Engine sound enhancer

[DaveS1234]

Today I test drove three Toyotas and am very impressed and will probably buy one (just thought I would say that up front since I have a slight criticism).

The first I drove was a TRD Pro Off Road IforceMax with the upgrade package but not the premium package.. I liked the engine sound, actually. It didn't occur to me during the drive that it might be coming in through the speakers or in any way synthetic.

I then drove a Land Cruiser 250 (Land Cruiser trim without Premium package). Even though these vehicles had the same engine, I noticed jerky gear shifts and acceleration in the Land Cruiser. I also noticed a deeper tone, louder engine note, which seemed to come in from the lower left of the dash. At the time I didn't think "it's fake" or "it's piped in." My initial impression is it was incongruent to the supposedly refined image of this car. Why was it so loud in a $65,000 SUV but slightly quieter and more pleasant in a truck which cost a lot less money? The salesman didn't give me any answers about that. Between the transmission and the weird acceleration and the noise, I was too distracted on this test drive to decide if I liked anything else about this vehicle.

I then drove a slightly used Tacoma, TRD OffRoad, non-hybrid. It was a little more raw sounding than the hybrid, but not bad. And not as intrusive as the Land Cruiser I had driven.

So, I have questions. After doing some research, I have learned that some, but not all, Gen 4 Tacoma trims have "engine sound enhancement" and that the Land Cruiser likely has it as well.

1. Why is the Land Cruiser so damned loud and obnoxious and why does its drivetrain feel so much different than the same drivetrain in a Tacoma?
2. Can you turn off the sound enhancement? I like the idea of hearing the actual engine. It's a truck.
3. Which models of the Tacoma have the sound enhancement?
4. What is the sound enhancement? Is it piped in sound? Is it just fake noise created with a keyboard somewhere?
5. Can you adjust the volume of it?

Any info would be appreciated.

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[Miqie]

Well, regarding #1, the Landcruiser has full time 4WD, so it's a somewhat different drivetrain than the Tacoma. Doesn't explain why it's clunky, though. Maybe it was just that particular vehicle. Who knows.

 

[JoeMongo]

I have limited information, but here it is:

The manual transmission Tacomas do not have the sound "enhancement". I learned that when I tried to delete it with Carista. That enhanced sound "feature" does not exist on manual transmission vehicles. You can delete it with Carista, and probably several other ways that I am not familiar with.

Other than that, you are on your own. Best,
j.

 

[TacoFreak]

You can turn off the fake engine noise with an OBD2 device or the dealer can do it for you. I turned it off in my truck and I didn't really like the real noise all that much, so I turned it back on. I don't care if it is real or fake, just that it has a decent engine sound.

The LC300 is so luxurious I assume they tuned the sound in the LC250 to be more aggressive. It should not have been rough or clunky unless something is wrong with it though.

 

[Sagebrush]

I liked the engine sound, actually. It didn't occur to me during the drive that it might be coming in through the speakers or in any way synthetic.

I turned mine off after driving it with/without/with ESE. It doesn't come from the console. It comes from the speakers. All of them, and it sounds real.

It only comes on during acceleration. Here's an example in a Tundra:



My Taco is an OR with the Premium package. It has the hood silencer and sound-deadening glass. I like the fact that it's quiet.

 

[DaveS1234]

You can turn off the fake engine noise with an OBD2 device or the dealer can do it for you. I turned it off in my truck and I didn't really like the real noise all that much, so I turned it back on. I don't care if it is real or fake, just that it has a decent engine sound.

The LC300 is so luxurious I assume they tuned the sound in the LC250 to be more aggressive. It should not have been rough or clunky unless something is wrong with it though.

It wasn't "clunky", that was an adjective someone else used. It was just a different tone.

The power delivery wasn't clunky either, it just kind of would surge forward without prompting, which the Tacoma didn't do.

 

[TacoFreak]

The power delivery wasn't clunky either, it just kind of would surge forward without prompting, which the Tacoma didn't do.

That surge is strange and not something I have ever had in my truck. The only difference in the LC is the full time 4WD, so not sure why it did that. I like the LC but my wife has an SUV and I wanted a truck, so my choice was easy.

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