⚡ Ford Lightning Forum ⚡ banner

Reverse beeping like a forklift

12K views 32 replies 18 participants last post by  Cybrtrck 
#1 ·
So we got the f150 last night and this morning at 4am when my wife heads to work (truck is her car) I could hear back up beeping through the walls of the house. Is it there a button to turn this off or reduce volume?

Googling says probably not as its not unique to lightnings, the hybrid f150s have it as well. With prior cars either have to "defeat" the entire pedestrian warning system or dig into some settings with the odb can bus.

But just in case the lightning is improved with a setting someone found thought I'd pose it here.
 
#8 ·
in forward, at low speed, the Mach-E does this as well.

in reverse, you get the beeping.

I agree that there's probably a better sound than the beeping, potentially, although it's reasonable to argue that pedestrians (of all kinds) know what a backup beep means, versus a "spaceship" sound. But I am absolutely not a safety industry expert or an accessibility expert, and I feel like Ford likely pays people who are.
 
#7 ·
there's no setting.

it's a legal requirement in the US:

49 CFR § 571.141 - Standard No. 141; Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. | CFR | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)

The 2018 Kia Niro PHEV does it, which is the earliest I could find when I last looked:


on Mach-E forums, it was worked out that there's a speaker that is just for the backup warning, and if you replaced it with an appropriate resistor, you were good to go. (just removing it caused an error condition in the car... appropriate given that it's a legal requirement)

ultimately, it's a safety feature for low vision pedestrians.

there have been many, many pixels spilled on other sites about this, including the "other" Lightning site, the Kia site I link to above, and on Mach-E sites.
 
#13 ·
It was loud enough to sound like she had the door of the truck open and was getting yelled at by a "you don't have a seatbelt on" chimes.. so, that kinda of relative volume.

the truck is parked about 6 feet from our bedroom window and from what I can tell the spreaker on other f150s is under the front grill so it's possible I was in the perfect spot to get annoyed vs how it will sound when we drive it around this weekend.
 
#18 ·
If it’s the same as the hybrid f150, it is a speaker behind the front bumper. There is no setting to turn off, and if you unplug you will get errors. This is the delete for the hybrid, wonder if it will work on the lightning. By the way, I don’t think it’s that bad, no where near a fork lift chime.
 
#20 ·
Yeah saw that earlier. That would kill the UFO low speed sound as well if I understand it, which to me is a little too far as these things are quiet and my older Tesla without sounds has definitely snuck up on people in parking lots.

backing in is maybe the immediate plan for weekdays. Going to dig through the ODB settinf based solution a bit more.
 
#24 ·
I heard a Nissan leaf backing up and thought if my car dud that I would blow it up. Our Volvo xc40 EV makes a pleasant sound (space ship/mystical fairy) sound when backing up. A similar sound at low speeds in forward as well.the regulations say that EV/hybrids must make a sound. They don't say exactly what the sound should be. Please manufacturers make better choices.
 
#30 ·
So far, this noise is no louder than the Mach E. Doesn't bother me, I can't even hear it with the windows up, a/c on and low volume podcast (for me, sound wise). Frunk is similar, the noise is only really loud when I'm in front of it. Which is maybe the point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2023 lighting
#33 ·
I've recently found another shop to buy from the speaker bypass with a remote control to get rid of the reverse beeping noise and still have the option to turn it on when appropriate for me.
Works great!

FORD EXTERNAL SPEAKER BYPASS ADVANCED WITH REMOTE - Custom Gizmo
This product is on sale for $20 less than megaohm's.
I hope it will be free of charge for me since I posted a review and my installation video and the seller promises to fully reimburse as they describe here Special Offer - Custom Gizmo.
Just published the video today, waiting for the store refund
 
Top