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Fresh orders on BMW i3's ordered with a production Month of July or later will have the option to specify 'eDrive exterior sound'. The price has not yet been announced.
 
I didn't find anymore information other than the parts diagram. Seems like Italy already has some knowledge of it. The European Union is about to mandate that all electric vehicles should produce a noise below some speed , 50kph ? , to warn pedestrians as a safety requirement. One forum member here in UK already had pedestrian collide with his vehicle. (See "CRASH").

It's not clear if BMW have this as country specific standard install or how it works. If it is part of "intelligent safety" system it would seem easy to wire it so that it works to warn externally at the same time as it brakes and warns the driver internally. Any views? Nothing in the UK handbook that I could see.
 
Gonville said:
I didn't find anymore information other than the parts diagram. Seems like Italy already has some knowledge of it. The European Union is about to mandate that all electric vehicles should produce a noise below some speed , 50kph ? , to warn pedestrians as a safety requirement. One forum member here in UK already had pedestrian collide with his vehicle. (See "CRASH").

It's not clear if BMW have this as country specific standard install or how it works. If it is part of "intelligent safety" system it would seem easy to wire it so that it works to warn externally at the same time as it brakes and warns the driver internally. Any views? Nothing in the UK handbook that I could see.
Click to expand...


This is news, indeed.

Earlier brochures, press releases and information packs don't mention this option AT ALL.

In addition to your questions, it will be interesting to see how BMW (Munich) organises the communication around this "add-on" in the case of already delivered vehicles : Will it be placed free/not free? As an accessory? Will it entail a change in the car-type certification?
Then it will also be interesting to see how the information percolates down to the i Agents ... I mean, shall we us, the owners, be the ones who have to explain our dealers that there is a new option/accessory in town? :lol:
 
What a pity, I was looking forward to some pedestrian stalking!

But seriously this is more EU nannying, why shouldn't we expect pedestrians to stay on the footpath except when necessary and (with apologies to those with limited vision) to use their eyes when in the road rather than the often seen tactic of facing away from the traffic so cars have to stop rather than kill you.

Will there be a minimum noise level for ICE cars so that if they have been well-engineered to minimise noise somebody has to stick a screwdriver through the silencer to make more noise - but the right sized hole so it doesn't fail the MOT!

I'm not anti-pedestrian, I walk to get from A to B a lot.
 
The system helps prevent the visually impaired from walking into the path of your vehicle. On the PiP it is standard equipment, inaudible from the inside with the windows up, a bit annoying with the windows down (sounds like a flying saucer), and easily disabled by pulling a speaker wire. In my opinion, it will be a short time before some sort of audible pedestrian alert system becomes either mandated by law or voluntarily imposed on us by the manufacturers in order to help shield them from inevitable law suits from not only the visually impaired, but dumb-asses as well.
 
The Nissan Leaf has a "noise maker" standard (and after is now non defeatable). It's quite loud on my '13 and you can easily hear it in the car. On my test drives of the i3 I really enjoyed the lack of noise.
 
Though I did not have any pedestrian crash ("touch wood"), I did have a couple of close calls :shock:

If, and when, option S4U9A becomes available, I'll definitely have it installed provided it can be retrofitted, of course.
 
ajg

Last Year my BMW dealer provided me with an initial option list and the option was mentionned was 30 euro (was informal pricelist BMW Belgium)

However when the official orders could be made this option desappeared. I stil have the documents at home.
 
When I asked the salesman in December about this, he seemed to think that if it became a legal requirement, BMW would do a recall and add the noise maker for free.

I get the whole thing about the noise being useful for blind people but speaking as someone who used to live on a busy road, I'd be annoyed as a home owner if technology finally brought car noise down only for the EU to make it mandatory to be a certain volume.
 
@MailOnline said:
Earlier proposals from the European Commission called for the installation of an artificial sound system to be done on a voluntary basis only.

But Liberal Democrat MEPs successfully introduced an amendment making this a mandatory requirement for all electric and hybrid vehicles.

Following the vote manufacturers in the EU will have five years to comply.
Click to expand...

:roll:
 
The eDrive exterior sound - 4U9 is currently being listed as optional equipment not yet available for selection on UK orders, but soon to be.
The information I have says that it will be audible below approx. 20mph.
 
Gonville said:
@MailOnline said:
Earlier proposals from the European Commission called for the installation of an artificial sound system to be done on a voluntary basis only.

But Liberal Democrat MEPs successfully introduced an amendment making this a mandatory requirement for all electric and hybrid vehicles.

Following the vote manufacturers in the EU will have five years to comply.
Click to expand...

:roll:
Click to expand...

It's a good idea. On several occasions yesterday when driving on quiet country roads and villages, I had to slow to walking pace because pedestrians in the road could not hear me. The silence is dangerous. Obviously I could have beeped the horn, but it seems so impolite. We need a quiet pedestrian horn like they have on the Ampera.
 

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