Springfield, OR Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Springfield Municipal Code § 5.220(3)(b) covers any automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle, and any stationary or moving engine, instrument, device, or thing, that is so out of repair, so loaded, or operated in a manner that creates loud or unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling, or other noises. Because the section defines this as a per se violation of the city's general noise prohibition in subsection (2), an officer does not need to measure decibels; a vehicle audibly out of repair or overloaded is enough on its own.

Subsection (3)(e) adds a separate, narrower per se violation for operating any gasoline engine without a muffler, which reaches modified exhaust systems on cars, motorcycles, and small engines alike. Both provisions apply anywhere within Springfield city limits and are not limited to any time of day, unlike the section's 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfews on construction and mechanical-device noise. The Springfield Police Department enforces both subsections, and subsection (5) sets the penalty at a fine not exceeding $720.00 under SMC section 1.205, the city's standard penalty for a noise violation.

There is no exemption in section 5.220 for vehicles registered outside the city, for commercial trucks, or for modified exhaust systems installed for performance reasons; the rule turns only on whether the vehicle or engine is creating the loud or unnecessary noise described in the ordinance. Emergency vehicles responding to or from an emergency, or pursuing an actual or suspected violator of the law, are exempted under subsection (4)(e), since ORS 801.260 defines what counts as an emergency vehicle for that purpose.