Pontiac, MI Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 114-28 requires every motor vehicle on a Pontiac street to run "a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke," and bars removing or damaging a muffler's baffles or fitting a cutout or bypass device; the exhaust system must also stop excessive fumes and keep any tailpipe and resonator the vehicle was originally built with. Section 114-30 sets the decibel ceilings, measured at 50 feet: a vehicle or combination rated 8,500 pounds GVWR or more may not exceed 90 dB(A) where the posted speed tops 35 mph, 86 dB(A) at 35 mph or under, or 88 dB(A) on a stationary run-up test; a motorcycle or moped is capped at 86/82 dB(A) moving and 95 dB(A) stationary at 75 inches; every other vehicle is capped at 82/76 dB(A) moving and 95 dB(A) stationary, measured 20 inches from the tailpipe.

New vehicles built after April 1, 1978 cannot be sold above 83 dB(A) (heavy vehicles and motorcycles) or 80 dB(A) (everything else) under § 114-30(b), and subsections (d) through (f) bar selling, installing, or modifying a muffler or exhaust part that pushes a vehicle over those limits. Testing follows Society of Automotive Engineers and American National Standards Institute procedures adopted at § 114-31. Penalties tier by provision under § 114-32: violating the sale/installation/modification subsections (b), (d) or (f) is a misdemeanor carrying a flat $100.00 fine; violating § 114-29's backfire rule or the moving/stationary/altered-exhaust limits in § 114-30(a), (c) or (e) is a civil infraction capped at a $100.00 fine, processed under the Michigan Vehicle Code; every other Article II violation, including a defective muffler under § 114-28, is punishable by up to a $100.00 fine, 90 days' imprisonment, or both.