I have a 2007 Avalon with factory installed GPS. Two haircuts ago I heard the music box for the first time when I was about 2 blocks from the salon and again when I left. Each time it plays the same melody for about 5 seconds. Last haircut, I heard the music box again in the same order. The sound seems to be coming from the left of my steering wheel – not the radio. I’ve never heard it at any other time, but I plan to take my husband with me the next time I need a haircut! Has anyone else had this strange occurrence? And, yes, I did see a UFO when I was a kid.
any way you could maybe record this for us?
You might need a priest rather than a mechanic 
I suspect the road has a rough surface and it just happens to sound musical at the speed you are going. Different tyres might make a difference.
Did you ever program this destination into your GPS ?
It may be the gps reminder that you’re near destination.
Is “music box” just the OP’s “pet” name for the cars radio or is there actualy part of the Avalons entertainment system called the music box?
I had that thought as well since I have no other way to prove I’m not being “haunted.” The recording won’t be available for 5 weeks – my next appt.
I’m the daughter of a mechanic and race car owner. What I haven’t learned from Car Talk, I learned from my father. I know what you mean about tires making that musical sound, and believe me, this is not the case. The sound is literally like a wind up music box. I’ll post a recording asap. Stay tuned.
Yes, I did program the salon destination in my GPS and that’s why I gave that bit of information. I have a lot of addresses programmed so I thought the odds of that being the answer were remote. Who knows, maybe there’s a music store icon that I mistook for a business. I’ll check that out tomorrow and post what I learn.
I don’t know what an “OP” is, but, no, I’m not giving my radio a pet name. In fact, the radio was on when I heard the distinctive sound of a wind-up music box. While I was at the Toyota service dept. last week, I asked several service and sales people about this and got blank stares. I wrote my query to Car Talk because I believe the listening audience is above average in intelligence. We will get to the bottom of this. I’m as tenacious as a Georgia bulldawg! woof woof, go bulldawgs!
“OP” is internet speak for “original poster” which is you. Usually when cars make beeping noises at you it is a warning of some type. Now why a manufacture would make their warning beep sound like a music box, I have no idea.
Since warning beeps may or may not come over the cars radio perhaps you pull the fuse on the radio to see if this prevents the noise, at least you can get on a track to identifying this noise. Perhaps the beep is comming from a “chime” system and not from the audio system.
I see you already conclude the noise is not from the radio, perhaps it is the GPS telling you “we are here”. Really I would ask another person at the same dealership or go to a new Dealership and ask.
Thanks for filling me in on “OP.” You’d think as long as my husband was in the military, I’d be used to acronyms. I’ve heard a bad fuel pump sound and tires that are underinflated or warped or bubbled. I’ve heard the chimes indicating warnings. My next step is to consult the GPS owner’s manual and ask more “experts.” Surely someone else has experienced this problem – but maybe they were just not brave enough to admit it.
MUSIC BOX PHANTOM SOLVED! I decided to do a test of my GPS this morning and added a “marked point.” There was an ICONS option I don’t recall ever seeing before: sound! If you select sound, other options are available: Chimes, Bells, Music Box, and something else but I don’t recall right now. When I arrived back home, I deleted “home” from the GPS and reset home with icons/sounds/music box. Later today I asked my husband to accompany me on an errand. As we were returning home, about 1/4 mile from destination, the music box played and again when we pulled into the driveway! If anyone is thinking about buying a new car with a factory installed GPS, I DO NOT recommend it. To update my 2007 settings, the dealer wants $350 to order the disk for me! Think how many Garmonds you could buy for this kind of money!
Thanks for all your help. It was fun while it lasted. -v
Well I was the closest to being right, perhaps some "stars’ (it has been months since I had any stars) or “Opie” are you gone for good?
Darn, I see Ken Green mentioned GPS before me,stars for Ken then.
Stars! I’m new at this. I didn’t really pay attention to the stars – pretty typical for someone who seems to be oblivious to details like “sound/music box.” Anyway, I will be happy to award stars to all the helpful comments and the one who said I might need a priest.
I want to thank everyone who took time to reply. It was fun, and I’ll be Bach!
I have had my “life energy” recharged by getting so many stars.
Wow, gold stars after being out for a month and a half, cool.
My physician gives stars – but only one at a time. She’s tough, but those stars are highly valued by her patients. I guess I was too liberal – which says a lot about me in general.
Just a continuation on the thought, there is research going on for road noise messages. Have you ever heard the changing pitch of road noise as your car travels along different roads? The research is to create the road noise into messages. It is kind of like a needle on a record player, with the right pavement and speeds you might be able to hear stop ahead from your car.
OMG! That’s thinking so outside the box! I wish my mind were that far thinking and creative. I have had one idea I’ve thrown out there to friends, but it’s not catching on fire so it must have flaws I don’t know about. What if all cars had solar panel roofs to supplement the energy used? Wouldn’t that be cool! The solar cells could be programmed to follow the sun through the GPS or some kind of compass. The energy could be stored in a power cell so if the car is just sitting in the driveway or on the street, it could still be collecting energy. Waddaya think, Waterboy?