[Drogmeg]

Hi all, we'd just made the decision to purchase the Zoe when I came across lots of information about the whining noise when charging. It is definitely something that would bother me and it will literally be parked outside the neighbours bedroom window, so Im a little concerned.

Most of the information and posts I can see appear to be pre summer 2019, so I was wondering, have Renault solved the issue or do the latest 52 kWh Zoe's still make the noise?

TIA

 

[Hotlush]

Yes but I wouldn't say it is too obnoxious.

 

[cah197]

I wouldn’t either, but then I don’t sleep in the garage next to it.

 

[mad_rich]

On mine it's very noticeable. Car is parked directly outside the living room window, and I can hear it inside the house. It does attenuate relatively quickly, and I can't hear it in the room above. I'm surprised the neighbours haven't complained!

 

[stageshoot]

Mine made an awful whine when stopped and charging..

Found the cure was to leave the Mrs at home, No More

How Much longer to 80%
They Have Starbucks I wanted Costa.
Hae you seen the Q at McDonalds.
Its Raining and its a 300m walk to the toilets
etc etc

 

[cah197]

/checks wife isn't still locked in the boot.

 

[Mo1]

If your neighbours are older its likely they'll not hear it as its high pitched, I've never heard it on any of the four Zoe's we've had, neither has the wife 👴 👵

 

[BogieMan]

My 36 year old son hates the sound of it charging, he says it's maddening, my 2 grandchildren don't mind, and my wife and I (60+) can't hear it. Our drive is a long way from the bedrooms.

 

[Phil Himsworth]

Since we swapped our Zoe for an Ioniq I miss the charging noise, it made it much easier to tell when it had started charging or whether you'd left the timer on or something...

 

[lgs]

Our public garage has 60 type 2 outlets, yet I can always tell exactly where I parked my Zoe 50.

 

[Drogmeg]

Thanks all for the feedback. I've listened at the showroom and it doesn't seem too bad, but that's with a lot of background noise. Dealer claims he's never had a customer complaint about it.

 

[Little_discourage]

I have owned a ZE50 for over a month. I don't notice the whine but my wife does (must have better hearing). I can happily sit in the car when it's charging with door open and not be bothered. I don't charge at home at the moment but will do when we move house. One thing to bear on mind is that you won't have to charge that often so you can pick your moments. I'm getting by with a charge every 2 weeks but I don't have a lengthy commute.

 

[Dion Rust]

I don’t really find the noise annoying. It’s just a quite high pitched sound which is a good indication it’s charging ⚡

 

[Drogmeg]

It’s a good point that in reality we probably won’t charge it that often.
Follow up question, does the charger switch off when it’s full and therefore the noise stop? I assume it only makes the noise when actually putting juice into the battery.

 

[80698]

It’s a good point that in reality we probably won’t charge it that often.
Follow up question, does the charger switch off when it’s full and therefore the noise stop? I assume it only makes the noise when actually putting juice into the battery.

Correct. It gets quieter as it slows down close to full, and once its finished charging at 100% the noise will also stop fully.

Also I should mention that I'm younger than most here so can hear the high pitched noise loud and clear. The sound of Zoe charging isn't annoying or especially intrusive in my opinion. It doesn't travel very far, and if you sit in the car or in the house with doors/windows closed you won't hear it.

 

[Little_discourage]

It’s a good point that in reality we probably won’t charge it that often.
Follow up question, does the charger switch off when it’s full and therefore the noise stop? I assume it only makes the noise when actually putting juice into the battery.

Correct

 

[DBMandrake]

Something else to consider is some charge points make quite a loud 50Hz AC hum while they're active (my Rolec does) along with a fairly loud "CLUNK!" when it switches on or off. If your neighbours bedroom is close to the charge point they might hear this as well especially if you use a charge timer to start and stop charging (and hence make the loud clunk) in the quiet hours of the early morning.

One of our neighbours 2nd story bedroom windows is opposite our car and charge point and while they haven't complained I have to wonder whether that clunk is audible in the night as the charge timer is typically starting the car charging between 2am and 4am and stopping around 5:30am to 6am. (Their window is about 10 metres away)

 

[Drogmeg]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information. Decided that although it’s loud we won’t actually charge overnight very often so won’t be an issue for us. Zoe now been ordered .

 

[evescu]

The buzzing sound volume correlates with the charging speed.

At 22kW it is quite loud, noticeable, during the night you could probably hear it from 5-6 meters without trying to.

At 7kW it’s reasonable, I believe.

At 3kW almost unnoticeable.

Unless you plan to charge at 22kW at 2am...?

 

[donald]

Hi all, we'd just made the decision to purchase the Zoe when I came across lots of information about the whining noise when charging. It is definitely something that would bother me and it will literally be parked outside the neighbours bedroom window, so Im a little concerned.

Most of the information and posts I can see appear to be pre summer 2019, so I was wondering, have Renault solved the issue or do the latest 52 kWh Zoe's still make the noise?

TIA

Worse than ever.

I went ahead because I have the luxury of a garage now, and can lock it away.

The noise was a reason I did not take one on back in 2017, I tested overnight. Funnily enough, I could have bought it then for £16k and sold it two years later for the same amount, so I guess I paid for my fussiness by not accepting 2 years of free motoring!

You've got to not like it, but, yeah, it makes all sorts of noises and not just whining, if you charge at 7kW the AC, or fans, or whatever, seems to keep coming on and off too.