Do Subwoofers Cause Damage to Your Car?

Before you install a set of subwoofers in your car, you’ll want to know if these large speakers can damage your vehicle. Let’s find out.

The basic answer to whether or not subwoofers cause damage to your car is “no,” they do not, but they have the potential to do so when improperly installed. Many drivers that install these large speakers themselves don’t take proper precautions and end up causing much more damage than should happen when adding the thumping bass that comes with a massive set of speakers in the trunk.

Here are seven risks of installing subwoofers in your car.

These large speakers could drain your car’s battery

Unless you’re an experienced technician, installing a set of subwoofers can create problems in your electrical system. Many beginners install these speakers without understanding what high-powered speakers can do to cause damage to their vehicle. These speakers can pull a large amount of current to create heavy bass sounds with little distortion. This excessive draw can result in your battery becoming drained or, at the very least, losing power over time. This means you’ll need to replace the battery more frequently.

Subwoofers could fry your car’s electrical system

When improperly installed, subwoofers can cause damage to your car by shorting out your electrical system from the overload created. This means other components in your car could become damaged and, in turn, fail prematurely. If you have your subwoofers connected to a power amplifier, the situation gets worse. This additional load can damage the alternator, battery, or other electrical components in your vehicle. You’ll end up experiencing interference in the electrical system and could short out the circuitry.

Rattling noises make your rides less enjoyable

Is it so important that you have loud, thumping bass coming from your car that you need to forgo a comfortable ride. Part of your comfort is in the sounds your car makes. Subwoofers can produce rattling noises either because of poor installation or the lack of insulation, causing the vibrations from the speakers to resonate in areas of the car where it shouldn’t. If your car has loose screws or bolts, the subwoofer bass makes them vibrate, resulting in a rattling noise you won’t want to hear.

These vibrations can loosen car parts

If you’ve ever noticed small parts of your car begin to come loose after you’ve installed a set of subwoofers, it’s likely the vibrations from these speakers causing the damage. Installing subwoofers in your car can cause damage over time. Some of the most common elements to vibrate and loosen are trim pieces, body panels, mirrors, license plates, and the exhaust system. Extremely loud subwoofers vibrate the rearview mirror and can cause it to loosen and fall while driving.

The wrong subwoofer can damage your amplifier

An amplifier is an important part of your car’s audio system. Whenever you install new speakers or other features of your audio system, it’s important to ensure these parts are matched to the amplifier. If the subwoofer is too powerful, it can cause the amp to overheat, which leads to permanent damage to your system. The ohm rating of all of your speakers should match the amplifier rating, or you’ll draw too much current and potentially overheat the amplifier, causing it to fail.

Is your rear sagging?

Some subwoofers are just too heavy for the car’s suspension to handle the extra load, resulting in rear sagging. The extra weight at the bottom of the box could be enough of a strain on your car to create a problem. Initially, there might not be any issue, but over time, the subwoofer could cause your car to sag because of the heavy and powerful magnets inside the box. This can cause more stress on the car’s frame and can cause irreparable damage to your vehicle.

You have the potential for hearing loss

Loud music can absolutely cause premature hearing loss, and excess vibrations from subwoofers can accelerate that loss. Although this isn’t car damage, one way your subwoofers can cause damage is by listening to music too loud with the bass thumping away too loudly. This exposure to bass can lead to problems with hearing, and it can show up at much earlier ages than you might expect. Keep the volume down and enjoy the music with moderate bass; this is how music is meant to be heard.

There’s nothing wrong with having a set of subwoofers in your car as long as they are properly installed, aren’t too heavy for your car, and you listen to music at a reasonable level. The rest of the world doesn’t need to hear you coming or listen to your music at the red light.