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I3 Acoustic Pedestrian Sound

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12K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  Gt6k  
#1 ·
Hi

Drove 2 new and 1 nearly new dealer cars and none made a sound.

Took delivery today of new I3 and not sure about that creepy sound as I parked it, can it be turned off? The BMW Demo I3s I tested 2 weeks ago definitely had it turned off
 
#6 ·
There is no option turn off or adjust the pedestrian warning on later UK cars (for instance my 2019 I3S). If you did turn it off and an accident occurred you might be in big trouble. A blind lady in my village has made a strong case on social media pleading with EV drivers to use warnng sounds as she and her guide dog have had multiple close shaves with EVs.
 
#7 ·
You have to unlock the setting for pedestrian warning with bimmercode to be able to disable this sound now. But it will still turn back on each time you switch the car off and back on again. It cannot be permanently disabled without removing the speaker altogether (Will also kill the audible door lock/unlock tone)

The sound isn't particularly intrusive. You barely notice it unless you're in reverse (it's louder) or if you have the windows down or are close to a wall that the sound echos off.

As others have said, it is a legal requirement so tampering with, or disabling it isn't really advised. In the event of an accident it could live you in a pretty bad situation.
 
#9 · (Edited)
The change mus be sometime in 2019 as I also had a 2019 I3 which didn't have the pedestrian warning sound. I find it strange that people object to it as it is barely audible in the car, try a Zoe if you want to hear a badly implemented and intrusive warning sound. I spent yesterday hunting down a much more intrusive rattling in the BMW dash which i eventually traced to the large pack of Tictacs in the glove box.
 
#10 ·
Thanks all for your help, I did revisit the speed warning and once I noticed I could set it to 70mph etc I knew that wasn't that.

@Gt6k i will take the creepy Banshee noise over rattles any time :D :D

Strange that the demo I3 car didn't have it, but perhaps it was older, but then it only had 500 miles?
 
#14 ·
Read that the volume can be adjusted with bimmercode?
I have the Mini Cooper SE which is basically just a 94Ah BMW i3s underneath. Definitely can't adjust the volume on mine. Literally only option I get is to enable the option to show in iDrive that allows me to switch off the warning sound until next startup. No further control like different noises or volume selections that I remember seeing.
 
#16 ·
Anyone tried this?

Menu; Vehicle Sound Generator [in Expert Mode] >> 3000 VSG Configuration >> Wave File >> UNK_PARAM_7 (was previously on Wave File 1)

What I have noticed is that as you go down further on the wave file menu, the softer/lower the volume gets.

NOTE: The VSG will still engage when you put the car in 'reverse' -- but that is way better than having on 'all the time.'
 
#20 ·
Our 2020 i3 doesn't have pedestrian warning. It wasn't a requirement when the car was introduced so, as I understand it, will never be an MoT requirement -- like seatbelts in many classic cars. Later i3s do have the warning sound though, not sure when it was added -- I recall it being optional at one time (at a price!).
 
#21 ·
I recall it being optional at one time (at a price!).
In my naivity I paid ÂŁ80 for it on ours in 2018 as I thought it was going to be a requirement and may be important in eg car parks and similar. I've never yet heard it...posted a vid/audio on here and some claimed that the silence I hear was it working. Emporers new clothes I thought. But having had the car for a few weeks, I realised I really didn't need or want it so mentally just wrote off the premium.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I had a 2019 I3 that didnt have the sound then got a late 2019 I3S which has the permanent sound. It's really unobtrusive though, if you want to hear how bad it can be then try a Zoe. Renault somehow managed to make it louder inside the cabin than out and it cuts on and off from full volume at 18mph which is intensely annoying.