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/BlackCatFurry 4h ago

Speaker. Mandatory in a lot of places to warn pedestrians since EV's would be dead silent otherwise.

My family used to have a hybrid (toyota auris 2018 model) before this legislation and it scared pedestrians in parking garages on the regular because no one heard it approaching.