Fontana, CA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Fontana requires every steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motorboat and motor vehicle to discharge its exhaust through a muffler or similar device that effectively prevents loud, excessive, impulsive or intrusive noise (Sec. 18-63(b)(4)); a vehicle running straight pipes or a blown-out muffler is a noise-article violation the same as any other prohibited noise under Sec. 18-62. The section carves out a single exemption: a raceway, racetrack or drag strip operating under Chapter 17, Article IX is not subject to the muffler rule, since motorsports venues are separately licensed and regulated for noise.

The exhaust rule is distinct from the article's other vehicle-noise provisions: Sec. 18-63(b)(1) separately bars unnecessary or unreasonably loud horns and signaling devices, and Sec. 18-63(b)(5) targets any vehicle 'so out of repair or loaded or used' that it creates loud grating, grinding or rattling noise, which can catch a loose exhaust system, worn suspension or an overloaded trailer even where the muffler itself is intact. A car stereo audible outside the vehicle is governed separately under the Sec. 18-61 definition of sound amplifying equipment, which exempts a standard automobile radio only when heard solely by the vehicle's own occupants. Any of these vehicle-noise violations is enforced and penalized the same way under Sec. 18-62(b) and (c).