High-pitched "Electrical Whine"

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

for what it's worth, I had a chance to test drive a Mach-E this morning, and it had no whine. (and I can hear the ones in the videos)

we have enough information to know that it's not every Mach-E. we don't know how large the issue is, just that it's not 100%. ?‍

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[supertramp]

I sold my Bolt last week. It was dependable, efficient, and quiet.
All I wanted was another EV that was equally reliable, went a bit farther on a charge, and was not as ugly....

We want to love the Mach-e so much that we are willing to overlook an annoying buzz that other cars with similar screens do not have, unreliable phone access, wind noises from the roof when it’s cold, etc.

I’m confident Ford will fix the big issues that have been noted (eg, alerts after charging, propulsion interruption alerts, etc). I fear it will never fix a noisy screen, or a car with wind noise from the roof. Ever.

These decisions to overlook are choices we shouldn’t have to make. Still, next week I fear I’ll be in the same position - accept a car with issues, or give up on a journey that’s taken forever. (Glorious problem to have, for sure)

I just came back from a test drive - drove a production version of RWD Standard Premium Mach E - no screen noise, no wind noise from the roof - just total silence with a great sound system when it's on. So - just relax, no need to panic until you test drove your car. And then you can walk away from it if you don't like something. Seriously, it's just that simple. Sorry - I was not able to test PAAK - I only had 30 minutes for my test drive, but I absolutely loved it.

 

[methorian]

Just wanted to update that I haven't been able to get back to my dealer to hopefully see what I hear in their demo model. Icy weather prevented that this weekend.

Hopefully I can get there this week if possible.

 

[ARK]

Just wanted to update that I haven't been able to get back to my dealer to hopefully see what I hear in their demo model. Icy weather prevented that this weekend.

Hopefully I can get there this week if possible.

My dealer said that he heard the buzzing noise in all three of the other Mach Es he has been able to sit in after I raised the issue. I really hope not all of them have it as I think it will be easier to convince Ford to have this issue fixed if only some Mach Es are doing it.

His statement suggested to me that he thought it might be within spec, but nothing definitive on my end in terms of a response from Ford.

 

[Rafgar]

Just wanted to update that I haven't been able to get back to my dealer to hopefully see what I hear in their demo model. Icy weather prevented that this weekend.

Hopefully I can get there this week if possible.

Hi @methorian another data point for you. I picked-up my car on Friday evening. While at the dealership I tried listening for the whine and did not hear it. I could clearly hear the whine in your videos. Several times this weekend, I tried adjusting the brightness on the screen and listened for the noise - still nothing. I hope you get the issue resolved, because there clearly is an issue.

 

[MrRossKeys]

I took delivery yesterday and I could hear the “noise” during the test drive. I’ve made a video but it is too large a file to upload from my phone. I mentioned it to the salesman and he thought it was a normal sound all of their Mach E’s made.

Honestly the sound is present but wouldn’t really be discernible in an ICE vehicle in my opinion because the engine noise would dwarf the screen noise. It’s just that the Mach E is so quiet that it’s easy to hear that the noise is out of place.

Does it bother me enough to want to return the vehicle? Absolutely not. Does it sound like something that should get fixed? Yes. The large screen does not emit a sound, so I’d prefer the smaller screen not to either.

For purely unscientific reference, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being crazy loud), the noise registers about a 3-4 in loudness. It goes away almost immediately when any other sounds are present. Annoying enough not to be able to nap in the car but totally irrelevant otherwise.

Following the thread to see what fix is created by Ford.

 

[ARK]

I took delivery yesterday and I could hear the “noise” during the test drive. I’ve made a video but it is too large a file to upload from my phone. I mentioned it to the salesman and he thought it was a normal sound all of their Mach E’s made.

Honestly the sound is present but wouldn’t really be discernible in an ICE vehicle in my opinion because the engine noise would dwarf the screen noise. It’s just that the Mach E is so quiet that it’s easy to hear that the noise is out of place.

Does it bother me enough to want to return the vehicle? Absolutely not. Does it sound like something that should get fixed? Yes. The large screen does not emit a sound, so I’d prefer the smaller screen not to either.

For purely unscientific reference, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being crazy loud), the noise registers about a 3-4 in loudness. It goes away almost immediately when any other sounds are present. Annoying enough not to be able to nap in the car but totally irrelevant otherwise.

Following the thread to see what fix is created by Ford.

Thank you for sharing this.

But I do disagree that it wouldn’t be discernible in an ICE, at least at the level I am hearing it. I’ve been able to hear it with the radio on, with HVAC on, even with the windows open if am I not driving too fast in my Mach-E.

Part of it is also the nature of the tone, it is just super obnoxious in a way that say tire noise, wind noise, or a refrigerator’s noise is not.

It’s also something that I have never experienced on another car. Just like the Mach-E, an ICE would likely have the screens turn on when you open the door and get in, definitely when you turned on accessory mode at some point without turning on the engine. So regardless of whether a combustion engine would cover the noise, you would know if your ICE did this simply based on when you first get in or even after you turn the engine off before you get out as the screens would likely stay on until you opened the door.

I was in college 12 years ago, we used to buy the absolute cheapest LCD TVs, I never remember them making noise like this. Same with laptops, I’ve been around my fair share of cheap, bargain basement laptops, I’ve never heard any laptop’s screen buzz like this. Basically, I didn’t know it was possible for LCD screens to produce an electrical whine like this, this is from the CRT era, and even then it was only the low-quality CRT monitors that did it.

Anyway, if anyone on this thread believes there Mach-E does NOT produce noise like this, I think it would be helpful if they could please post a similar video getting a close up of the driver display so we could listen and compare and potentially for @MrRossKeys, @methorian, and I to show our dealers.

 

[MrRossKeys]

Thank you for sharing this.

But I do disagree that it wouldn’t be discernible in an ICE, at least at the level I am hearing it. I’ve been able to hear it with the radio on, with HVAC on, even with the windows open if am I not driving too fast in my Mach-E.

Part of it is also the nature of the tone, it is just super obnoxious in a way that say tire noise, wind noise, or a refrigerator’s noise is not.

It’s also something that I have never experienced on another car. Just like the Mach-E, an ICE would likely have the screens turn on when you open the door and get in, definitely when you turned on accessory mode at some point without turning on the engine. So regardless of whether a combustion engine would cover the noise, you would know if your ICE did this simply based on when you first get in or even after you turn the engine off before you get out as the screens would likely stay on until you opened the door.

I was in college 12 years ago, we used to buy the absolute cheapest LCD TVs, I never remember them making noise like this. Same with laptops, I’ve been around my fair share of cheap, bargain basement laptops, I’ve never heard any laptop’s screen buzz like this. Basically, I didn’t know it was possible for LCD screens to produce an electrical whine like this, this is from the CRT era, and even then it was only the low-quality CRT monitors that did it.

Anyway, if anyone on this thread believes there Mach-E does NOT produce noise like this, I think it would be helpful if they could please post a similar video getting a close up of the driver display so we could listen and compare and potentially for @MrRossKeys, @methorian, and I to show our dealers.

Interesting. Maybe my decibel level is much softer than yours.

I have a real-time-analyzer (RTA) somewhere that will let me see the decibel levels... I’ll try to find it.

 

[Mike16]

I’m going to my dealer this morning as my car has arrived! I can easily hear that king of noise, I’ll keep you in touch!

 

[methorian]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I haven't been able to make it back to my dealer due to all the ice and whatnot this past weekend. Hoping this week will fair better and I can make it by there again to discuss with them.

Also figured it isn't a bad idea to wait till more folks have theirs and more info/experiences are available. Since my dealer knows it was an immediate concern and has a case logged with Ford, I'm good for now, until more info is available.

Haven't really driven my Mach-E much either since I don't want any paint damage before getting PPF and a good coating applied.

 

[radioactiveToys]

I'm definitely having the same issue with mine. I will give my dealer a heads up and see if Ford puts out any response.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

I took delivery yesterday and I could hear the “noise” during the test drive. I’ve made a video but it is too large a file to upload from my phone. I mentioned it to the salesman and he thought it was a normal sound all of their Mach E’s made.

interesting. heard it clearly on the first videos of the thread but don't hear it at all in this one... and it's not like my hearing has changed that much in a few days.

 

[benk016]

interesting. heard it clearly on the first videos of the thread but don't hear it at all in this one... and it's not like my hearing has changed that much in a few days.

In order to hear it on this video, I had to hold my laptop up to my ear, with the volume all the way up. And then I could hear it.

I'm going to try and record a video in mine today and see if I can hear it in the video. It may be that some its just light enough you can't hear it, but a phone recording up close to it may reveal the sound.

 

[Mike16]

I can defenitly hear the sound, it is not as loud as I tought, but I can hear it and the tone change when I play with the luminosity. I informed my dealer about that. The more people complain about it the better

 

[MrRossKeys]

interesting. heard it clearly on the first videos of the thread but don't hear it at all in this one... and it's not like my hearing has changed that much in a few days.

In order to hear it on this video, I had to hold my laptop up to my ear, with the volume all the way up. And then I could hear it.

I'm going to try and record a video in mine today and see if I can hear it in the video. It may be that some its just light enough you can't hear it, but a phone recording up close to it may reveal the sound.

Yea, I imagine that mine is not as bad as others. That's probably why I mentioned that it doesn't bother me much... But i'm sure that you'd hear it if you sat in my car. It goes from dead quiet to "the noise" as soon as the start button is pushed. Everyone that I've had sit in my car can hear it very clearly, it's just not very loud, but definitely present.

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