anyone hear an annoying high pitched sound,,, any way to stop it

[daryllafferty]

Just last night my 23 year-old son and his girlfriend were riding in the back, and mentioned the "high pitched whine" when accelerating from a stop.

I couldn't hear a thing. Apparently my ears are too old.

They said it wasn't really irritating, but it was noticeable.

[mthomasgm-volt]

The "high pitched whine" in my Volt will be a big factor in how long I keep the Volt, which I love otherwise. It's annoying enough that I have to keep some sort of music on at all times, except cruising at freeway speeds where it's drowned out by a bit more wind noise.

I noticed the whine a day or so after getting my Volt. It starts at a lower frequency when starting to accelerate, then increases frequency as the speed increases. For my wife, it goes out of her hearing range, but I continue to hear it at all speeds, and it increases volume a bit when I let off the breaks and hit breaking regen.

Using the online tone generator (http://onlinetonegenerator.com/) as a test board I'm guessing the whine peaks at about 14,500 to 16,000 hertz (ballpark).

I'm saddened about this since one major reason for my purchase was a quite ride, but it's turned out to be annoying.

I test drove a Tesla Model S this weekend and enjoyed NO whine! Need to test drive another Volt or two and compare too.

[F16BMATHIS]

You're so lucky to only hear it when riding in the Volt. I have ringing in the ears 24/7 it sucks. But I can hear my Volt ring when next to a wall sometimes. If you really want to hear ringing, find an EV with a Curtis 1231C contoller. They are really loud as they first accelerate.

[soylentgreen]

I'm curious if all volts make the same sound, or if perhaps there are model-year differences? Anyone out there who can hear the sound who has driven 2011, 2012 and 2013s?

[Slapshot28]

I'm curious if all volts make the same sound, or if perhaps there are model-year differences? Anyone out there who can hear the sound who has driven 2011, 2012 and 2013s?

My Volt is an early 2011 (VIN #541). My 14-year-old hears high-pitched sounds easily, especially during initial acceleration; but, he loves the Volt. My older kids have to strain to hear it, and they are lobbying for me to pass the Volt down to them, seriously. Being 50-something, I don't hear a thing, except high-pitched ringing all the time. :-)

To the OP: does a dog whistle send you running???

[Steverino]

Our 2011 has a very, very quite, almost inaudible electric whine when accelerating at low speeds. Not loud, not objectionable, barely perceptible.

[jsmay311]

My 2013 makes a high pitched whine that is audible during moderate-to-heavy acceleration or regen, and the volume of the sound is proportional to the amount of power being used or regenerated.

I found it quite annoying at first, but I seem to get used to it a little more each day. It's still a bit irritating tho.

For some reason, it seems like the sound is coming from within the cabin -- almost like it's from the speakers -- but that's just my perception, which is probably wrong based on what everyone else has said.

What I find curious is that there's reportedly much less high-pitched noise in the Tesla Model S. I'd be very interested in what is different between the 2 vehicles to account for the difference. Might it be something different in the power electronics themselves? Or better sound insulation? Or maybe simply the fact that it's a rear-wheel drive and the power electronics are located further away from the driver? (Pure speculation on that last one... I don't actually know where any specific components are located, but I presume they're in the rear by the motor.)

[cab]

There is a whine associated with the electric motor (I assume) which I noticed immediately on the test drive (and in my own car). it isn't horrible, but it is certainly there. With regard to the speakers, there could be an additional issue if you are getting RF interference of some kind. The easiest way to eliminate that possibility might be to turn off the radio. I say "might" as, in days of old, the radio was the only thing sending a signal to the speakers. Now, however, you have phone//bluetooth, park assist beeps, etc. so I'm not sure if turning off the radio really cuts all signal (and interference) sources...

[Ladogaboy]

Yup, I hear it, but it is by no means loud. And, personally, I don't find it annoying. Then again, I've worked with electric motors a lot, so maybe I'm just used to it.

[Blastphemy]

I'm curious if all volts make the same sound, or if perhaps there are model-year differences? Anyone out there who can hear the sound who has driven 2011, 2012 and 2013s?

Yes, I noticed that high-pitched sound right after taking delivery of my Volt built in May 2012. Funny that I didn't hear it on the test drive. I'm glad others hear this, because my wife thought I was nuts! I have highly-trained musician ears (because musicians are always listening for the higher harmonics to make sure we're in tune with each other), and this bothered me for the first week. But I've apparently gotten used to it because the sound doesn't seem so intrusive. Perhaps it was because the sound was so different than an ICE sounds, and now that I've driven my Volt for a month I'm just used to it and can selectively tune out that high-frequency whining. Still would be happy if it wasn't there at all (like in the silent Tesla Model X), but I can live with it for now.