How to turn off back up (reverse) beeping sound?

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be236

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2018
Messages
79
Location
Seattle, WA
I have Nissan LEAF 2017 S.

I know the Reverse beeping is to alert people behind the car as you back up.

Still, is there a way to turn off this sound feature or lower its volume?
 
Phatcat73 said:

Ok, just ordered OBD2 reader (EM327 generic brand, it says version 1.5 from eBay. Hope I get v1.5, and not the v2.1 that many people say dont work with LEAF Spy).
 
LeftieBiker said:
Better for you, anyway. At least until/unless you back into someone and they sue you. Pedestrians seem to ignore Leafs as it is.

Exactly. If you disable this safety feature and injure someone, the Court is not going to be impressed by snark.
 
tesleaf said:
does anyone know if tesla makes extra noise when backing up?
I've not heard any reverse nor forward noisemakers on Teslas. Numerous other EVs and PHEVs don't either (e.g. gen 1 Volt and Spark EV).

But, some others do (e.g. VPNS on Toyota hybrids, PHEVs and EVs starting with model year 2012 but the sound isn't different for forward and reverse). Fiat 500e has a noisemaker. There are others.
 
You know, I can't believe how we can find so many people that seem to demand customizing every little thing in their life>>> I wouldn't want to be a barista at Starbucks with this person. So, put up with the very good safety equipment that most cars don't even have...
 
Low speed sounds required for all Electrics:

“The new rule requires all newly manufactured electric vehicles 10,000 pounds or less to make an audible noise when traveling forward or in reverse at speeds 19 mph or less. NHTSA says the sound alert is not required at higher speeds because other factors, such as tire and wind noise, “provide adequate audible warning to pedestrians.” It doesn’t explain what kind of alert automakers use, so whether it’s a fake engine noise or a “beeping” noise will be up the manufacturers of electric vehicles.”
 
powersurge said:
You know, I can't believe how we can find so many people that seem to demand customizing every little thing in their life>>> I wouldn't want to be a barista at Starbucks with this person. So, put up with the very good safety equipment that most cars don't even have...
The problem is the forward sound has what to me sounds like metal grinding on metal, which makes me think the brakes are bad even when they aren't. If I could change the sound slightly, then it wouldn't be an issue, but until I can, I will use LeafSpy to shut it off.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Better for you, anyway. At least until/unless you back into someone and they sue you. Pedestrians seem to ignore Leafs as it is.
Honestly, they don't pay attention to gas powered vehicles either, so what difference does it really make? The only people that I can see being affected are those pedestrians that have limited to no vision and really you should be watching out for them no matter what vehicle you drive anyway because you can see them, they can't necessarily see you and you shouldn't assume that they can hear you either, for all you know they could be deaf as well.
 
Looks like the Trump administration delayed the mandatory rule for automakers. Also, the rule is a requirement for automakers to add the safety feature, kind of like seatbelts. I do always wear my seatbelt, but the noises will be turned off. :D
 
cmwade77 said:
LeftieBiker said:
Better for you, anyway. At least until/unless you back into someone and they sue you. Pedestrians seem to ignore Leafs as it is.
Honestly, they don't pay attention to gas powered vehicles either, so what difference does it really make? The only people that I can see being affected are those pedestrians that have limited to no vision and really you should be watching out for them no matter what vehicle you drive anyway because you can see them, they can't necessarily see you and you shouldn't assume that they can hear you either, for all you know they could be deaf as well.
(emphasis added)

It's the difference, at the very least, between being open to a devastating lawsuit, and...not. If you back over a pedestrian who is ignoring a backup alarm, you will likely not lose your house. If you back over a pedestrian who can't hear the alarm because you deliberately disabled it, then...
 
How to turn off?

2011 - you have a factory built-in dash switch to do just that
2012 - you’re out of luck. No easy way to disable. Some owners have wired in a switch ala 2011.
2013+ - LeafSpyPro (just get it already if you haven’t, and not just for this purpose).

That said, there are other and extensive threads on this forum discussing pro’s and con’s of disabling what could be considered a manufacturer’s built-in safety feature and the biggest con discussed is the potential liability. To my albeit limited knowledge, there is no case law yet so all is conjecture with very rational arguments on both sides. Here are mine:

1- It is always the driver's responsibility to not hit anyone/anything. Doing so pretty much guarantees a lawsuit, beeper or not.
2- The factory backup beeping was optional for 2011, i.e., you could turn it off. Would those vehicles have some sort of beeper risk exemption?
3- Many cars, not just EVs, are very, very quiet, or not heard because ambient noise levels are high. Few other than the EV have backup warnings other than backup lights and, oh yeah, the sight of a large multi-thousand-pound moving object.

I agree certainly that in general more presumed safety factors are better than not, and the backup beeper is probably one of these. I also agree with some posters that an optional ability to turn the beeper off is actually the best approach, to accommodate those of us backing out of garages in the early morning, hospital area parking, and other designated or expected-to-be-quiet areas.

Lastly, and I don't know the answer to this, do people really pay attention to backup beepers anymore? Even today in any busy area there are so many such beepers and other noise pollution, my skepticism leads me to believe most sounds are just automatically tuned out, or masked by ear pods tuned to some favorite news or music channel. This doesn't negate a beeper's potential safety aspects, but I think it would be very, very hard to prevail in a lawsuit against someone solely about a non-operational beeper.

Bottom line, if I didn’t have a 2012, I’d disable my beeper in a heartbeat.
 
I'm interested in turning off the beeper so I don't irritate my neighbors (or my wife) when I take off for work at O'Dark:30 in the morning. Having it back on in the parking garage at work would be appropriate as I work at a University and almost all the students are completely oblivious pedestrians. Nonetheless, it's my responsibility to not run them over, or at least I'll try to avoid pulling forward over them once I've backed over them. Survival of the fittest!!
 
There was an earlier thread that covered turning off the backup beep.

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=20339

I used this information to put in a momentary switch that turned off the beep sound for the same reason you want to - I leave for work before 5am and did not want to wake up my retired neighbors or wife. The best thing about the momentary switch is that it resets every time you restart the car so if you turn it off to back up in the morning it will turn back on after you restart the car in the evening. It defaults to noise "on". Also there is an indicator light that shows you the beep is off. It takes an hour or so to take things apart make the connections and mount the switch depending on how professional you want it to look.
 
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