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2012 Prius v - Any Way to Turn Low Speed Sound Emitter OFF?

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by Salvalus, Sep 4, 2012.

  1. Salvalus

    Salvalus New Member

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    I have searched on here for an answer to my question, but was unable to find any. My apologies in case my question has already been answered elsewhere. Please provide a link to the thread if this should be the case - and again, my apologies.
    ------

    The 2012 Prius v has a sound emitter which, well, emits sound while the vehicle travels at speeds below 35 Mph. Is there a way, preferably non-invasive (i.e. without cable cutting) to turn this noise emitter off? If so, can you please describe the process?

    In case there is no way to turn said noise emitter off by non-invasive means, is there a way of turning the noise emitter off by disconnecting anything and if so, can you please provide the process and the location of the parts which need to be disconnected?

    Has anybody experimented with an either invasive or a non-invasive process of doing this and if so, can you please share your experience (in regards to functionality, any warn-lights, vehicle behavior etc.)?

    Thanks!

    PS: to preempt questions as to why etc. - the window of our toddler's bedroom is directly beside the car port where I park the Prius v and the sound of the noise emitter seems to be exactly the right frequency to wake him up every time I have to leave for work at 4:30 AM. Yes, I know it is supposed to be a safety feature, yes, I know we are not supposed to be doing it for several reasons. Yes, I know, the warranty... etc. - But anyway, just humor me, because tomorrow I am going to get my eyes clawed out again by a certain member of our household who shall not be named if I wake the baby up at 4:30 AM... again! Sigh...
     
  2. Timw

    Timw Junior Member

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    From What I have heard, it's a federal mandate, so I wonder even if you do, would it pass inspection, at least in PA since we have yearly inspections it would probably fail. Luckily I have a 2011.
     
  3. Salvalus

    Salvalus New Member

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    The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (PSEA) of 2010 was approved by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on December 9, 2010 and passed by the House of Representatives by 379 to 30 on December 16, 2010. The act does not stipulate a specific speed for the simulated noise but requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard that would set requirements for an alert sound that allows blind and other pedestrians to reasonably detect a nearby electric or hybrid vehicle, and the ruling must be finalized within eighteen months.[2][3] The bill was signed into law on January 4, 2011. A ruling has not been issued by DoT as of 09/04/2012 and no legal requirement for vehicles to emit an alert sound of this nature has been established in any state as of 09/04/2012.
     
  4. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    It's literally a speaker out under the hood of the car - I would think you could just disconnect the wire harness from it -
    if you're going in for service or something - or inspection - plug it back in - then when you get home - unplug it again.

    I understood it to only come on below 15mph - the only time i can here it is at a drive through with the window down and at a dead stop - just releasing the brake...to move forward. other than that - I can't hear it at all...

    wonder how a padestrian could on a busy street or intersection?
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have pulled up right behind people walking down the middle of the street and they don't even turn their heads.
     
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  6. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    That's where the foghorn comes in handy.
     
  7. Salvalus

    Salvalus New Member

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    Hi mudmanrv, thanks for your time answering - can you pinpoint the location of the speaker under the hood a little more, e.g. standing in front of the open engine compartment it is ... (bottom right, top right, bottom left, middle right etc.) - since I have absolutely no idea how something like that looks like - I am a physician, so if you would tell me "look for the heart valve" I would know what to look for, but engine / car parts... no idea....

    So if you can, please let me know if you have been able to locate the speaker and maybe point me to the location of it... Thanks!

    Maybe anybody knows if this can be disabled without disconnecting wires - e.g. over the OBD-II port or some hack? My 2004 Toyota Prius 9 (aka Frau Hoppenstedt - gone... sigh...) had all those hidden little gems in the user interface... anything like that in the Prius v (three) which would allow disabling the sound emitter?
     
  8. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Salvalus likes this.
  9. PriusInParadise

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    Does the sound of a car engine disturb your tot? If not, perhaps you could just wait for the gas engine to start (approx 10 seconds after Ready) then shift into gear and drive off?
    The above assumes a cold start.
    The VPNS (Vehicle Proximity Notification System) is supposed to operate below about 15MPH when the vehicle is in EV mode, that is, driving with the gas engine off.
    When the gas engine is running, the VPNS should not make any sound.
     
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  10. Salvalus

    Salvalus New Member

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  11. Salvalus

    Salvalus New Member

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    The reason for getting a Hybrid with dedicated EV button was in part to avoid any noise when I leave in the very early morning to go to work - knowing how sensitive my whole family is in regards to noise (we don't have a TV and we only listen to music at an extremely low volume, because my spouse is a professional violinist and needs to maintain a very fine auditory sense) We live in an extremely quiet environment where the loudest noise comes from the ducks on the pond in the back. I usually press the EV button to drive off, because the gas engine coming on would certainly wake everybody up.
     
  12. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    Wow, that's some sensitive auditory response...
    If I get a chance - and remember - I'll pop the hood and try to take a pic. But as RJ mentioned, I believe it is driver side so as your are looking at it - with hood up - somewhere lower right - I believe it may be just under the inverter/electrical box (the silver lunch box looking thing with orange cables coming out) ... the orange by the way - designates high voltage... you should be fine though unless you poke through the shielding - which you won't be doing.
     
  13. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    On the Prius liftback and PiP it is in front drivers side of the car. You pop the panel off on the bottom as if you wanted to get to the fob lamp and there is a black speaker box in there in which you just unplug the connector going into it. I'm not aware if the v is the same but if it is that's where it is and it is super easy to do. Not saying I did it or anything.......
     
  14. ZPriusv5

    ZPriusv5 Junior Member

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    NOTE: After disconnecting the speaker and testing this out, I may reconnect it because the car is almost too silent at low speed. I found the noise maker annoying, but the car moves so eerily silent when pulling in/out of the garage that I'm a bit concerned my kids or wife might pop up somewhere around the car not aware I'm coming.

    Finally figured this one out on my v5 w/ ATP, didn't find any adequate pictures online so I'm posting some here. I chose only to disconnect my speaker box, but you could easily follow this process to disconnect and remove it.

    First, you will not be able to access this from the top of the engine compartment, so plan on getting underneath your car. I was able to do this without ramps, but if you aren't very flexible, you may want to get your driver's front tire up on a ramp or curb to give you a few extra inches to maneuver.

    Tools:
    • flat head screwdriver
    • philips head screwdriver
    • pliers
    • flashlight
    Procedure
    1. You'll be removing 2 bolts and 1 plastic clip to be able to bend this panel in front of your driver's front tire down enough to get your arm up inside the engine compartment.
      1.JPG
    2. Remove bolt 1 with a phillips screwdriver, remove bolt 2 with the pliers, and plastic clip 3 with the flat head screwdriver (view this image if you aren't familiar with removing a plastic clip). You'll see there is only one more phillips screw that holds this plastic panel in place, I left that attached so I wouldn't have trouble to re-fit the panel in the end - if you were removing the entire speaker I think you'd have to remove this screw and plastic panel.
      2.JPG

    3. Gently pry down the plastic body panel; note you have to slip it out from under the adjacent panel. You should be able to create enough access for your arm to reach up into the engine compartment.
      3.JPG

    4. Inside the engine compartment you will see the speaker (arrow below) and the white plastic connector (circled below).
      4.JPG

    5. To disconnect the white plug, you must reach up to the plug, on the top of the plug you must pinch down on a clip that keeps the plug connected. Then you can slip the plug out and your speaker will be disconnected.
      5.JPG
    6. Now just slip the plastic panel back in place, replace the bolts and plastic clip, and you'll be noise free.
     
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  15. sURFNmADNESS

    sURFNmADNESS Prii Family

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    I still want to change my sound, much like customizing a ringtone on my phone. Why not make this more individualized. Example of other tones to use would be the Empire March from Star Wars or how about driving people nuts during the holidays with Jiggle Bell Dogs.
     
  16. Get More MPG

    Get More MPG Junior Member

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    Doe this throw any codes or check engine lights??
     
  17. ZPriusv5

    ZPriusv5 Junior Member

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    No
     
  18. Get More MPG

    Get More MPG Junior Member

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    Well time to pull the plug on that sucker! I don;t like the fact that part of the "souyndtrack" sounds like squeeking worn out brakes...
     
  19. sarir97

    sarir97 Member

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    On my to do list!
     
  20. 1911Tex

    1911Tex Junior Member

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    Now if you accidentally hit someone (car or person), no matter the fault, you will be sued till the sun goes down !