[wisepanda]

I just traded in my W46 Isolator post recall affected 2019 Pachy Limited for a post-fix/non-recall 2020 Pachy Limited with the S-Package, Tri-Pane Sunroof and Active Safety Package. One of the things that really bothered me after I brought the car home was how there was a loud, almost obnoxious high pitched whine coming from the car as I pulled in to my super quiet garage. Never noticed it during my test-drive. My heart sank as I thought of all the possibilities of things that could be totally wrong with my brand new van. I called the dealer and made an appointment to go back in to get this checked out and to see if the other hybrids in their lot emitted the same sound. My 2019 never emitted this sound. So I started doing some research online and it turns out that this sound is actually the Audible Pedestrian Warning system and that the 2020 hybrids have had the volume increased significantly. Here is a video by a dealer talking about this feature. Audible Pedestrian Warning System Demonstration

Per the information in the video, it looks like my 2019 hybrid might have been one of those that didn’t have the audible pedestrian warning system as the NHTSA didn’t mandate 100% of EVs to have this feature until 2020. I just wanted to throw this out here in case someone else is freaked out about the noise and before they try to take the vehicle back to the dealer. In my case my dealer had absolutely no clue about this feature, but offered to swap me on to a different van on his lot if I so desired.

On another note, the incentives for the 2020 Hybrid Limiteds are so good that I was able to trade in my 2019 Hybrid and still come out ahead by $1000 overall after accounting for taxes, registration and interest paid on the 2019 financing to date. Basically got about $15k off MSRP of $51475 out of which $11.5k was incentives. Turns out the isolator post recall W46 only affects vehicles manufactured till June 4th 2020. My new vehicle was manufactured Aug 2020. So I was able to get out of a potentially combustible minivan in to one without that specific issue and not lose my shirt. If anyone is unhappy with their 2019s it may be worth a try given the incentives in October.

 

[mkaz311]

I knew that system was installed in mine but didn't know what it was supposed to sound like. I guess I know now what that whine was when I accelerate. I thought it was the electric motor spinning up, the more you know...

 

[PacDave]

I knew that system was installed in mine but didn't know what it was supposed to sound like. I guess I know now what that whine was when I accelerate. I thought it was the electric motor spinning up, the more you know...

Wow, my 2018 makes the noise and I can hear it when I pull into the garage but it’s not terribly loud. There is a write-up floating around here somewhere in case you want to disable it.

 

[mkaz311]

Wow, my 2018 makes the noise and I can hear it when I pull into the garage but it’s not terribly loud. There is a write-up floating around here somewhere in case you want to disable it.

Ya I mean its only loud enough to hear if it's silent in the cabin (radio muted), and even then its really no more then background noise to me at least, but it's there (no 2018/2019 to compare against).
Although when the engine randomly kicks in if I accelerate too hard (or it runs out of EV battery), that's still a surprise I'm not used/ready to hearing while driving yet.

 

[Chris]

It is probably a major legal risk if disabled and a pedestrian is injured.
I would expect that testing it could become part of the car's annual safety inspection.

 

[peterweb]

I have not had the pleasure of driving a Hybrid. Is this noise heard from inside the vehicle? If not, I see no reason to mess with the system. It is a safety item so pedestrians know that a vehicle near them is moving. Who would be against this protection for the pedestrians, and for you if they happened to move in front of you because they could not hear you?

 

[mkaz311]

I have not had the pleasure of driving a Hybrid. Is this noise heard from inside the vehicle? If not, I see no reason to mess with the system. It is a safety item so pedestrians know that a vehicle near them is moving. Who would be against this protection for the pedestrians, and for you if they happened to move in front of you because they could not hear you?

Technically yes you can hear it if you are listening for it and don't have the radio running at all, but personally I did not find it offensive enough to even look into the noise. It a low growl sound seemed to increase as you accelerate to go faster (makes sense since that's what humans expect to hear from a ICE vehicle). The sound is deactivated after you go above 22 MPH.
There is a youtube video that demonstrates the sound if you're interested. (FYI obviously it's much louder in the youtube video for effect)

 

[wisepanda]

Technically yes you can hear it if you are listening for it and don't have the radio running at all, but personally I did not find it offensive enough to even look into the noise. It a low growl sound seemed to increase as you accelerate to go faster (makes sense since that's what humans expect to hear from a ICE vehicle). The sound is deactivated after you go above 22 MPH.
There is a youtube video that demonstrates the sound if you're interested. (FYI obviously it's much louder in the youtube video for effect)

I think in my case, it wasn't so much that I was hearing it inside the cabin versus my wife remarking how loud the sound was inside the garage. And she was used to our 2019 being ultra-quiet. Here is the pertinent text from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Under the final rule, half of each manufacturer's HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2018, and 100 percent by September 1, 2019. The phase-in does not apply to multi-stage and small volume manufacturers; all of their HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2019.

My 2019 had a build date in Apr 2019. So probably was one of the vehicles that Chrysler didn't add the equipment for the warning system. It also makes the sound only at speeds below 22 mph and when the van is in either full EV or hybrid mode. Honestly though, a few friends and family have remarked that the car actually sounds like a spaceship taking off when it's making this sound. So there is that I guess!

 

[mkaz311]

I think in my case, it wasn't so much that I was hearing it inside the cabin versus my wife remarking how loud the sound was inside the garage. And she was used to our 2019 being ultra-quiet. Here is the pertinent text from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Under the final rule, half of each manufacturer's HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2018, and 100 percent by September 1, 2019. The phase-in does not apply to multi-stage and small volume manufacturers; all of their HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2019.

My 2019 had a build date in Apr 2019. So probably was one of the vehicles that Chrysler didn't add the equipment for the warning system. It also makes the sound only at speeds below 22 mph and when the van is in either full EV or hybrid mode. Honestly though, a few friends and family have remarked that the car actually sounds like a spaceship taking off when it's making this sound. So there is that I guess!

Ya it's only supposed to turn on while in gear. D/L the front bumper speaker, N both front/rear speaker and R only the rear speaker.
I'll have to test it and hear the sound for myself when I'm outside the vehicle

 

[Johnnyma45]

I think in my case, it wasn't so much that I was hearing it inside the cabin versus my wife remarking how loud the sound was inside the garage. And she was used to our 2019 being ultra-quiet. Here is the pertinent text from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Under the final rule, half of each manufacturer's HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2018, and 100 percent by September 1, 2019. The phase-in does not apply to multi-stage and small volume manufacturers; all of their HV and EV production would have been required to comply with the final rule by September 1, 2019.

My 2019 had a build date in Apr 2019. So probably was one of the vehicles that Chrysler didn't add the equipment for the warning system. It also makes the sound only at speeds below 22 mph and when the van is in either full EV or hybrid mode. Honestly though, a few friends and family have remarked that the car actually sounds like a spaceship taking off when it's making this sound. So there is that I guess!

Yours had it, you probably just didn't notice it - we bought ours in March 19 and it was obviously built before that, and it's noticeable once you look for it. Otherwise it's just background noise

 

[wisepanda]

Btw, here is the thread in the forum about disabling this sound. [How-to] Disable Quiet Vehicle Alert SystemPersonally, I'd not do this as this is a safety feature. I would not want to find myself in a situation where I'm in an accident involving a pedestrian where I had my warning system turned off. It is just not worth it.

Yours had it, you probably just didn't notice it - we bought ours in March 19 and it was obviously built before that, and it's noticeable once you look for it. Otherwise it's just background noise

I don't believe it is an all or nothing rollout. In early 2019, Chrysler was only putting this in 80% of the vehicles manufactured per some mopar insiders article that I read. I'll link it here when I find it. My assumption is that my 2019 was one of the 20% of vehicles that didn't have it.

 

[PacDave]

I have not had the pleasure of driving a Hybrid. Is this noise heard from inside the vehicle? If not, I see no reason to mess with the system. It is a safety item so pedestrians know that a vehicle near them is moving. Who would be against this protection for the pedestrians, and for you if they happened to move in front of you because they could not hear you?

We probably need to add some type of an alert system for deaf people too.

 

[Chris]

Probably not don't need anything special for deaf people since that are probably much more cautious than hearing people and unlikely to step out without looking.
Without the sound generator would be very dangerous for the blind.

 

[Waldo]

We probably need to add some type of an alert system for deaf people too.

This type of safety feature is for the greater good. It is because hearing people have learned to depend on engine sounds to alert them to nearby cars. Deaf people learn to use other senses to avoid dangerous situations.