If you’ve ever driven an electric car or have been in close proximity to one in a parking lot, you’ve probably heard a strange noise emitting from under the hood or bumper. That’s because, as of September 2019, EVs are required by law in the U.S. to emit an audible noise when traveling at speeds up to 19 mph to alert pedestrians of their presence, per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141.
Other than tire noise, EVs are usually totally silent on the outside, since they don’t have the noise of thousands of little explosions from an internal combustion engine coming from an exhaust. So it’d make sense for an otherwise quiet two-ton-plus battering ram to make a noise to alert the people around it of its presence.
The NHTSA doesn’t specify the type of sound EVs have to make, though, which has led to some fascinating noises, some of which you probably wouldn’t expect from a car without an engine. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s fake turbo four-cylinder noises and the Dodge Charger Daytona’s Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which replicates the sound of a naturally aspirated V8, come to mind.
Most carmakers go in a different direction for their EVs, though, electing to play futuristic hums through the external speakers to alert pedestrians. Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and many others are well known for this. Nissan, with its new Leaf crossover, takes these noises to a totally different, much more haunting place.
This Sound Makes Me Uncomfortable
While rotting my brain on TikTok, I came across this video of a new Nissan Leaf reversing. Normally, seeing a car reverse through a parking garage isn’t very interesting. But if you listen with sound, you’ll understand why I’m sharing it here.
@evercarsco 2026 Nissan LEAF Reverse Sound ???? #ev #nissan #NissanLEAF #EV #CarSound ♬ original sound – Ever Cars
Like the other brands mentioned above, Nissan employs a sort of futuristic high-pitched hum for its reversing noise. But it sounds far more… sinister than any other car I’ve heard before, for two main reasons. The first is the tone itself. It reminds me of something you’d hear in the background of a sci-fi horror movie or video game. The second is the pulsing delivery of the sound. It’s an on-off noise rather than a continuous delivery, making it feel like a church chorus you’d hear when you’re about to face a boss in a Dark Souls game.
I could imagine it being overlaid in that scene from the 2013 feature film Prometheus, where the astronaut-explorers are marching into the alien-made superstructure they just discovered for the first time. Or in the video game Halo 3, when you’re about to face off with the Flood, a parasitic alien life form that turns the dead bodies of your allies into zombified enemy corpses. My colleague Jason had another apt suggestion:
If I heard that, I would certainly assume the latter, Jason.
Nissan Was Nice Enough To Explain It To Me
Rather than just assume the Leaf’s engineers are trying to traumatize pedestrians with every gearshift into reverse, I reached out to the brand to see if it could tell me why, exactly, the Leaf’s backup sound is so unsettling. A representative gave me a nice, detailed response that actually sounds pretty logical:
The sound you’re hearing is part of the LEAF’s Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP) system, required because EVs are very quiet at low speeds. It uses a distinctive, intermittent tone in reverse to make the car’s direction immediately clear and ensure it’s easily noticed by pedestrians, including those with visual impairments. The intermittent pattern is intentional — it’s more attention grabbing than a constant tone and helps differentiate reversing from low speed forward motion, which uses a continuous sound.
The point of a reverse noise is to be noticed, not appreciated. And if there’s one thing this scary backup sound does, with its underworld tone and perfectly cinematic pulses, it’s get noticed (by me, anyway). While I hope I never have to hear it in real life, I have no choice but to commend Nissan’s engineers for their ability to keep pedestrians on their toes, and possibly their hair on end.
Top graphic images: Ever Cars/TikTok; MGM/Amblin
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