Distorted/uneven sound when Seatbelt Chimes/Engine Start Chimes

[Offensive_Bias]

Hello!

I recently upgraded from a super low-mile, super clean ‘17 EcoBoost premium to a ‘16 GT Premium. My girlfriend will be keeping the Eco and I’ll drive the GT. The GT has a few more miles on the clock and the paint isn’t as immaculate, but that’s no worries and I’ll take care of that with time.

Anyways, the GT. I have noticed that the sound is a bit…. off? It has the 401a package, but what I’m experiencing is not related to that I think.

It’s almost like the sound is “uneven” and there’s sound missing from the left side of the car, not sure if that makes sense. Music sounds OK but more empty, and strangely enough worse than on my ex-Eco which is 401a-less.

Today I noticed the “chimes” (when you turn it on, when not wearing a seatbelt) are kind of missing the entire depth or whatever of the sound, and also sound a bit “distorted” at the very end of the chime. This is a very metallic distortion on the last second. Maybe a speaker is blown?

I am not sure if these cars have a speaker just for chimes/alerts, but maybe it is that. Any tips/input would be appreciated. I do have a bumper to bumper warranty I purchased but I just need some pointers as to what the issues could be so I can explain that to the dealer.

Kind regards,
O_B

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[Vlad Soare]

I am not sure if these cars have a speaker just for chimes/alerts, but maybe it is that.

By default the instrument panel cluster will try to route the chimes through the audio system. If for some reason it can't communicate with the Sync unit, then it will use its own internal speaker instead. It is also possible, using ForScan, to instruct the IPC to always use its own speaker. The chimes do sound a bit coarser, less refined, when the internal speaker is used.