Whine below 20 mph
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Whine below 20 mph
Okay I know enough about hybrids and electric vehicles to understand that some noise is necessary to let nearby pedestrians know that there is a vehicle. Hence the high pitched whine from the car at 20 mph or less. But does anyone know how this noise is generated?
#2
May be by a speaker
I remember watching CCN video on should you buy a Toyota hybrid and he mentions one of the reason you shouldn’t buy a Toyota hybrid if you don’t like how they sound. In the same section of the video, he explains the whining noise while you reverse is generated by a speaker may that located near by the front radar sensor area around the emblem so people know you are backing up. I’m thinking this is the same speaker causing that sound when you drive at low speeds.
#3
It’s called Proximity warning speaker
I found the right video and surprisingly he mention this on our NX 2nd gen review video. Check out the time stamp 22:10 and below is the link
#4
The whine, which shuts off when you hit 23 mph, is generated by a device about the size of a hamburger. It's located in front of the radiator, just left of center on the driver's side. If you remove the black plastic panel under the hood look straight down and you can see part of it sticking out. It is fixed horizontally to a metal crossmember. In our RX450h+ it is not really that noticeable but, it is quite noisy in our NX450h+. I got a thick piece of hard foam and cut out a round area in the middle and slipped it over the device to quiet it down a bit. It is still louder than the the RX but, I can now live with it.
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SeismicGuy (03-03-24)
#5
Driver School Candidate
I used to drive a Toyota RAV4 Prime before getting my Lexus NX-450h+. Although both are mostly similar, it's interesting that the artificial pedestrian noisemakers are exactly the opposite. On the RAV4 Prime, the backup noise is super loud (my wife could hear the car with all windows on the house closed), but the forward low-speed noise is not noticeable at all inside the car. In contrast, the NX-450h+ backup noise is almost not noticeable, while the forward low-speed noise is super loud (and annoying). What I don't get is why the NX-450h+ sound has to be so noticeable to people inside the car. I would have hoped that enough sound insulation would be placed between the speaker and the cab of the car.
#6
I used to drive a Toyota RAV4 Prime before getting my Lexus NX-450h+. Although both are mostly similar, it's interesting that the artificial pedestrian noisemakers are exactly the opposite. On the RAV4 Prime, the backup noise is super loud (my wife could hear the car with all windows on the house closed), but the forward low-speed noise is not noticeable at all inside the car. In contrast, the NX-450h+ backup noise is almost not noticeable, while the forward low-speed noise is super loud (and annoying). What I don't get is why the NX-450h+ sound has to be so noticeable to people inside the car. I would have hoped that enough sound insulation would be placed between the speaker and the cab of the car.
#7
The whine, which shuts off when you hit 23 mph, is generated by a device about the size of a hamburger. It's located in front of the radiator, just left of center on the driver's side. If you remove the black plastic panel under the hood look straight down and you can see part of it sticking out. It is fixed horizontally to a metal crossmember. In our RX450h+ it is not really that noticeable but, it is quite noisy in our NX450h+. I got a thick piece of hard foam and cut out a round area in the middle and slipped it over the device to quiet it down a bit. It is still louder than the the RX but, I can now live with it.
NX350h you think use same device in same area?
Thank you
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#8
I would think that the same units are probably used across many models, both Toyota and Lexus, I didn't shoot any pics of it when I muffled some of the sound (maybe 30%) but, here's a pic that I found on line. Keep in mind it's mounted horizontally with the grille facing down. I didn't want to completely silence it, just cut out some of the high pitched whine.
#10
There is a DIY method for the RX450H:
CL RX450H Whine Thread
Tried it and it worked on my 2020 RX.
#13
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
Just to be clear, I wasn't necessarily complaining about the whine. I just wanted to know if it was a natural part of the hybrid mechanism or if it was artificially generated. Seems it's the latter.
#14
Driver School Candidate
I've identified and am certain of the front one as I too was trying to figure out if disconnecting the speaker would be possible when I first got my 450h+. The front speaker module is on the lower bumper near the base of the radiator towards the right side (if you're looking at the front of the car). Depending on your grill (f-sport or normal), you should be able to identify it through the radiator gap when you have the hood open.
After reading up on the hybrid noisemaker, it was too cumbersome to try and disconnect it and jank up a hack to get the car to believe it was still on so instead, I just wrapped it in electrical tape to muffle the sound a tad bit similar to covering a speaker with tape to lower the decibels. For the rear for when you reverse, I'm pretty sure the module is somewhere in the bumper.
Honestly, I've grown to not care about the sound now.
#15
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