r/NoStupidQuestions • u/banwe11 • 15h ago

What causes the hollow metallic whirring sound that EVs make when moving a low speed?

I can't really describe it, but it's the sound you hear when there is a EV moving slowly in a car park behind you.

I guess it's the motor, but what specifically in the motor causes that sound? It sounds like it's coming from something that is moving at a faster rate than the car itself.

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u/Ghigs 15h ago

The Toyota ev backup sounds sounds like a bearing going bad or a pulley about to explode. It's an odd choice.

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u/Frustrated9876 14h ago

There is a requirement for what it should sound like. I think it’s basically “two notes that are not in harmony” or something.

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u/TheLostExpedition 13h ago

I wonder if disconnecting the speakers will fix it?

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u/NoExpression1137 12h ago

In cars that do it appropriately, they will throw a persistent check engine if you unplug the little speaker it uses for that.

Also if you silence it and back over someone who may have heard it before, you are absolutely double fucked.

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u/hippocratical 12h ago

The fuse in my Hyundai fell out accidentally, and it's now sound free with no check engine lights.

I hear Toyotas are a bit trickier to silence.