Knox County, TN Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 62-263, part of Article VI's vehicle equipment and condition rules, requires that every motor vehicle be equipped at all times with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and separately bans using a muffler cutout or similar device on a vehicle operated on any roadway in the county. The requirement sits alongside the article's broader equipment mandate at Sec. 62-256(a), which makes it a misdemeanor to drive or move, or to knowingly permit to be driven or moved, any vehicle that does not contain the parts or is not equipped as required by the article, or that is equipped in violation of the article; that scope provision is what turns a defective or cut-out muffler into a chargeable offense rather than a mere equipment defect.

The state legislature has a parallel provision noted directly under Sec. § 55-9-202, so a driver on a county road can be cited under either the local ordinance or state law for the same excessive-noise exhaust condition. Enforcement runs through the sheriff's department under the general traffic-enforcement authority in Sec. 62-83, and any citation may state either the local section number or the underlying ordinance number under the citation rules in Sec. 62-84, so a technical mismatch between the two does not by itself void the ticket.

The muffler requirement was adopted as part of the county's original 1990 traffic code, Ord. No. O-90-9-112, § 8-8, and has not been separately amended since.