Undergoing its mass-market entry, the Mustang Mach-E is celebrated as one of the best EV’s available today. The companies new future-focused path relies heavily on innovations in battery technology and software. Ford has even gone to the lengths to open an early access program for their upcoming software updates. With the Mustang Mach-E being the first to display all of Ford’s new tech quirks, issues are bound to be found.
Stepping into their new EV, some owners were quick to note a noticeable but mild annoyance. Coming from the driver display is a loud constant buzzing noise. While Ford has taken precautions to keep the Mustang Mach-E interior as quiet as possible, this oversight is leaving some owners with headaches and regrets.
The noise, resembling the coil whine found in some graphics cards, is directly linked with the brightness of the display. A higher brightness setting and night mode tend to exaggerate the noise further. Interestingly, the issue only affects the driver display, not the much larger center display.
According to a small poll on the Mach-E Owners forum, the issue itself, surrounding a $3,000 part, can be replicated by ~60% of owners. Opinions on the matter however are not one sided with some owners claiming it as a non-issue, being able to drown it out with music or simple road noise while on the go. Others, aren’t as even-tempered.
Long time lurker, first-time poster. Got my Mach-E two weeks ago (and overall I love it!), but uh, wow, the buzz is quite pronounced. I was anticipating a high-pitched electronics whine, but no, it’s a medium-frequency buzz, louder than any display I’ve ever heard. When you start up, it’s the most noticeable thing in the car. I can hear it over the AC while driving. On smoother roads, it’s audible at freeway speeds. When folks first sit in the car, there’s a sort of embarrassing “Uh, what is that?” moment.
One user theorizes the issue as being capacitor resonance, noting that the buzz occurs from 8-14khz. As you age, higher frequencies become less audible. At those higher frequencies, sound also becomes more directional. This leads your age and seating position to dictate your annoyance levels. It’s possible every Mustang Mach-E has this issue with it only being noticeable or worrisome to some.
Yeah, I’m probably taking delivery of my MME in late July or early August (best guess), and the instrument panel whine is going to be the first thing I listen for. It will probably make or break acceptance, unfortunately.
Ford has taken action by notifying its service stations of the common issue and stating they will do nothing to resolve it. The company might eventually fix this buzzing for new builds but as of now, no warranty work has been accepted for the issue and no recall has been set.
SSM 49810 – 2021 Mustang Mach-E – 21 May 2021 – Buzz Noise From The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)
Some 2021 Mustang Mach-E vehicles may exhibit a buzzing noise from the IPC that changes with the brightness setting. This is a normal operating characteristic of the vehicle and replacement of the IPC and/or other parts is not recommended. If compared to like vehicles some variation may be noted and should be considered normal.
END SSM
It is worth noting that during my personal day with the Mustang Mach-E no buzzing was noticed. However, looking back at the footage shot, it is prominently there. I can see why some owners are mentally drowning in it while others have to listen for it. It’s certainly an issue that will be scaled independently by each user.
Is it the biggest issue in the world? No, probably not. Can it make or break a sale? Absolutely.
1 comment
I have a hearing issue where I cannot hear well above 8.5 kHz and this would surely be an annoyance to me.