Ability to turn off plug in horn honk

[Fulgerite]

I have to join in here and say that I despise the casual horn honking in GM and other (American?) cars.

I really miss the muted and separate "beep" of the Prius when locking the doors etc. How much can that separate beeper cost over reusing the damn horn?

I agree. A beep would be preferable.

[Mike-o-Matic]

Oh this also works on the 220V as well but you would need to switch off the breaker to de-power the charge cord.

Just a thought in passing, and IANAE (I am not an electrician), but breakers are not (usually) designed or engineered for regular use as a switch. Doing so often will probably shorten the life and/or reliability of the breaker's mechanism.

IMHO, you should have an appropriately rated switch installed in the circuit, if you choose to de-power the circuit regularly.

I certainly can sympathize with the goal though -- undisturbed neighbors tend to be MUCH easier to live near!!

Relevant additional reading:
http://www.wiringdigest.com/article.php?id=21&catID=1

[Dan & Nan]

Have you tested how loud it actually is when inside a house? Have someone else plug it in while you're inside a quiet house with the doors and windows closed and I think you'll see it's barely noticible.

I guess you could always wire a switch into the horn's wires so you could stop it from beeping.

[Fulgerite]

I agree 100% that the charge confirmation honk should be an option that can be turned off. (It should be a simple firmware update.) I contacted my Volt advisor and I was told there is no way to disable the charge confirmation honk. There should be a configuration menu option to disable ALL the charge related honks. I also agree that a more pleasant electronic beeper or chime would be preferable to using the nasty & rude horn for all warnings. (It's just so vulgar.)

[Fulgerite]

Have you tested how loud it actually is when inside a house? Have someone else plug it in while you're inside a quiet house with the doors and windows closed and I think you'll see it's barely noticible.

I guess you could always wire a switch into the horn's wires so you could stop it from beeping.

Right... Turn off the horn. What happens when a little girl with a ball runs in front of your car?

[dwl]

Right... Turn off the horn. What happens when a little girl with a ball runs in front of your car?

Survival of the fittest. Nature's cruel.

[Dan & Nan]

Right... Turn off the horn. What happens when a little girl with a ball runs in front of your car?

LOL, I said beeping not honking Anyway, it wasn't a real suggestion; it was a joke. Other comical suggestions could have been stuffing a pillow in the horn opening or cupping your hands over it to absorb the sound. Or, here's one, make an even louder sound that makes the horn toot seem like quiet by comparison. You could give the horn a full blast and the little toot would seem quiet after that.

[Fulgerite]

You might also ask your volt advisor. There may be a way for your dealer to deactivate it.

I did. I was told there is no way to disable it. This is why I posted this suggestion in the first place.

[gordonnovak]

Likewise, I despise the casual horn honking.

The GM Volt advisor said in a message that it could be disabled at the dealer, but after wasting a couple of hours today at the dealer, they finally said it couldn't be done.

How can GM's designers be so stupid as to think that gratuitously honking the horn is a good idea?

[Dan & Nan]

We just turned on our doors-locked honk and I noticed that this honk is different than the honk for charging started. The charging-started honk is a little bit quieter. So, it would seem that there's a way to limit how loud the honk is, but it's hidden from us.

Anyway, just an observation that I thought might help and was interesting. We have options for adjusting interior sounds/chimes, so hopefully GM can do the same with the horn's status reports.