US authorities say Hyundai i30 Sedan N exhaust is too loud

Authorities in California have suspended the registration of a Hyundai i30 Sedan N, claiming the performance car’s factory-fitted exhaust is “too loud” in certain drive modes.

The owner of a Hyundai i30 Sedan N in the US claims his vehicle registration was suspended after Californian authorities deemed the factory-fitted exhaust violated local noise regulations.

According to a post on social media platform Reddit, the unnamed Hyundai owner (posting as OkCandidate103) claims he can no longer drive his i30 Sedan N – known as the Elantra N in North America – until the car passes Californian noise tests.

The owner says he was stopped by police in August 2022 while driving his i30 Sedan N in California in the sporty ‘N mode’, which makes the exhaust louder – and crackle and pop at certain revs.

In the i30 Sedan N, the N setting is one of four selectable drive modes (Eco, Normal, Sport and N) – opening valves within the car’s exhaust which allow the engine to generate more noise than in Eco and Normal modes.

In a video posted by the owner to YouTube (above), the police officer can be heard asking why the Hyundai i30 Sedan N was ‘backfiring’, to which the owner replied “it’s how it comes stock, you can check under the hood (bonnet)”.

After refusing the owner’s offer to inspect the Hyundai’s engine and being told it was being operated in ‘track mode’ (N mode), the police officer says the car’s registration will be suspended until the owner can take his car to the state referee – a vehicle inspection station – and pass a noise test.

The video shows the police officer later telling the owner he needs to return the Hyundai i30 Sedan N back to the dealer and pay for N mode to be removed – claiming it would cost “about $US4000 ($AU6200)”.

According to the police officer, it is illegal to drive the car in track mode and the car would not pass an inspection unless the software was removed – increasing the cost to $US7000 ($AU10,850). 

The police officer also told the owner he should sue the dealership for not telling him it was illegal to use track mode on public roads.

In the Reddit post, the owner claims he took the Hyundai i30 Sedan N to a state referee where it failed an exhaust noise test while in ‘N mode’, having recorded a maximum of 102 decibels – seven decibels higher than the 95-decibel California limit.

While a number of commenters on the post suggested the owner should not have engaged N mode for the test, one Reddit user said the state referee needed to test the Hyundai in its Normal exhaust mode.

“If a vehicle has a single operating mode, the results obtained by using this standard shall be reported,” the user said, citing California vehicle standard SAE J1492. 

“If a vehicle has two or more modes of operation that change the sound emission of the vehicle when tested according to this SAE Standard, the manufacturer may identify to the customer the modes which are used for compliance assessment.

“Any mode that can remain enabled through a power on/off cycle shall be included in the modes identified for compliance assessment.”

The Hyundai i30 Sedan N defaults to Normal mode each time the engine is started, meaning the test would not necessarily need to be conducted in any other mode.

Despite the owner receiving a letter from his Hyundai dealer which said “there is no way to put this vehicle back to stock” as it was already unmodified, the customer remains in limbo because he can’t return for another inspection until he can prove the car has been worked on and “fixed”.

In Australia, the legal decibel limit for a car’s exhaust is 90dB – with a number of strict conditions applied relating to the environment in which a car can be tested.

The Australian Design Rules have no specific provisions for cars with multiple exhaust and engine modes, with the test guidelines for ADR 83/00 most recently updated in 2005.

A spokesperson for Hyundai Australia told Drive the i30 Sedan N complies with ADR 83/00.

“The i30 Sedan N, like all Hyundai vehicles sold locally, is certified for sale in Australia, and thus complies with all Australia Design rules and regulations,” the spokesperson said.

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