Going deaf in the Leaf?

[DaveEV]

OK, I just took possession of my leaf and I find that with the audio system switched off (or turned down), I can clearly hear a whine inside the car, frequency proportional to the car speed.
...
Is this normal? I don't remember it from my test drive months ago. I'd like to know before I go back to my dealer for it.

Yes, it's normal.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Drive about 50 mph and roll down both the back windows only and watch or rather feel what happens. If it is the same as other LEAFs you will see what deaf is.

 

[garygid]

The best way to test if things are "typical" to all LEAFs, or "peculiar" in your LEAF:

Get together with at least one other owner and test both vehicles.

Meeting others at LEAF-Gatherings is an excellent way to connect with others, and make friends.

Posting in your area's Regional discussions is another way to find LEAFs in your area.

Chatting with your dealer, trying to help THEM, you might be able to get them to link other owners up with you.

 

[Desertstraw]

I love this car. My only problem lately has been that I've noticed after driving it for 7000 miles I feel like I'm going deaf in it. I tried it with the music off just to make sure. Silence or music, I'd get home after 40 freeway miles I still felt deaf. Similar to the feeling when you descend over a period of time from a major elevation, like coming back from a ski trip. That kind of deafness.

My feeling is that the car is too hermetically closed and becomes pressurized as air is fanned it and it isn't properly venting out. I know it must have those passive vents somewhere in the back but they may not work properly. My newest trick is to crack the rear windows a bit and see if it helps. I haven't had a chance to really try it yet because my boss' boss "found out" about my charging at work and put a swift kibosh to it. So now may daughter has the car most of the time and I'm back to my ICE Honda - no deafness there.

Anyone out there has a similar "going deaf" experience?

This post gives me a chance to raise a point that I have been thinking about. What haven't people considered using regular gas stations for charging at 120? I know this is slow, but if you work an 8 hour day, you can add about 40 miles a day to your range. I thought about this when I took a long rural drive to see what I could get out of the Leaf. My numbers are unimportant because the trip involved significant elevation changes. However, as I got closer to home, while the meters said that I could make it I had to think of what I would do if they were wrong. I then thought that I could stop at a gas station and add enough miles to get me home.

 

[Nekota]

Drive about 50 mph and roll down both the back windows only and watch or rather feel what happens. If it is the same as other LEAFs you will see what deaf is.

Karman Vortex or shedding vortex are encouraged to form when you lower your windows and the stream of flowing air over the car interacts with the air volume in the car to from a resonating cavity and due to the size it's a low frequency. Flute playes and organ pipes make their sounds this way but they don't call them Karman Vortexes. I don't know if it makes you deaf but it sure makes me keep my windows up :shock:

 

[Deleted member 3147]

The best way to test if things are "typical" to all LEAFs, or "peculiar" in your LEAF:

Get together with at least one other owner and test both vehicles.

Meeting others at LEAF-Gatherings is an excellent way to connect with others, and make friends.

Posting in your area's Regional discussions is another way to find LEAFs in your area.

Chatting with your dealer, trying to help THEM, you might be able to get them to link other owners up with you.

Thanks. I'm a member of Bay Leafs and I will check with others at the November meeting. I just wanted a quick check so if it was abnormal, I could go back to the dealer now.

 

[Rat]

I can clearly hear a whine inside the car, frequency proportional to the car speed. It's not very loud but I can clearly hear it, and I'm a 56-year-old with, at best, average for the age hearing. This post seems to be the only reference to such a whine.

You must not have searched very hard. This topic has been extensively covered in several threads. Here's one:
Whining noise.
It's not just the pedestrian warning, it's the motor. I can hear it clearly at all times and speeds unless the audio system is playing something rather loud, and I'm 64 (and my wife says I can never hear her). It can be a tad irritating, but it is still much less noisy than an ICE.