Electric Dodge Charger ticketed for loud ‘exhaust’
Living just off Woodward Avenue in Detroit, I think loud exhausts should go the way of the dodo. Or at least get a curfew. But let’s put my biases in park. Even EV performance enthusiasts laugh at Dodge’s “Fratzonic Exhaust”—a bumper-mounted subwoofer that blasts pretend engine noises. The automaker guarantees 126 decibels. That’s louder than a chainsaw. It’s louder than a V8 Hellcat. And it’s louder than the NYC limit where automatic noise cameras write tickets over 85 dB. And apparently it’s loud enough to get you pulled over in Minnesota too.
Mike was driving his Dodge Charger EV through Stillwater with friends when “the lead car peeled away loud as h—.” He sat at the light. Quiet. Battery-saving Auto mode on. “I looked to my left, and there was a state trooper across the street from me,” he told The Drive. “He passed me and whipped a U-turn… followed me into a gas station and lit me up.”
The cop stepped out with confidence. “He immediately told me my car’s exhaust was way too loud and was disturbing the peace.” Mike tried to explain: “It’s an EV and doesn’t have an exhaust or an engine.” Didn’t matter. “He stated he’s not gonna argue with me.”
Mike pointed out that his Charger EV needs to be in sport mode for the subwoofer to blast fake engine noises at full volume. But apparently half volume was already too loud.
Fake engine noises get the wrong kind of attention
Mike got slapped with three charges: “loud muffler/loud exhaust,” “front and rear license plates required,” and “public nuisance—annoy/injure/endanger safety.” The trooper said Mike was “super loud back there,” but Mike insists he wasn’t even moving. We may just have to wait and see who is in the right.
It’s been three months. The ticket still hasn’t got to trial. “I have called the courthouse every week for the last 10 weeks… and still nothing.”
Meanwhile, the new Charger EV’s external speakers are rattling windows and making enemies. I get wanting your Charger EV to growl. But blasting fake engine noises at 126 dB? That’s not muscle—that’s musical theater. And in places like Stillwater? The cops aren’t giving standing ovations. You can see the aftermath of Mike getting pulled over in the video embedded below:
