Removing low speed proximity sound

[Maaz]

Any pics of what to unplug?

 

[jimbo69ny]

The bottom line is this,

If your vechicle has a safety feature, whether it is required by law or not, and you disable it and then you kill a pedestrian with your car, you will definitely be opening yourself up to huge amounts of liability. And you will probably lose. Best case scenerio is that your lawyer can prove that the pedestrian was drunk or for some fault of the pedestrians, walked into the road and didn't look. Maybe you will only be partially liable. But that will still cost you immensely!

Worst case scenario, jail time.

A prosecuting or plaintiffs attorney would have a field day with this!!

The car I am buying has it disabled but I will be plugging it back in. I don't like the sound either but I know too much about liability and it's not worth the risk. I have too much to lose. I also worry about the limo tint all the way around. A lawyer could easily say it hampered my vision and is the reason I ran over little Johnny as he ran into the road after a butterfly.

Food for thought before you unplug.

 

[riderbike37]

There are some pretty awful ideas behind some of the posts in this thread. I'd focus more on the fact that someone could be seriously injured by disabling safety features on the car, not whether they'll be able to prove fault in court. It's not worth risking someone else's safety to eliminate whatever mild annoyance you hear from the hum.

Every one is negligent sometimes, that's why accidents are usually governed by civil rather than criminal law. It's simply impossible to say that disabling safety features on your car won't allow an otherwise preventable accident to happen during one of the negligent moments we all have from time to time.

 

[cashcow]

Old thread but....

It is under the lead acid battery next to the frame rail. Grey cable last I checked. I think there is another one of these on the right side, passenger side, but I'm unsure if its for the pedestrian warning sound system. Could be the actual horn? I can't even find it but I saw it during a rav4 ev front tare down. I think this one is a low tone? is the other high tone? So... actual horn?

 

[fred_dot_u]

Rather than disable the low speed sound, is there a way to incorporate a circuit to play a different sound?

It appears that the EV world in general is fond of the Jetson's opening sound sequence, and I'm in agreement.

I'd love to have it so that when I'm operating in the range of the existing whistle that it plays Jetson's audio.

 

[user 8152]

2014 RAV4 EV - The noisemaker is driving me crazy. From 0 to 40 mph, it is so loud. I cannot see a way to unplug anything. Is there any way to silence that thing? I swear it was disconnected when I took the test drive at the dealership. I will drag tin cans if that helps pedestrians - but neighborhood kids make fun of my car when I drive by.

 

[fred_dot_u]

2014 RAV4 EV - The noisemaker is driving me crazy. From 0 to 40 mph, it is so loud. I cannot see a way to unplug anything. Is there any way to silence that thing? I swear it was disconnected when I took the test drive at the dealership. I will drag tin cans if that helps pedestrians - but neighborhood kids make fun of my car when I drive by.

If you can hear it at 40 mph, check your speed sensor for coolant ingress. The federally mandated sound ceases at about 25 mph, but a failing motor (bearing damage) will be audible well beyond that speed. Also note if it is more prevalent while under load (foot on the pedal) and vanishes when pedal is eased off. If so, the motor is on the way out, as it is in our pair of 2013s.

 

[asavage]

Yeah, my VPNS shuts off at 18 MPH.

 

[hokiematt]

The service manual says the cutoff is 14 mph for the pedestrian alert. But as Fred notes: if you're hearing a loud noise at 40 mph, it's likely your drive motor on its final legs. It could also be a bad wheel bearing or a half shaft. Inspecting the speed sensor on the motor for coolant leakage is a quick and easy way to tell if the motor warrants further investigation.

 

[user 8152]

If you can hear it at 40 mph, check your speed sensor for coolant ingress. The federally mandated sound ceases at about 25 mph, but a failing motor (bearing damage) will be audible well beyond that speed. Also note if it is more prevalent while under load (foot on the pedal) and vanishes when pedal is eased off. If so, the motor is on the way out, as it is in our pair of 2013s.

Yikes. I will bring it to Toyota and see what they say.


Just for reference, it does not sound like a grind or a rattle or anything siniater. It's more like a wwwwwhhhiiiRRRR! It starts low and goes high as I accelerate. I did ask the tech after my last visit if that sound could be dampened or turned off, and the answer was "nope."

I see that there are plugins into the "data port" for Teslas and others and one can make the car sound like a Ferrari. I wonder if that would work?

The plug is in the back on the Tesla board.

 

[davewill]

Yeah, that's exactly what it sounds like when the motor is going out, a whirring sound that rises in pitch with the RPMs. Unfortunately, the dealers seem to be having trouble sourcing the replacement motors.

There are a few shops around that know how to rebuild motors that get into this shape.

 

[user 8152]

Sounds like I am doomed.

Update: I booked an appointment soon to have the 55k service and to have the noise checked out and documented - as if that will do any good. I do have the platinum warranty that is still good, but probably for nothing.

 

[asavage]

If you have the Platinum warranty, they'll have to fix it or buy you out of the car. Either way, you should be OK.

The "milling noise" (use that + "Tesla" as search terms to learn more) is quite common on the earliest production Tesla LDUs, of which ours in the RAV4 EV and the MB B250e/"Electric Drive" models are part. Primarily, these are the units that still have steel balls in the rotor's bearings; after rebuild or reman, they're swapped for more-expensive ceramic ball bearings, which don't conduct the stray induced rotor currents, thereby moving the corrosion problem downstream into the pinion bearing and pinion gear, which seem to stand up to it better.

If your LDU is rebuildable -- and it sounds as if it may be -- QC Charge will rebuild it + R&R it for around $5k; you can also pull it yourself and have it shipped to them for rebuilding, for a bit less coin.

"Any" EV shop that is familiar with old Teslas could also do the job. There are a LOT of old Model S/X LDUs being rebuilt these days, due to the infamous coolant leak problem. So, this repair isn't that uncommon, even if it's "only" failed rotor bearings.

---

Mine was making some noise when I bought it used @ 49k, but I waited until it got worse and had it evaluated/swapped out for a reman at 59k . . . right under Toyota's 60k drivetrain warranty expiration. That reman lasted 70k/until two months ago, when I found coolant on the speed sensor when I checked. My LDU is now on my workbench in my garage, and I have new bearings to install. I just got a text from my machinist an hour ago that he has my "coolant delete" plug finished for my coolant manifold, so there'll be no more LDU coolant leaks for mine, when it's reassembled.

 

[fred_dot_u]

60K drivetrain warranty? Is that independent of any platinum extended plans? Our fleet of two are both under 50k miles. Is this something to be pursued for us?

 

[n3ckf]

When mine was swapped by Toyota at 25k miles in 2016, the new one had steel bearings-Tony rebuilt it with ceramic ones in 2020 at 75k or so.

 

[user 8152]

Thanks for all the info, friends. My 2014 is at 52,000 w/ the platinum. I will see what happens next week at Roseville Toyota where I bought the car and the warranty.

 

[user 8152]

Just for clarification.

1. I do have the Tesla Milling sound as recorded in YouTube vids. Same noise but mine is louder. That indicates the drivetrain-bearing problem, correct?

2. The sound appears only when I accelerate and disappears when I coast. Is that the motor itself going bad? A separate issue? That was indicated a few posts above.

I will read up on both issues but if anyone can tell me what to tell the tech next week, that would be great. I definitely want them to determine what is going on with 1 and 2 above and have them fix it.

 

[asavage]

60K drivetrain warranty? Is that independent of any platinum extended plans? Our fleet of two are both under 50k miles. Is this something to be pursued for us?

Toyota's powertrain warranty was 60k and some time limit (max number of years since "first use"); I'm certain that the time limit has expired for all RAV4 EVs, but in 2018 it was still active for my 2014.

 

[asavage]

When mine was swapped by Toyota at 25k miles in 2016, the new one had steel bearings . . .

That's surprising; from what I'd read, Tesla was installing the ceramic bearings during remans in 2015.

Rev Q (Telsa parlance, applicable only to Telsa units) in late Spring 2016 definitely had ceramics, but my understanding is that Tesla had switched to them on earlier remans as well. Maybe I was wrong.

 

[bdunst]

If you have the Platinum warranty, they'll have to fix it or buy you out of the car. Either way, you should be OK.

The "milling noise" (use that + "Tesla" as search terms to learn more) is quite common on the earliest production Tesla LDUs, of which ours in the RAV4 EV and the MB B250e/"Electric Drive" models are part. Primarily, these are the units that still have steel balls in the rotor's bearings; after rebuild or reman, they're swapped for more-expensive ceramic ball bearings, which don't conduct the stray induced rotor currents, thereby moving the corrosion problem downstream into the pinion bearing and pinion gear, which seem to stand up to it better.

If your LDU is rebuildable -- and it sounds as if it may be -- QC Charge will rebuild it + R&R it for around $5k; you can also pull it yourself and have it shipped to them for rebuilding, for a bit less coin.

"Any" EV shop that is familiar with old Teslas could also do the job. There are a LOT of old Model S/X LDUs being rebuilt these days, due to the infamous coolant leak problem. So, this repair isn't that uncommon, even if it's "only" failed rotor bearings.

---

Mine was making some noise when I bought it used @ 49k, but I waited until it got worse and had it evaluated/swapped out for a reman at 59k . . . right under Toyota's 60k drivetrain warranty expiration. That reman lasted 70k/until two months ago, when I found coolant on the speed sensor when I checked. My LDU is now on my workbench in my garage, and I have new bearings to install. I just got a text from my machinist an hour ago that he has my "coolant delete" plug finished for my coolant manifold, so there'll be no more LDU coolant leaks for mine, when it's reassembled.

Can you take some pics of the ldu and bearing project? I am trying to decide if its something i could tackle? I still have platinum warranties on both my rav’s but the dealers don’t seem to be able to get replacement ldu’s. It might make sense to cancel the warranty , get whatever refund and do any other work myself.
I have room, time, space and most tools.
I had such a hassle with the dealer and Jdemo and the heater that I just replaced the heater myself with all your help.