Changes 2018 => 2020

5. ACC nor CC controls downhill speed.
6. The steering wheel feels as if it is covered in smoother material
7. The Main switch on the steering wheel was moved one position to the left.

 

Our 2018 plays "I'm Driving!" up to ≈ 18mph.

 

The tone was a legal change, afaik,

You're probably right on the steering wheel--that part of the car is a parts bin part.

 

Yes and our new 2020 plays it up to 22mph. It's annoying to buy a quiet car then have the government demand that it make noise.

 

If it sounded like a funny car doing a burn out, the earbud wearing tribe might actually be able to hear it.

 

Is it possible to disable the "I'm Driving" sound?

 

Yes

Yes
In Canada only.

 

It should be as easy as disconnecting a wire, or installing the “off” switch that is available on the Canadian model, which disconnects a wire.

In a year and more that 10K miles I haven’t noticed anyone that has noticed the pedestrian alert, or had anyone comment on the feature. Wandering pedestrians in parking lots remain completely oblivious at all times. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one that hears the sounds.

You guys hear it, right?

 

I just closed that hole where sound coming from

 

Not really, it is only in your head

 

I'm fine with the noise honestly, I get why it's there and pedestrians are for all intents and purposes blind these days.

Maybe it'll prevent a few animal collisions and other stuff too. Too bad there's no active noises to ward off deer etc at high speeds.

 

I honestly think that people don't hear it because they don't know what to listen for! Also, it's easily drowned-out by the din of nearby ICE vehicles - so it's pretty much useless in store parking lots or at roadway intersections. If you think about it, the majority of ICE noise is at the REAR of the vehicle, where the exhaust exits: Most modern ICEs are quite quiet when idling or traveling at low speeds. It's the solution to a problem that doesn't actually exist - I have yet to speak with a vision-impaired person who said they found it helpful.

 

Mercedes-Benz has a good idea: Let the drivers choose the sounds their cars make.

 

One sure way to get pedestrians to notice is activate HV Charge mode. An engine sound is something people relate to a car. However, it is not easy to make the engine start at low parking lot speeds when you have over 60% charge.

 

Unless you know a secret, it is impossible to engage HV Charge when the SOC is above 60%, at any speed.

I agree that some humans, occasionally, associate the sound of an internal combustion engine, cooling fans and exhaust noises with the fact that a moving vehicle may be approaching their space. Some may actually alter their path to allow the vehicle to continue driving on the portion of a parking lot typically designed for the driving of cars.

My personal experience is that a vehicle propelled by a Diesel engine, gasoline engine with a modified exhaust or the relative silence of an electric motor, yields the same results. A horn just pisses them off and increases the likelihood that they will not move out of the way.

So, patience becomes a virtue.

 

We live in an area where there are few pedestrians so the sound is just wasted. Also if I'm in a parking lot, like CostCo, and there are people in the lane I can wait as they move along and eventually I can pass. I don't like the thought of the forced sound telling them, "hey get out of the way I'm coming through". It seems rude to me.