Woman’s second-hand Tesla plays a fart sound every time she locks it, and she has a message for the previous owner: ‘I hope you feel accomplished’

A good second-hand vehicle can be a great, affordable upgrade for a family, but for Lexi Nolen, a Tesla purchase came with a hilarious if somewhat mortifying consequence. She recently took to TikTok to share her frustration with the previous owner’s taste in sound effects. As the TikToker demonstrated in her six-second post, her Tesla emits a wet fart sound every time she locks her car. In less than a week, the hilarious clip racked up over 14.9 million views.

In the caption, Nolen had a message for the previous owner, writing, “I hope you feel accomplished. My car locking in public is diabolically embarrassing.” The overlay text on the video then provided the necessary context, claiming, “Whoever had my car before me and set it to fart when it locks, just know i’m coming for you because i can’t for the life of me figure out how to change it.”

Viewers’ comments were an entertaining read, thanks to the many jokes. One user wrote, “I don’t have Tesla money so I’ll just keep farting next to my car when I lock it.” Another mused, “So since it doesn’t take gas, it has gas,” while a third added, “was not expecting that car to have gas.” One TikToker seemed awed by the feature, writing, “Do I have a Tesla? No. Did I listen to that fart over 100 times while going through the comments trying to figure out how to fix the issue? Yes.”

Commenters had their own Tesla fart stories

One TikToker shared a surprisingly moving story, commenting, “My husband passed away in 2024. I left the hospital the morning after his passing, absolutely DESTROYED. I approached his Tesla with tears streaming down my face and I unlock and then accidentally re-lock the car. It rips a fart. I burst out laughing-sobbing-snotting. I say ‘You got me with one last fart! Touché!'”

Others also shared stories of family pranks. A user noted, “My dad loves to watch people walk by on his camera and make the car fart while they walk by.” A second user wrote, “My kids did this to me when I was in the store. Then I dropped them off at home and went to the gas station, I got out the car walked in front to go in, car locked, it sounded like I s–t myself. i was mortified.”

For those wondering how this is even possible, it comes down to Tesla’s Boombox feature. Tesla Lock Sound noted that since the 2023 Holiday Update, Tesla owners have been able to replace the factory lock chime with virtually any sound they want. 

The system reportedly allows users to upload a WAV file named LockChime.wav to a USB drive, which the car then plays through its external pedestrian-warning speaker. This feature is available on most newer models, including the Model Y, Model 3 built after September 2019, and the 2021 refresh of the Model S and Model X. Recently, a man was able to avoid a tow thanks to the pedestrian-warning speaker and the remote unlock feature. 

Tesla Lock Sound noted that while it’s a fun way to personalize a vehicle, the technical requirements can be a bit picky. The car specifically looks for a file path of Boombox/LockChime.wav, and it is recommended that the file be under 1 MB and between one and five seconds long. 

For Tesla owners in Nolen’s position, changing the setting typically involves plugging a USB drive into a data-capable port and navigating to Toybox, then Boombox, and finally Lock Sound on the touchscreen. However, as some commenters pointed out, sometimes it is easier to just laugh at the situation than to troubleshoot the software.

While some viewers questioned if the situation was a joke or AI-generated, the lock sound feature itself is real, and Tesla’s customization options are quite extensive. Whether it is a yelling goat, as one user’s husband uses, or a classic fart sound, these features are built into the software for anyone to discover. Tesla features have startled people in parking lots before, including a New York woman who said a parked Tesla was recording her.

Of course, one commenter pointed out how the sound could be problematic with a dark joke. They wrote, “Imagine running from a killer and making it to your car, and you lock it, and it just rips hot a– while you’re frantically trying to get the key to turn.”