The 2022 model year Kia Niro EVs have a backup alarm that would make a bulldozer on a construction site envious. It's loud enough that I feel quite self-conscious when I back out of our driveway early in the morning. Kia claims that it's federally mandated -- but I've never heard any other EV that makes so much noise in reverse (including a 2023 Hyundai Kona EV -- which, as far as I can tell, is Hyundai's version of the Niro).
From my reading of the Wikipedia article on Electric vehicle warning sounds there does not appear to be a regulatory minimum sound level in the US. The vehicle just needs to make enough noise to provide pedestrians (especially pedestrians with impaired vision) with a warning of an approaching vehicle.
I've found a number of posts describing how to defeat the sound (for example by disconnecting the speaker), but that seems to be both irresponsible and a liability in the case of an accident. Is there a reasonable way to reduce the noise?
