2012 LEAF with no forward Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians?

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werdnawerdna

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Jan 27, 2015
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I recently bought a used 2012 (U.S.) LEAF off lease, I was surprised that it doesn't have a warning sound for forward drive but I figured Nissan must have taken that out for 2012. Is that the case, or did the first owner disable the VSP? If it's the latter, how could I undo that? I live in a dense city and would rather that pedestrians hear me than not. Note that the reverse sound works, which seems pretty useless since mostly I'm driving forwards.
 
werdnawerdna said:
I recently bought a used 2012 (U.S.) LEAF off lease, I was surprised that it doesn't have a warning sound for forward drive but I figured Nissan must have taken that out for 2012. Is that the case, or did the first owner disable the VSP? If it's the latter, how could I undo that? I live in a dense city and would rather that pedestrians hear me than not. Note that the reverse sound works, which seems pretty useless since mostly I'm driving forwards.
Click to expand...

the 2012 LEAF came with the VSP, and unlike the 2011, it could not be shut off.
 
The forward sound isn't obvious like the reverse sound. It's a hum or growl that changes pitch to approximate an engine sound. You generally can't hear it from inside the car unless you have the windows open and are driving next to a wall or inside a garage...somewhere that reflects the sound back to you.
 
KillaWhat said:
the 2012 LEAF came with the VSP, and unlike the 2011, it could not be shut off.
Click to expand...

The PO could have disabled it, like the OP suggests.

That said, I don't personally know the ins and outs of doing so, since my 2011 has the switch to shut it off, but I'm reasonably certain that someone has done it, and how to go about it (and, ergo, how to put it back the way it was) will be outlined somewhere on the forum.
 
In my 2012 the VSP sound is a whirring sound that doesn't start until you take your foot off the brake. Its really only noticeable to me when I'm in the garage. Once it starts, applying the brakes doesn't stop it, you have to put it back in park.
 
I disabled mine in my 2012 by unplugging the VSP box. But this method also disables start up chimes and reverse beep.

My guess is you may not be hearing the sound or may think the sound is the electric motor. At low speeds, the motor makes pretty much no noise at all. There shouldn't be any whirring noises at low speeds unless VSP is enabled.
 
I can't hear mine unless I have the windows open and am near a wall or structure that reflects the sound. In a parking lot with other cars making noise it is pretty much inaudible. My carpool partner described it as sounding like a "spaceship taking off" but I've never heard the sound from outside the car.
 
kubel said:
I disabled mine in my 2012 by unplugging the VSP box. But this method also disables start up chimes and reverse beep.

My guess is you may not be hearing the sound or may think the sound is the electric motor. At low speeds, the motor makes pretty much no noise at all. There shouldn't be any whirring noises at low speeds unless VSP is enabled.
Click to expand...
I disable mine on-demand with a switch I added. And yes, disabling it also disables the reverse beeping, so I would guess that the VSP is working just fine on your car.

I agree with kubel - if you couldn't compare (by flicking a switch), the VSP sound can easily be mistaken for a normal electric motor & driveline sound - it's not as loud as the backup beeping.
 

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