestrians, that's the driver's job.
PHEV Newbie
Well-Known Member
You don't quite realize how silent the car is unless you're outside of it. While driving, there's a lot of tire noise and some wind noise so it's not really much more quiet than a high end ICE Mercedes Benz because modern cars do a great job insulating the cabin from engine noise (many high end cars actually have inside speakers to pipe in engine sounds or even play fake recorded engine sounds!). On the outside, however, it's so quiet that it's downright dangerous without the weird music playing. I was shocked the first time when I was working in the yard and my wife pulled the car out and drove off.
Thevenin
Member
I'm pretty sure the pedestrian alert sound is based on an aeolian harp. My wife calls it "the ghosty boys."
Not too long ago, a Chevy Volt pulled out of a parking space while my back was turned. It was so silent that it got halfway down the block before I noticed it had moved. Startled the bejeezus out of me. So as superfluous as a pedestrian alert may seem, I grudgingly admit that it's probably necessary for the time being.
Plus, we get ghosty boys. Win-win.
Not too long ago, a Chevy Volt pulled out of a parking space while my back was turned. It was so silent that it got halfway down the block before I noticed it had moved. Startled the bejeezus out of me. So as superfluous as a pedestrian alert may seem, I grudgingly admit that it's probably necessary for the time being.
Plus, we get ghosty boys. Win-win.
Yes, that's the driver's job, but there are more blindspots going in reverse. Luckily, we have a decent backup camera. I think for reverse if there was an optional non-annoying sound then I would enable it. Can never be too safe if you have little kids around. I know someone who backed up onto their 4 year old in a large SUV without backup camera. Really glad that my minivan has a backup camera.
I can't believe the auto manufacturers kept lobbying to delay the mandatory requirement for backup cameras. Every phone has multiple cameras. How much can this add to the cost of a car? Even one that displays as a small box on the rearview mirror is useful.
The Gadgeteer
Active Member
There is a setting to activate while reversing too
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
Does anyone think that an unwitting pedestrian, or possibly a blind person, associate this ghostly drone as anything remotely resembling a car?
Everyone knows what engines sound like. And everyone knows what backup beepers sound like.
But Clarity singing sounds nothing like a car. I frankly fail to see how the particular tone Honda chose offers any safety for pedestrians at all...
It’s just another quirk about the car to show your friends.
Everyone knows what engines sound like. And everyone knows what backup beepers sound like.
But Clarity singing sounds nothing like a car. I frankly fail to see how the particular tone Honda chose offers any safety for pedestrians at all...
It’s just another quirk about the car to show your friends.
vin seeram
Member
Most likely, plenty of research went into the sound. The volt seems to make a similar sound.
KentuckyKen
Well-Known Member
Well, at least it’s better than what Jaguar tried. I read an article that said they spent a lot of R&D money on a pedestrian warning sound and then found out it sounded so much like a UFO that it caused people to look up instead of looking for an approaching vehicle. They had to scrap the whole project.
IMHO, new gasmobiles are so quiet at low speed that the regulations for pedestrian warning sounds should apply to all vehicles not just EVs. Or maybe I’ve just lost too much hearing.
jdonalds
Well-Known Member
I think it's a failure of the world-wide automotive industry, and governments, not to have standardized the sound that quiet cars make to warn pedestrians. It's not only electric cars that can be so quiet so it should apply to any car that emits sound below a given level.
The speaker is only in the front though, so hard to hear from behind.
The sound isn't that loud even if you had your head close to where the speaker. It's a badly designed no matter how you look at/hear it.
The Gadgeteer
Active Member
I want mine to sound like Kitt