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Gen4: Do you have the "Proximity Noisemaker?"

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Coast Cruiser, Apr 20, 2016.

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  1. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I asked Scotty to give me more Warp Speed....
     
    #21 Coast Cruiser, Apr 20, 2016
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    beam me up scotty, no signs of intelligent life down here.:p
     
    #22 bisco, Apr 20, 2016
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  3. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    But "Siri" came over the speakers, and said, "I'm sorry, I do not understand that request," :D
     
    #23 Coast Cruiser, Apr 20, 2016
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  4. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Huh? I'm 69 and I heard it just fine. Better than the VPNS in fact.
     
    #24 JohnF, Apr 20, 2016
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is that you, in your avatar?:p
     
    #25 bisco, Apr 20, 2016
  6. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Nope. She's far better looking (not to mention smarter and more athletic) than I am so I used picture of her rather than one of me.

    Getting back OT, she also hears the VPNS and the electric motors really well too.
     
    #26 JohnF, Apr 20, 2016
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  7. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I watched the first video again. The spokesman says the sound is a combination of high and low frequencies, that gets higher / lower with speed. If the video is accurate, that sound is loud. There is no way you could not hear it. (But that is a 2011 or 12 v model in the video? Uploaded in Sep 2011.)

    I beg to differ, Your Honor. My Prius is completely silent.

    Look at this next video, (in Japanese.) 2010 model Prius. The driver can turn off the noisemaker with a button. If the warning is truly that loud, 55db?, it would be irritating.
     
    #27 Coast Cruiser, Apr 20, 2016
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  8. Timmins13

    Timmins13 New Member

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    I had the dealer adjust the volume of the VPNS to '3' on my car. The default volume is '1'. It seems that the noise is noticeable by pedestrians when I am driving up (the pedestrians look/turn their heads). I think I hear the 'whine' sound too.
     
    #28 Timmins13, Apr 20, 2016
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  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    It doesn't afflict everyone equally.
    Is that a challenge? If so, let my dad test it, with his hearing aids out.
    55 dBa is not loud, especially by street standards. The video's sound level was likely carefully adjusted for illustrative purposes.
     
    #29 fuzzy1, Apr 20, 2016
  10. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    It now throws a error on the dash?
     
    #30 sfv41901, Apr 20, 2016
  11. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Well I want to adjust mine so it yells "LOOK OUT" every second or so. Or maybe "HEADS UP!". Why try to be discreet? Sort of like choosing a personalized ringtone on one's cell.

























    merged.







    A sort of natural selection among the elderly.
     
    #31 JohnF, Apr 20, 2016
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  12. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    That happens between the ears, not in the ears.

    But separate from overall loss of sensitivity, hearing loss can cause some selection issue by taking out the highest frequencies first. (Machinery can knock down any frequency band where it is loud). Kids commonly hear to the 20,000 Hz range. When I got my first permanent job, I could still hear the 15,750 Hz horizontal rescan rate of common TV sets. Some were obnoxiously loud, enough so for me to get rid of a home set. Two decades later, all that had been silenced. Recently, I could hear just up to 13,000 Hz.

    My dad, who never used hearing protection on the farm or gun range, can no longer hear above 1,500 Hz. That cuts into the normal speech range, with higher pitched female voices being more difficult to understand.
     
    #32 fuzzy1, Apr 21, 2016
  13. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Not sure how much the pitch has to do with men failing to understand women very well.

    Now I wonder if EV's and other hybrids have similar noisemaking systems. How about the Tesla S, the BMW i3, the electric Golf, the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Spark? And what about the Volt, the Ford hybrids, and the Kia hybrid?
     
    #33 JohnF, Apr 21, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  14. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    One last test...

    Early this morning, I drove down a very quiet alley that has buildings on each side. Sounds usually echo in there. I had all the windows down, at 10 mph...

    Nothing.

    My Penelope is a young lady of few words. :LOL:
     
    #34 Coast Cruiser, Apr 21, 2016
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't think they were adjustable in the gen 3, that's pretty neat. cc, maybe yours is off?
     
    #35 bisco, Apr 21, 2016
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  16. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I don't know, bisco. I'll ask when I go in for my first oil change later this year. For now, I'll just lightly toot the horn if I'm sneaking up on pedestrians.
     
    #36 Coast Cruiser, Apr 21, 2016
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  17. randomwalk101

    randomwalk101 DYI'er

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    Are you sure you have your hearing aid on during the testing? ;)

    I opted to destroy that unit so I can sneak up on pedestrians. With it, the pedestrians tends to run off the side walk before I get a chance :) j/k
     
    #37 randomwalk101, Apr 21, 2016
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    don't ask, they might turn it on!:eek: you have no idea how lucky you are. we've been ripping these things out of the gen 3 for years.:cool:
     
    #38 bisco, Apr 21, 2016
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  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yes, Toyota increased the inverter whine for 2010 (and all subsequent models). They're very noticeable now under braking or acceleration.

    I don't know about EU but it is available in Japan with an OFF button.
     
    #39 Tideland Prius, Apr 21, 2016
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i didn't notice, going from 2008 to 2012. what?
     
    #40 bisco, Apr 21, 2016
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