Yesterday, I drove up my narrow street to go home. It was running on battery at that point. A neighbor was in the street tossing ball for his dogs to run after and he had his back facing me. I didn't want to be rude by honking, so I stopped and waited. Apparently, he did not hear the car for quite some time until at one point he turned his head enough to notice me behind him. I thought there was a way to generate humming sound for pedestrians, but I searched my owner's manual and didn't find such information. I assume the feature is not there. If so, what's a good way to make your Prius heard (while engine is off) without startling anyone?
vehicle proximity notification system: it is there, (it is a coming law, so toyota and others started early) but you can adjust the volume. perhaps it is on low. it shuts off above 15 mph. otoh, mine is not adjustable, and even though i can hear it from inside the car in an enclosed space with the window down, many people in parking lots never hear it when i am directly behind them. most people are just oblivious these days. at least you have a horn.
In some countries, such as the US, but not the UK , there is a sound generator that comes on automatically (by law) when traveling under a certain speed in electric mode. SM-T813 ?
I searched for "hum" and "pedestrian" in my owner's manual, nothing came up. There is a proximity warning when obstacles (such as a pedestrian) is detected, but it's for the driver. If the humming sound is already there, it's apparently too low, and I don't think there is a way to adjust it.
I don't like to use my horn. It would be helpful if we can generate a humming sound on demand by pressing the button, and when you hold a button, it gets gradually louder so it can catch attention without being too startling.
Noise makers have been beat to death over the 1½ decades of priuschat. Ultimately you make "more & more noise" so ubiquitous - that people simply don't hear the increased noise. Ultimately - you simply can't generate enough noise for everyone. People simply have to pay attention .... or not .
call your dealer service department and ask if your vehicle has the vpns. if yes, ask if the volume can be adjusted. i read that it can in another thread, but can't remember if it is in the settings, or you need a code reader to do it. you may be the only priuschatter who wants a noisier car, are you german?
Just turn the music up and crank the windows down. You already have it and requires only 1 extra button than your wish.
The Leaf has the bubble noise maker and people still don't care. I don't believe that they can't hear it, it is that they tune it out. Humans are actually quite good at masking out sounds and sites the brain thinks are not important subconsciously. In the RX450h I've spooked tons of people and that vehicle is silent (no engine when creeping) but LOUD with its ginormous size and weight on the tires smushing the gravel into the pavement. You can't not hear it any more than you could hear a noise maker.
Interesting subject.......I have a late 2017 Prius ll & have physically located the "Sound Generator"......BUT it doesn't "Generate" anything (as far as I can tell)
a lot of people think that until they stand inside a garage or something and have someone else drive the car in or out. or, yours might be off, if that is possible.
Ask @HPrimeAdvanced, where he got his "presbyterian" warning sound system. LOL Disable the grindy speakery thingy? | Page 2 | PriusChat
A large number of modern car engines are very quiet at low speeds or when stopped. So I don't see why all of the noise generator regulations seem to think it's only needed for hybrids and EV's. And if a car does have a noise generator it should also operate when stopped. As the OP experienced, once they stopped there was no way for them to be heard (well other than honking). In a street or parking lot situation someone who doesn't hear a stopped car might step in front of it just as the driver starts moving.
With PRIUS, I was driving through a supermarket underground carpark, just idling along and realised the walking couple I was following didn't know I was there - I experimented by slipping into "N" and blipping the accelerator - which started the ICE, then back to "D". It worked, but I was careful to have my foot over the brake in case it lunged as I went back to "D". They heard it and moved. Possibly ECO tyres make less rumbling? I used to walk the dog on a narrow country road but could hear cars coming and get off onto the gravel verge - except for a Nissan Pulsar which often came along, down-hill so no throttle. He pulled into a driveway, and I would "sense" him behind me, rather than hear him - I reckon it was his tyres.
Although ICE makes more noise when starting up, which is what they may have heard. It's possible that they would have been just as oblivious to a quite gasoline powered car going very slow behind them.
You have to be moving to make the sound. If you're at a complete stop, it won't do anything. Even something as simple as lifting your foot off the brake pedal just enough to get the arrows from the battery to the wheels on the Energy Monitor should be enough to trigger the VPNS. Because it was drafted at a time when a certain group was scared of hybrids and EVs taking over the market and realised that owners loved the silent ride. Therefore, taking that part out of the equation by introducing noise may quell the enthusiasm. There is much discussion on PriusChat if you search the archives.
LOL. When you're in 'stealth' mode is like you put on a cloak of invisibility, well - ok - inaudibility then! Crank your side window open and try shouting "Hi there"! It usually works without causing offence.
