Glendale, CA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Muffler rule
- § 8.36.090: exhaust must run through a muffler
- State-law limit
- Applies to vehicles only if not state-regulated
- Vehicle operation rule
- § 8.36.120 bars disturbing motor-vehicle noise
- Public street exemption
- Vehicles on public streets excluded from § 8.36.120
- Default penalty
- Misdemeanor up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Glendale requires every gas or gasoline engine, including a motor vehicle's if state law doesn't already regulate its exhaust, to run through a muffler or underground air chamber that deadens exhaust noise, under Municipal Code § 8.36.090. A companion rule, § 8.36.120, separately bars operating any motor-driven vehicle in a way that causes a reasonable neighbor discomfort, but excludes vehicles actually on a public street.
§ 8.36.090: No person having charge or control of any engine in which gas, gasoline, distillate or other similar substance is used as a motive power, shall run or operate such engine, or cause the same to be run or operated, without having the exhaust pipe thereof connected with an underground air chamber or having attached to such exhaust pipe a muffler or other device so constructed as to deaden the sound of the exhaust of such engine and effectually prevent such exhaust from making any loud noise or disturbing the peace and quiet of persons in its vicinity. This section shall apply to the engine of a motor vehicle if its exhaust equipment is not regulated by state law. § 8.36.120: It is unlawful for any person to operate any motor-driven vehicle within the city in such a manner that a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance; or which interferes with the comfort, repose, peace or which endangers the health of inhabitants of the area; provided, however, that any such vehicle which is operated upon any public highway, street or right-of-way shall be excluded from regulation under this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4983441; v20 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
Glendale addresses vehicle noise through two separate provisions in Chapter 8.36. Section 8.36.090 targets the exhaust system itself: any engine powered by gas, gasoline or distillate must run through an underground air chamber or a muffler that deadens exhaust sound and keeps it from disturbing the peace of nearby residents. The rule isn't limited to cars, it reaches any gas-powered engine, including stationary equipment, but it applies to a motor vehicle's exhaust only if that equipment "is not regulated by state law," since California's Vehicle Code already sets its own muffler and exhaust standards for vehicles on public roads. That carve-out means § 8.36.090 mainly functions as Glendale's backstop for exhaust noise the state code doesn't already reach.
Section 8.36.120 covers the vehicle's operation rather than its equipment: it is unlawful to operate any motor-driven vehicle in a manner that causes a reasonable, normally sensitive resident discomfort or annoyance, or that interferes with the peace, comfort or health of the area's inhabitants. Read closely, though, its reach narrows: any vehicle "operated upon any public highway, street or right-of-way shall be excluded from regulation under this section." That exclusion means § 8.36.120 mainly reaches vehicle noise on private property, revving in a driveway or doing burnouts in a parking lot, not noise from cars actually driving down a public street.
Because neither section states its own penalty, a violation of either defaults to the citywide misdemeanor penalty at § 1.20.010: up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in county jail, or both.
Violations & Fines
A violation of either the muffler requirement (§ 8.36.090) or the vehicle-operation nuisance rule (§ 8.36.120) is a misdemeanor under the Municipal Code's default penalty, § 1.20.010, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Because § 8.36.120 excludes vehicles on public streets, most citations under that section involve noise from private driveways, lots or yards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Glendale have its own muffler law for cars?
Can I be cited for revving my car loudly in my own driveway?
Does loud car noise on a public street violate this ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
California rules heatmap·Compare Glendale to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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