Warning Chimes: Overview

The warning chimes provide the driver with audible warnings that act as reminders and supplemental alerts to visual Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) indications (gauges, indicators and message center warnings). The deviation from this strategy is the air bag warning chime, which alerts the driver that the primary alerting system (air bag warning indicator) does not operate. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) controls all warning chimes based on messages received from external modules.

The warning chimes are an integral part of the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) that receives and acts upon much of the same information that is input and used to operate the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) gauges, indicators, warning indicators and message center warnings. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) prioritizes the chimes according to a preset hierarchy programmed into the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) software. When more than one chime request is received by the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC), the most important chime sounds. If a lower priority chime is currently sounding, the higher priority request takes over and replaces the lower priority chime.