Are hybrids really that quiet?

Pi1otguy

Pi1otguy

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Plus the last thing Toyota needs is another perceived safety issue.
 
JeffDG said:
Probably about the same as the engine!
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i saw a Smart Car going down the interstate last weekend. I think it was making at best 50 or 55. speed limit was 65 or 70. looked scary.
 
Pi1otguy said:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/24/autos/prius_noise_device/index.htm?hpt=C2I borrowed a Prius for a couple weeks and they are completely quiet at idle when running on the electric engine. I drove up behind some guys who were walking in the middle of a parking lot lane and they didn't notice the car right away. One of them yelled, "get a motor!"


Is this really a problem in need of solution? I thought that's why we have horns. I mean even normal cars are rather quiet these days.
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I borrowed a Prius for a couple weeks and I would say that it was totally quiet at idle if it was only using the electric motor. I remember coming up behind some guys in a parking lot and one of them yelled, "get an engine!"
 
Everskyward said:
I borrowed a Prius for a couple weeks and I would say that it was totally quiet at idle if it was only using the electric motor. I remember coming up behind some guys in a parking lot and one of them yelled, "get an engine!"
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In theory "see and avoid" is more the driver's responsibility WRT to pedestrians, so I fail to see the problem. On small street a car engine doing 20-30 is often not audible in time to help. Or atleast that's my conclusion based on the number of kids & pets that have ran directly in front of my V6 through the years.

BTW, parking lots are just plain old dangerous IMO.
 
Yes they are real quiet, but don't know if a noise making device would really help. I have heard that the Blind are more reliant on car noise to understand where the cars are in relationship to them. That might be the driver behind this.

(Driver, I crack myself up) :cool2:
 
tonycondon said:
i saw a Smart Car going down the interstate last weekend. I think it was making at best 50 or 55. speed limit was 65 or 70. looked scary.
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I've followed on on I-4 south of Orlando pushing 95 MPH. Scary that they go that fast.
 
Not really a new concept. Go google electric car engine sounds. Try Lotus. It is a good idea until you realize that the pedestrian is wearing headphones putting out 130 db because they're going deaf.
I'd use a 500 cubic inch with glass packs! Of course, I'd rather have the real thing.
 
Pi1otguy said:
In theory "see and avoid" is more the driver's responsibility WRT to pedestrians, so I fail to see the problem.
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True, but I think a lot of people, especially people walking in a parking lot, use audible clues to figure out if there is a car coming or not. They are not used to 'stealth cars' sneaking up behind them. I wasn't going to run them down but short of using the horn there was no other way of letting them know I was there.
 
If you want to sneak up on people you need a Tesla Roadster. I've read that it can hit 100 mph in about 6 seconds or so. No noise. All there is is the smell of burning rubber. :D
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
They sneak up on you in parking lots. People have been complaining for a while.
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Ahhh....so the lack of situational awareness and people just plain looking around needs to be solved by yet another technology gadget. :rolleyes2:
 
Will people start calling them Hummers?
 
They could put a proximity sensor in the front, then activate the system only at low speeds, like in a parking lot. Add a speaker and recorded speech (like a car GPS) that says something like "LOOK OUT!!!". Allow the driver to select different speech patterns or accents and you'd be set - instead of "LOOK OUT!!" it could say "Pardon me", "Excuse me", or "GET THE **** OUT OF MY WAY!"

Done.
 
tonycondon said:
i saw a Smart Car going down the interstate last weekend. I think it was making at best 50 or 55. speed limit was 65 or 70. looked scary.
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Those things are all over Europe. Although actually, if I'm going to have a microcar like that, the Renault Twingo is smaller than a Mini Cooper with significantly better interior room and comfort.

Renault_Twingo.jpg


Of course, then you're driving a Renault Twingo...

The hybrids really are that quiet when running only on the battery. Blind people are who I believe it really impacts, but they have scared me when a car comes up and passes me with zero warning whatsoever. I think they make about as much noise as a bicycle.

Going back to Europe, all the cars now are running little common-rail direct injection 4-cylinder diesels. You can hear them up close, but they're surprisingly quiet as you get not too far away, and also surprisingly quiet inside. The particle emissions are pretty rotten (I've noticed having a sore throat after several hours driving on the highway in traffic over there), but it's actually quieter than, say, New York where every car is a Crown Vic and every bus is some sort of diesel or LNG/hybrid thing. Over there, many of the busses and trams are electric, but they have enough sound through their wheels/tires that they're still very audible.
 
tdager said:
Ahhh....so the lack of situational awareness and people just plain looking around needs to be solved by yet another technology gadget. :rolleyes2:
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Then after a year or two of constant noise from the technogizmo in parking lots, everyone will quit looking for the noise source. It'll just be another ignored obnoxious noise like the annoying car alarms.
 
People don't have eyes in the back of their heads. Those who are blind have less. Even being blind in one eye: things have a way of sneaking up on you that you don't expect.
 
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tdager said:
Ahhh....so the lack of situational awareness and people just plain looking around needs to be solved by yet another technology gadget. :rolleyes2:
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Part of situational awareness is your sense of hearing.
 
Everskyward said:
True, but I think a lot of people, especially people walking in a parking lot, use audible clues to figure out if there is a car coming or not. They are not used to 'stealth cars' sneaking up behind them. I wasn't going to run them down but short of using the horn there was no other way of letting them know I was there.
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Just install a bicycle bell! :)
 
Everskyward said:
Part of situational awareness is your sense of hearing.
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Even then regular cars aren't always heard. Just 30 minutes ago a guy started walking across the street (in crosswalk with signal) when a Jeep Cherokee failing to make the light headed straight at him. Not even me screaming "watch out!" got him to look around as the Jeep passed right in front of him.

If an SUV and a guy yelling doesn't help, then a little noise maker is just annoying for little gain.
 
I wonder if the problem might be solved better by giving every hearing impaired person a device that senses cars coming at them rather then making all the cars make noise. Given the costs of equipping cars and the number of people who need to extra help it might make more sense to treat the problem at the source.
 
fgcason said:
Then after a year or two of constant noise from the technogizmo in parking lots, everyone will quit looking for the noise source. It'll just be another ignored obnoxious noise like the annoying car alarms.
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I agree.
My personal nemesis is the damned beepers that they put in the car that beep incessantly when the seatbelt isn't fastened or the key is left in the ignition. Since I often have reason to sit in the car with the key in it, these drive me nuts. My latest Toyota had one that sounded like a bell ringing. I say "had" 'cause it don't no more! I went under the dash and silenced the little sob with some glue!
Ahhh! Peace and quiet!
 
I do believe every Prius needs a TCAS and every pedestrian a Transponder.
 
OffCenter said:
I agree.
My personal nemesis is the damned beepers that they put in the car that beep incessantly when the seatbelt isn't fastened or the key is left in the ignition.
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When I buy a vehicle, within 5 minutes of the time I get it home, that damned beeper thing is gone. Tradition is to beat it to death with a hammer, rock or whatever is readily available.

I know someone who had one that talked. It kept saying "the door is ajar." (the door isn't a jar, it's a door. ..and machines are not supposed to talk like a human) I told him to yank it out and kill it. There was something very poetic about him breaking it by slamming the door on it.
 
fgcason said:
When I buy a vehicle, within 5 minutes of the time I get it home, that damned beeper thing is gone. Tradition is to beat it to death with a hammer, rock or whatever is readily available.

I know someone who had one that talked. It kept saying "the door is ajar." (the door isn't a jar, it's a door. ..and machines are not supposed to talk like a human) I told him to yank it out and kill it. There was something very poetic about him breaking it by slamming the door on it.
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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

LOL!! Years ago, I worked for the Post Office for a while as a substitute. They bought a new fleet of Dodge K cars with that damned ding-ding-dinger in 'em. Eventually I worked every route in the office....and eventually every one of those damned things was gone!......out the window! LOL!!!!!!
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
They sneak up on you in parking lots. People have been complaining for a while.
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Yup - happened to me last week. No noise at all - and I had the window open. A near miss.

I have rented both Prius and Camry Hybrids, and found that they don't run on battery alone very much. Mostly starting out at low speed (as you would in a parking lot).

Dave
 
tdager said:
Absolutely. However we as a nation need to also recognize that the world cannot continue to let small sizes of its population drive up costs or change to suit them. Especially if there is only the perception of a problem but not a real one.
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I would say that a large majority of the population who have not driven a hybrid are not aware of how quiet they are in electric idle or this question wouldn't have been asked. :rofl:

I'm glad that the person who turned the Prius over to me warned me about how quiet it is because he said that the first few time he drove it he tried to restart the engine because he thought it had died. I had that sensation too since we are used to hearing and feeling the slight vibration of a normal car when it is at idle. I don't know that legislation or sound devices are the answer but I can see that this is one of the unintended consequences of the car being so quiet.
 
Then should we require noise makers on bicycles? They are too quiet also.
 
Our Prius makes a beeping sound when in reverse. Unfortunately, the annoying sound is inside the car, not outside where it might warn a pedestrian.
 
kkoran said:
Our Prius makes a beeping sound when in reverse. Unfortunately, the annoying sound is inside the car, not outside where it might warn a pedestrian.
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The one I borrowed also did that.
 
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