Acoustic Vehicle Alert Systems (AVAS) legislation in effect from 1st July 2019

[FROSTYBALLS]

From 1st July 2019 electric and hybrid vehicles with four wheels and new Type Approvals will be required to have an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) fitted.

All new electric and hybrid vehicles built from 1st July 2021 will be required to have AVAS fitted

The system will need to produce external sound via a sound generator ranging between 56 and 75 dcb when running on electric power at speeds up to 20kph, and will need to show whether the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. 

There is no requirement for the sound to be heard inside the vehicle.

The new Corolla and Rav 4 hybrid Type Approvals will pre-date this legislation, so will only legally require AVAS from 1st July 2021.

[REDPEPPER]

I would have thought the most important thing is to have a "universal" approved sound for everyone's benefit, not just visually impaired, not to mention hard of hearing folk.

But no doubt there'll soon be umpteen different ones in the aftermarket - but legislation could easily be used to tackle this (as per horns).

[Jonmartin]

Will we have to retro fit an AVAS, will it become part of an MOT ?

It's probably a good idea, people in car parks tend to not be aware of their surroundings, and I've made many jump when they have realised I'm behind them. Sounding the horn seems a bit much, and who knows what harm it could do to an elderly person with a dicky ticker. I have found that loud music and the windows down helps.

I considered fitting a cycle bell, but I have no handle bars.

[FROSTYBALLS]

5 minutes ago, Jonmartin said:

Will we have to retro fit an AVAS

No - retro fitting isn't required. Still three years away from when the first cars with AVAS will be due an MOT, and if included within the MOT at a later date, presumably it will only be for those vehicles that were required to have AVAS as a standard fitment.

[Jonmartin]

33 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

No - retro fitting isn't required. Still three years away from when the first cars with AVAS will be due an MOT, and if included within the MOT at a later date, presumably it will only be for those vehicles that were required to have AVAS as a standard fitment.

That’s good, but I expect there will be many aftermarket units coming onto the market. And I do think they are not a bad idea.

[YarisHybrid2016]

I've no problem honking my horn at people who clearly disregarded their surroundings before leaping out in front of me.

You'd think there were enough "silent vehicles" on the road by now for people to check, but Darwin still has some work to do it seems...

I'm always conscious/paranoid about the fact I can't always be heard.

[FROSTYBALLS]

On 7/19/2021 at 8:46 AM, YarisHybrid2016 said:

You'd think there were enough "silent vehicles" on the road by now for people to check

Not that easy for visually impaired people, which are the ones that AVAS is designed to help. If someone cannot see effectively, it can be difficult for them to check for approaching vehicles.

[Stopeter44]

So, does anybody have a Toyota Hybrid, Yaris or other that has AVAS ? It looks like it's standard on the MY21 Yaris Hybrid, when operating in pure electric mode, up to 25 kph / 16 mph.

[FROSTYBALLS]

23 minutes ago, Stopeter44 said:

does anybody have a Toyota Hybrid, Yaris or other that has AVAS ?

Yes, we've had members query the noise produced by AVAS on their Corollas and Rav4's. In the UK it has been mandatory on all new hybrids/EV's since July.

[Yugguy1970]

We have a RAV and a Yaris and the RAV's Avas is louder.

[Cyker]

It's louder!? It must be deafening!   The Yaris' AVAS is already so loud!! My friend always jokes he can hear me coming from 2 blocks away now that he knows the weird noise is my Yaris!  

Hasn't helped with suicidal pedestrians either, I can tell you that much! The only major effect I've observed so far is to annoy my neighbours when I come home in the wee hours of the morning

They should have made the sound like an engine, like a low growl, instead- I think this sound just confuses people, and it's hard to locate directionally.

 

[Stopeter44]

Is it also on the Yaris MY20s ?

[FROSTYBALLS]

16 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

Is it also on the Yaris MY20s ?

Would have thought that the current Yaris's Type Approval would have been after July 2019, so the 2020 models would have been required to have AVAS from launch.

[Cyker]

I think the Mk3s don't have it (Or it can be switched off?), but all the Mk4s have it and you can't turn it off!

[Stopeter44]

@Cyker The funny thing is, when I test drove the Yaris and the Yaris Cross, I don't recall any strange noises at low speed. The manual says it exists, I checked both the English and French language versions.

[Cyker]

I didn't realise it did it either for my first month of ownership until a colleague pointed it out!  

Even tho' it's obnoxiously loud, it's very tough to hear it in the car - They must have focused the sound forward somehow so it doesn't filter back into the cabin?

The only time I can really hear it is when I'm creeping down my street at 2am in the morning with my windows down - The sound bounces off the houses and then I can really hear how loud it is!

It's such a weird sound too - It doesn't shout Hey I Am A Car at all. I don't know why they didn't just make it sound like an engine!

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I think the Mk3s don't have it (Or it can be switched off?), but all the Mk4s have it and you can't turn it off!

The legislation came in from July 2019 for hybrids/EVs with Type Approval after that date, and from July 2021 for all new hybrids/EVs.

Type Approval for the 3rd generation would date back in the mists of time (2011 or so), and production ended in 2020, so didn't need AVAS installed. Also the system isn't intended to be capable of being turned off.

[Stopeter44]

13 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The legislation came in from July 2019 for hybrids/EVs with Type Approval after that date, and from July 2021 for all new hybrids/EVs.

Type Approval for the 3rd generation would date back in the mists of time (2011 or so), and production ended in 2020, so didn't need AVAS installed. Also the system isn't intended to be capable of being turned off.

That makes sense. It also makes sense that it can't be turned off (officially), but I'm sure somebody smart would find away. There's a few Yaris IV around my way, but in my town/village I haven't heard any of them making strange noises.

Although there are 5000+ people living in, or near, the village, there are no traffic lights. The nearest traffic lights are 12 km away, and that's for a pedestrian crossing ! Generally, traffic moves freely through town, but market day and tourist season changes that, a little. There's a major speed bump on the Main street, and if you go over it at more than 10kph, you risk damage to your car.

There's a ton of Zoes round here, and I haven't heard one of them beep or whine, but I imagine the homologation requirements go back to the mists of time also. The first one I saw was in 2009. To my eyes they haven't changed externally since then, aficionados would know, I imagine.

[forkingabout]

Heard this for the first time today on a 71 plate C-HR 

Sounds like a UFO but it works exactly like intended, it makes people look to see where the weird noise is coming from. 

[WOODWAYS6]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:16 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

From 1st July 2019 electric and hybrid vehicles with four wheels and new Type Approvals will be required to have an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) fitted.

All new electric and hybrid vehicles built from 1st July 2021 will be required to have AVAS fitted

The system will need to produce external sound via a sound generator ranging between 56 and 75 dcb when running on electric power at speeds up to 20kph, and will need to show whether the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. 

There is no requirement for the sound to be heard inside the vehicle.

The new Corolla and Rav 4 hybrid Type Approvals will pre-date this legislation, so will only legally require AVAS from 1st July 2021.

Thanks

[WOODWAYS6]

On 10/6/2021 at 4:57 PM, Cyker said:

I didn't realise it did it either for my first month of ownership until a colleague pointed it out!  

Even tho' it's obnoxiously loud, it's very tough to hear it in the car - They must have focused the sound forward somehow so it doesn't filter back into the cabin?

The only time I can really hear it is when I'm creeping down my street at 2am in the morning with my windows down - The sound bounces off the houses and then I can really hear how loud it is!

It's such a weird sound too - It doesn't shout Hey I Am A Car at all. I don't know why they didn't just make it sound like an engine!

Too true thanks

[Haliotis]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:16 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

From 1st July 2019 electric and hybrid vehicles with four wheels and new Type Approvals will be required to have an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) fitted.

All new electric and hybrid vehicles built from 1st July 2021 will be required to have AVAS fitted

This info is a bit misleading.  My C-HR hybrid was first registered in June 2021, and does not have AVAS.  If this fitment was required from 1st July 2019, why were not all such vehicles built after that date so fitted?  - it does not say if the specified date applied from date of manufacture, or date of first registration.

The way it is stated, the inference is that owners of such vehicles first registered on or after 01/07/2019 are legally required to have AVAS fitted.

[FROSTYBALLS]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:16 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

From 1st July 2019 electric and hybrid vehicles with four wheels and new Type Approvals will be required to have an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) fitted.

All new electric and hybrid vehicles built from 1st July 2021 will be required to have AVAS fitted

 

42 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

This info is a bit misleading.  My C-HR hybrid was first registered in June 2021, and does not have AVAS.  If this fitment was required from 1st July 2019, why were not all such vehicles built after that date so fitted?  - it does not say if the specified date applied from date of manufacture, or date of first registration.

The way it is stated, the inference is that owners of such vehicles first registered on or after 01/07/2019 are legally required to have AVAS fitted.

No the statement isn't misleading.

Before a vehicle can be sold in the UK/EU, it has to undergo a process called Type Approval, which ensures the vehicle meets current safety and construction legislation.

So from 1st July 2019 vehicles for which Type Approval was issued after 1st July 2019, were required to have AVAS as standard.

The first generation C-HR was introduced into the European market in 2016, and the Type Approval would have dated from this date. In which case the first generation C-HR was only required to have AVAS for models built from 1st July 2021.

[Haliotis]

Sorry, but I am confused.  Where then does the 1st July 2019 date apply?

[FROSTYBALLS]

18 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Sorry, but I am confused.  Where then does the 1st July 2019 date apply?

That applies to new vehicles where the Type Approval was awarded after 1st July 2019. So for example Type Approval of the current Yaris (4th generation introduced in 2020) would have been after 1st July 2019, and the Yaris would have been required to have AVAS from the start of sales in the UK.