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Thanks, pgeorg. Where did you find this? Does the 2016 SH-AWD have a pedestrian alert noise when running under EV? I thought that was only on the Canadian models, and it is certainly not on my 2014.
Thanks, pgeorg. Where did you find this? Does the 2016 SH-AWD have a pedestrian alert noise when running under EV? I thought that was only on the Canadian models, and it is certainly not on my 2014.
This is from an Acura Service Bulletin, and all this info is for the 2014 SH as you can see below (this is the beginning of the bulletin).
I guess all SH-AWDs have this feature, but in the US we are not allowed to turn it off.......hence no button.....
I was not aware the SH model had a unique windshield. Good to know.
The extra bracing for rigidity explains some of the obvious differences driving a PAWS vs SH.
I too thought the pedestrian alert feature was on Canadian models. I have never heard any obvious sounds driving in E mode inside a parking garage (windows down).
Some of this data is pertinent for 1st responders, especially on shut down of electrical systems.
The note about flatbeds and rolling wheels can create shock is interesting. I wonder if some of the reports of AcuraCare response has been long for a flatbed dispatch is due to this condition?. Perhaps this is a condition where only select tow companies will deal with this car (likely insurance and liability related)?
I did not know those either....
Also another thing that i was thinking of concerning towing: If our 12v battery dies, does the car draw power from the high voltage battery to turn on the ignition? The reason i ask is that if the car needs to be towed with the 12v battery dead, we can't put the transmission in Neutral.....So the tow truck would need to have four dollies to put under each wheel, so he can pull it on the bed. Does anyone have this information, because i have not found the answer to it yet......One positive is that nobody in this forum has ever had to tow their SH:-)
I did not know those either....
Also another thing that i was thinking of concerning towing: If our 12v battery dies, does the car draw power from the high voltage battery to turn on the ignition? The reason i ask is that if the car needs to be towed with the 12v battery dead, we can't put the transmission in Neutral.....So the tow truck would need to have four dollies to put under each wheel, so he can pull it on the bed. Does anyone have this information, because i have not found the answer to it yet......One positive is that nobody in this forum has ever had to tow their SH:-)
Ignition is via the lithium batteries, not the 12V. In theory a dead 12V will not prevent ignition (although jumping instructions are in the manual). There is no starter motor. The car turns over via the pancake electric motor, energized by the lithium batteries (Intelligent Power Unit). Once the car is ready to drive (turned on), the pancake motor will supply charge to the 12v (even if it is dead, it should power accessories from power generation to the IPU).
A dead 12V battery would prevent Accessory Mode features to be used. But turning over the car would then supply power to 12v accessories (as long as the battery circuit is in tact) and even if the 12v can no longer retain a charge.
yeah,,,but I still carry a 12V portable jumper / power unit in the trunk. I bought it after my second RL battery failed. I have only used it to assist other drivers and to power a dying cell phone I was using to video an event.
I have always believed that the "Acoustic Alert" was only on Canadian models and that's why I have never heard it on my '14 SH-AWD. But a closer reading of the manual (page 380) seems to suggest that I have read it wrong, and that the Acoustic Alert is on all models, but only the Canadian model has an on/off switch. This is in line with the information above ("cannot be turned off on US models") but, still, I have never heard this EV-only alert sound. Has any US owner of either a '14 or '16 SH-AWD ever confirmed the presence of an EV-only acoustic alert? I think they left it out even though the manual and the info above both seem to suggest otherwise. Anyone?
As usual, pgeorg, you have come to the rescue with the critical info. Now I have to get someone to drive my car in EV mode at under 14mph while I stand on the right side and listen. But I'm finding it hard to believe that in 16 months I've never heard this sound!
I will try to take a look to see if i can see it......
I wonder if it makes the sound all the time, or maybe it can detect if there are people in front of the car (i doubt that).....
I moved the overflow antifreeze plastic container, and reached down into the little opening where the speaker is suppose to be. I felt a plastic objects that i believe is the speaker.....I can't verify it, because i can't see it.
Also i was wondering if the electric whine we are hearing is actually not an electric whine and its the sound the speaker makes
Can one of our Canadian friends turn off the Acoustic Alert, and see if they can still hear the whine?
Thank you!
I think the high beams should be connected to the horn so that if you are audibly alerting someone they get a visual at the same time. If I had it my way, I would have a train horn, but that is me.
I tried to figure out where our EV noise is coming from this morning and can't place it to the speaker we are discussing. It sounds like the entire front end area. I don't think it is loud enough because we can sneak up on people in parking lots and they will not know we are behind them until we are almost running into them.
I think the high beams should be connected to the horn so that if you are audibly alerting someone they get a visual at the same time. If I had it my way, I would have a train horn, but that is me.
So Acura engineers spend years creating this gloriously quiet car that runs almost totally silently on EV, and you want to destroy that quiet with a train horn? Shame, RLX-Sport Hybrid!
So Acura engineers spend years creating this gloriously quiet car that runs almost totally silently on EV, and you want to destroy that quiet with a train horn? Shame, RLX-Sport Hybrid!
When we have to put up with Boston and New York traffic and the morons out there looking to cut us off with less than a car length between cars, a reminder that they are putting others in danger is not a bad thing. I wouldn't mind a James Bond machine gun that pops out too, but that is just silly and then there is the whole legal problem that you have to consider. Just a little morning humor.
The brake servo assist is why the Legend and NSX Sport Hybrids have such excellent, high, hard brake feel.
I've said before that it's the hard pedal feel you're always trying to get in your track car or race car, and can't quite achieve.
They did a stupendously good job with that, and most of us don't even stop to think that we have brake-by-wire that's not connected the way brake systems used to be connected.
I agree with George on that. Although not for track purposes, I have always preferred a firm brake pedal. Although I can see why some find that 'grabby' I was pleasantly surprised with the firm pedal. It blends regenerative braking with mechanical braking seamlessly and progressively. Other hybrids I have driven you can sense the transition into mechanical braking when regen alone is not enough stopping power. Honda's Brake Assist on the RL was also tuned for seamless, progressive braking, if not a medium pedal firmness.
The extra bracing for rigidity explains some of the obvious differences driving a PAWS vs SH.
Yes, this definitely explains why I felt the car was soo much more "put together" when I test drove the 16 SH some months back. The chassis feel (and sound) of my RLX has always seemed like a cheap piece of plastic, only heightened when hitting bad road conditions.
Also, the fact that this sheet made no mention of the suspension system as being different between the two models confirms our claims...
By the way, the brake servo assist that was released to us after production started is an improvement over the one that was on the pre-production car that many of us drove.
On the pre-production car, it was kind of grabby and there was an on/off kind of feeling to the brake pedal.
I think all of us must have complained about that, because the improved brake pedal with a more "analogue" feel to it was something I praised on my first test drive of the car that I bought. Still high and firm, but no longer that on/off switch feeling, and much easier to modulate.
Well, it is totally true. The SH-AWD does have an "acoustic alert" for pedestrians while in EV mode. I heard it today, although I have never heard it while actually driving the car. If you get someone else to drive your car, on a very quiet day in a very quiet place, and you stand up to 20 feet or so in front of the car on the right side, and the car is driving by you slowly in EV mode, you can hear it.
It sounds like a synthesized electric motor whine and it is very quiet. I doubt you could hear it if it is raining or if there are any non-EV car engines running in the vicinity. But it is definitely there and you can hear it go on and off as the car starts and stops moving while in EV mode while standing outside the car or sitting in the passenger seat with the window open. But on a quiet day in a quiet place, and not from the driver's seat. I think they may have missed the mark and made it way too subtle.
Are you sure it is not just the normal electric motor whine? I hear that when gradually breaking to a stop.
I mean it sounds a bit ill conceived. If it is a subtle whine, it will not be heard by people with hearing deficiencies. The rest either ignore it or are too preoccupied walking in the middle of the parking lot aisle way, absorbed by a bejeweled iPhone with toddlers scampering in every direction.
And why do Canadians get a shut off button? Does it sound too close to a moose mating call?
I am sticking with the Chris Rock recording: "Get out of the way Bitches!"
I have driven my car with the windows down in EV mode and I have never heard any sort of warning sound. Pedestrians are sometimes surprised in parking lots when I roll by in complete silence. I don't think US cars have the function, thus no button to turn it on or off.
No. It's there, right where pgeorg called it, and you can hear it start and stop if you stand outside. I, too, was surprised, but if it is a real electric motor whine, then there is a fourth electric motor they never told us about. It is very subtle, which is I guess why none of us ever heard it. It seems not too useful.
Or it is also possible that I am a doddering old fool and I don't know the front of my car from the back!
Someone take a video, please. Am I deaf? I sure can't hear anything other than electric motor whine when in electric mode. I don't think pedestrians notice, given their reaction to me as I'm rolling in silence.
The 2014 model year, only the NA/Canadian market KC2 had the extra speaker to make a noise when in EV mode.
Safety standards might've changed so that the 2016 model year had to have the extra noise makers in 2016 KC2 in the United States, or I guess it's possible a Canadian car might've been sold in a northern state.
Thinking about it more, it makes sense we (drivers) do not hear it. The RLX is pretty well insulated from the engine compartment. The Direct Injection clatter is not heard in the car either. It just doesn't make sense that if you are going to have this feature, something more obvious would be the alert. Not as loud or irritating as, but something like the 'beep' you hear on commercial vehicles when the reverse.
"VOSES uses miniature, all-weather audio speakers that are placed on the hybrid's wheel wells and emit specific sounds based on the direction the car is moving in order to minimize noise pollution and to maximize acoustic information for pedestrians. If the car is moving forward, the sounds are only projected in the forward direction; and if the car is turning left or right, the sound changes on the left or right appropriately.[37] The company argues that chirps, beeps and alarms are more distracting than useful, and that the best sounds for alerting pedestrians are carlike, such as "the soft purr of an engine or the slow roll of tires across pavement."[11] One of the EVA's external sound systems was designed specifically for the Toyota Prius.[38]"
It is in the SH 2014-2016 Owners Manual (p 382). But it specifies Canada models and has the OFF switch.
Perhaps since it is likely to be a global feature (Europe also requires acoustic alerts) they decided to just install without a shut off (automatic)?
But it does not explain why the Canada models have a shut off? I am sticking with my moose mating call theory until one of our Canadian members cite a regulation.
FYI, we also have a warning light in the MID, should the system fault (P 97).
The acoustic alert defeat button is used so we don't annoy the beavers that crawl into our igloos at night where we gather around the small fire and eat maple syrup and back bacon while singing lumberjack songs in French dress as Mounties. Yes, for God's sake I'm just kidding.
I have been aware of the presence of the acoustic alert on my car for a year now, but for the life of me, I swear I have never heard ANYTHING. I've been busy this weekend - I'll play around next week and report back on any difference that I can ascertain with the defeat button on or off.
I think my (totally North American) KC2 has an alert that I can hear. Perhaps I'm just hearing road noise, but I do not think so. RLX-Sport Hybrid, where are you? Rescue me or confirm I've lost my mind.
I think my (totally North American) KC2 has an alert that I can hear. Perhaps I'm just hearing road noise, but I do not think so. RLX-Sport Hybrid, where are you? Rescue me or confirm I've lost my mind.
I'm sorry I am late to the party. We just got home from a funeral in Philadelphia. Traffic was nearly solid at 90+ mph from the PA Turnpike all the way to just north of Newark Airport so we made great time. Got 30.9 mpg for the round trip (30.7 mpg with the speedy trip return). Impressive I think. The Blackbird is just awesome! I saw a new Accord Sport which I have to say looks really sharp with the chrome accents. The driver of that car gave me a thumbs up at one point during the fast journey on I-95.
fsmith, here I come to your rescue my friend. I don't hear anything other than the low rhythmic hum of the EV motors when I pull into my garage. If I have my windows down it is easy to hear. Now if that is the speaker or the EV motors, I can't say. Here is what I will do tomorrow. I will run both my GoPro which I have mounted to the rear-view mirror as well as my Samsung phone which I also have a rear-view mirror mount and see which one picks up the sound best. Then I will post in on my Google page and post a link here. I can't promise it will work, but we will see.
Thanks, but I think your plan will not solve it. You will have to have someone else drive your beloved Blackbird at 5 mph while you stand outside at the right front corner of the car. Have the driver stop and start while under EV. Thanks, because if you do not confirm this I will be checking myself into the local hospital for hearing and psychiatric tests. Perhaps the whole "best car I've ever owned" thing has been just a torque-vectoring-induced dream.
02-25-2016, 03:38 PM
Just a little morning humor.
