Pedestrian Warning Noise

An ICE vehicle with auto stop/start cannot accelerate until the engine starts up. The awkward/terrible sound of the ICE engine firing up provides the audible warning.

 

One of my favorite things about my SE is that the instant I have my seat-belt fastened, I can hit the ON switch and nail the accelerator. The delay from ON to GO is zero from my POV. I believe the delay from Park to Drive is just as miniscule.

But no big deal--I'm one of those who like Hans "Dune" Zimmer's sound and wish I could program a button to make it louder in certain situations. I also would like the option to have it continue increasing its frequency as I accelerate past 20 mph.

 

The speaker in the front is just behind the front fascia, I discovered it when I replaced my grille. I’m not sure if unplugging that would make a difference as the sound seems to shift from front to back of the car when going from reverse to drive or vice versa. BimmerCode would probably be the simplest way to disable it. I kina like it just because of how subtle and UFO sounding it is. I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments of awe and wonder at stoplights after leaving a car in the dust. “Dude that sounds like a f***ing spaceship!” It’s not as abnoxious as it seems, the sound doesn’t travel very far but it’s pretty loud at stoplights, I agree.

 

Feel free to explain your adjustments to the police and your insurance company when you're involved in a mishap with a pedestrian. The sound isn't for you, it's for others.

 

This is a another reoccurring thread. My understanding is the low speed noise is the law in the US. So I wouldn't turn it off. I would also add I've listened to our SE pulling into our driveway. It's actually probably barely loud enough to get someone's attention who has their back to the SE or when any other ambient noise is present. Please don't shoot the messenger, but it probably needs to be a few decibels louder and/or a more annoying tone to be truly effective.

 

An ICE (non-hybrid) car doesn't make an external pedestrian warning sound while coasting so a muffler delete would be very helpful for pedestrians.

The bigger problem is really poor urban planning and street designs in America.

 

I've had my SE for almost 7,000 miles, and I have yet to hear any warning sound. Yes, I hear the motor, yes, I hear tire and road noise, and yes, I hear wind noise, but nothing at low speeds. I can only wonder what the fuss is about.

 

I don't think this would go over well either lol
"But officer, my pedestrian warning sound was active! It's their fault I hit them with my car!"

Warning sound or not, there's no excuse for hitting a pedestrian

 

For some reason the WAV file frequency sets off my wife's migraines to the point that she can't even ride in my SE.

If we go anywhere together, we have to take her model 3, unfortunately.

 

I believe the 2010 NHTSA "quiet car rule" in the US, which was finalized in 2016, required auto maker compliance by mid 2021. So I think the actual law might be in place now, but not 100% certain.

What I have not been able to find is a mention in a government document about what happens to a driver who knowingly disables the sound and injures someone as a result. I guess it might not be addressed until law suits trickle into the court system. The sound does not bother me, personally, so I plan to leave it alone.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1129448_evs-and-hybrids-get-an-extension-to-meet-us-noise-making-requirements#:~:text=The%20so%2Dcalled%20%22quiet%20car,higher%20speeds%2C%20regulators%20have%20said.

 

Thanks for this! I didn't realize this was a law. However, not once in my life has the sound of the car I was driving kept me from hitting a pedestrian. If I'm driving I stop for anyone entering the road. You know, so I don't hit them. But of course there are more pedestrian fatalities from hybrids/EVs. Just because we're helping save the planet we can disregard people's safety, right?

 

I think here in the UK it is a legal requirement for the vehicle to make a noise (EV)

 

I can live with the sound as Hans Zimmer created it, so I have done nothing to inhibit it in Bimmercode or otherwise (besides the fact that it is mandatory by regulation in the US anyway). But, we are at least both consistent over time in our respective views -- you "more" than like it, while I tolerate it.

Somebody once said, "Silence is beautiful." Especially in today's world, IMHO.

 

Btw, Hans Zimmer didn't contribute to MINI sounds.
He did it for the new BMW i4 & iX

 

I think you may be right, and I stand corrected. Thank you!

 

You are right of course, but I do question the effectiveness of this mandatory artificial noise maker in BEV's in the modern world where many, if not most, pedestrians (and even many car drivers and bicycle riders) cannot hear anything around them anyway since they roam about with their ears filled with loud music or other distractions from their smart phones using earbuds, headphones and the like.

 

As a cyclist, a completely silent car passing you is frightening. The sound is there for a reason. When you hear a car approach you can prepare and do things like grip the bars tightly and not be reaching for a water bottle or something. A completely silent wind blast of a closely passing car could be dangerous even if the motor vehicle operator intends no harm whatsoever.

 

Gotcha and appreciate your comment. However, even the EV artificial sounds mandated by the government in the US and other countries do not require playing the artificial sounds above a certain, rather low speed of the EV --maybe something around 18 mph(?). Are you able to hear an ICE car passing you on a cycle at speeds over 20 mph, or are they "silent"?

 

Tire noise is generally louder than ICE engine noise over 35mph anyways so the warning noises are more important for the EV/hybrids at slower speeds. If anyone has ever driven a Toyota or Lexus hybrid, that pedestrian warning sound is SO IRRITATING.

 

Thanks, @piflechien. I'm disapointed to find I've been wrong about Zimmer and the SE! I read a BMW press release on 20 November 2019 with the headline, "Partnership for the sound of the future: Hans Zimmer is now official composer and curator for BMW IconicSounds Electric." Further down, the press release states, "The sound will enter series vehicles already in 2020." Then the press release describes the BMW Motor Group with "its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad."

I merged all that into my head to mean that Hans Zimmer was the official composer and curator for all BMW Motor Group electric projects. This Toronto Globe and Mail article makes it clear that Renzo Vitale, who worked with Zimmer on the BMW sounds, was the one who created the sounds we hear in our MINI Computer SEs. Live and learn:

ANDREW CLARK
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED JULY 14, 2021

Led by Renzo Vitale, creative director at the BMW Group, the company is working to create sounds that are unique and purpose-driven for electric vehicles. Vitale considers electric vehicles a “white acoustical canvas.”

Vitale, who is a pianist, composer, sound designer, acoustic engineer and artist, started work at BMW in 2015 as a noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) engineer. “My responsibility was to break down in physics the noise phenomenon, in order to avoid them when designing new cars.”

When developing sound for the Mini Cooper SE, Vitale began with its 60-year history, its design and also the fact that the car is started, not by the push of a button, but by the press of a lever, which reminded him of a kalimba (an African thumb piano). He incorporated the signature design of the Mini wings and zeroed in on what he began to see as the vehicle’s essence.

“With Mini, I was trying to translate the energy. There is a warmth that I translated to sunlight.” He created three new sounds related to the way the Mini “speaks.” He then translated his design concept into Morse code and subsequently into musical notes. New EV sounds must ensure they attract attention and transmit information and so this new sound was tested for safety and to ensure that it was not “masked,” a phenomenon in which a sound frequency is not concealed by other sounds and disappears. The final product became the sound the Mini Cooper SE makes when it’s started.