I tried to find an answer by Google, but perhaps my Google-fu is weak.
Every time I see an American movie, TV show, or Top Gear episode that features an American car, every car seems to have an annoying array of non-stop chimes. Door not closed? Chime chime chime chime. Seatbelt not buckled? Chime chime chime chime.
What’s the deal with all of those chimes? Is it mandated by law? Doesn’t anyone find them annoying? Do people actually like them and prefer to have them?
It’s very annoying, but cars are mostly all built like that. I don’t know if it’s mandated. It has saved me once or twice from killing my batteries because I forgot to turn off the headlights, but mostly it’s really annoying and I tune it out.
As I understand it, there are some locations that do mandate a chime. Car manufacturers tend to comply with the strictest standards available and so once one state (or other jurisdiction) requires a standard by law, they’ll usually put it in all of their products. I know there are manufacturers who aim for compliance with California standards because those are generally steeper than federal and international standards.
Some of it could be a CYA strategy for heading off lawsuits over product design.
Hmmm… not very annoying at all. Just a simple reminder that your door’s not closed, your seatbelt isn’t fastened, your lights have been left on, or your keys are still in the ignition. All pretty important things, really. And if you do everything properly, no chimes at all.
ETA: ,
Well it’s rare for cars to have chimes where I live, so it seems superfluous to me to have them. Besides, who forgets their keys and leaves their car and walks off? I can’t even lock my car without my keys. Also, my car automatically shuts off the headlights if I pull the key from the ignition and lock the doors so I can’t see a need for a chime.
Are these features rare in American cars?
I’ve locked myself out of my car before when I left the key inside (usually when I’m loading/unloading something). Not only am I able to lock the car without the key, the car locks itself a minute or two after the key leaves the ignition.
My friend once left the highbeams on for hours, even with the annoying waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah – and why he turned them on in broad daylight in the first place is beyond me.
The same friend obliviously listens to music with the door open and gets a free “DING DING DING DING” off-beat percussion track added. He doesn’t even notice.
I wish my car had more warning chimes… I’ve left interior lights on and drained the battery, left the trunk open while driving, gotten passengers who didn’t put on their seatbelts (which isn’t only illegal, it’s downright suicide with the way I drive), left windows wide open while parked, etc.
You foreigners and your smartyness. Here in America we consider natural selection to be unpatriotic and design our products with the lowest common denominator in mind. Not that they do enough.
I used to have a 300 Z that said, in a sexy woman’s voice “left door is open, keys are in the ignition, etc.” I loved that.
The headlight chime is important when you don’t have auto lights, which most older cars don’t. Americans usually drive with headlights on in the rain (almost no one here in Okinawa does that, to my annoyance), and it’s easy to forget to turn them off when it isn’t dark out.
That would completely piss me off. What kind of car do you have that does that?
There is a highbeam alarm? Again, not something I’ve ever heard of, and it would not make me happy.
Where do you live? They seem pretty standard on new German cars as well. There’s two major automobile producing countries right there. What do you drive? Where do you drive it?
About the auto-locking doors: It’s actually quite useful when you leave your car and forget to lock it. Just not when you also leave the key inside 
And I meant headlight alarm, not highbeams. Sorry.
I drive a Mazda Protege, FWIW, and I love it to death – probably literally, if I don’t improve my driving.
Usually the chimes are easy to locate and eradicate, so its little issue for someone who doesn’t like them.
As for the auto locking doors… I would disable that too if I ever get a car that does it, as I never leave my car doors locked. Anytime I got in that habit, my windows just got broken. Now I simply leave nothing in there that requires the car to be locked. And i doubt anyone will try to steal a 93 dodge caravan with rust spots. 
I drive a Honda Civic and it chimes for lights left on, key in ignition, etc. To be honest, I am not sure which country it was made in, but Honda is a Japanese company, so add Japanese companies to that list, unless you are only referring to cars sold in America; I have never driven a Honda that was sold in a different country.
FWIW, our Toyotas here in Japan also have all the chimes.
I noticed this when I visited in 1987 (or was it the visit in '92?). Mildly irritating, but as it was a hire car there wasn’t much you could do.
My Ford wails when you open the door with the lights turned on, but it’s easy to disable that by pulling the relay out.
In New Zealand we import used cars from Japan. The few that I test drove starting dinging if you go faster than 100 km/h.
I’ve only driven cars that have an aural warning for leaving the lights on. It sounds with the car off, the lights on and the door open. I once drove my Mum’s car when I wasn’t supposed to (I didn’t have a license, Mum was away from town, I was about 16 years old.) It was raining, and I was being a conscientious driver by having the lights on in the rain. I drove to my girlfriends house, turned the car off, opened the door and got out. The alarm sounded. I closed the door and it stopped, I opened the door and it sounded again. Ah! I thought, it’s an alarm to tell me the door is open! So I closed the door and went to see my girlfriend. Several hours later I go to drive the car home and find the battery is flat. D’oh!
There are three main chimes in cars sold in America.
Seat belt chime: goes off for the first 10 seconds or so if the driver’s seat belt is not fastened. Europe has a similar requirement, but on some European cars the chime is continuous until the belt is fastened. Required by regulation.
Head light warning: Primarily on American and Japanese cars. On cars built in Europe the convention is that the headlights go off with the ignition going off. On American and Japanese cars typically the headlights will stay on with the key off and a chime is added. Why not do it like the Europeans? Beats me. Not required by regulation as far as I know.
Key in ignition: Goes off when the key is in the ignition and the driver’s door is opened. Required by regulation here in the US. I’m not sure about other countries.
Other cars may have other chimes (convertible top not all the way up or down is one that comes to mind) but these are the main three. Of the main three, I know for a fact one is required in Europe, and I think the key in ignition one is also, but I don’t know that for a fact. So to me it looks like the headlight one is the only one a European might not be familiar with.
Saudi Arabia has a chime if the speed of the car exceeds a preset speed BTW.
[Eddie Murphy]
“Say, man, somebody stole yo’ batt’ry.”
[/Eddie Murphy]
It would be extremely valuable to have an audible warning for engine overheating. An engine will be ruined in a very short time by overheating, and many people will not notice the heat guage or the little red warning light until too late. I know this from hard experience with my wife’s '97 Ford Probe GT.
Some vehicles probably have that. It should be required.
But “properly” means I have to fasten my seatbelt before I start the car, which can be mildly annoying at times.
I am thankful for the “excuse me, were you going to turn off your headlights, dumbass?” chime.
My car used to auto-lock too. Very, very annoying. And seemingly random. I got the dealer to turn that option off.
(Nissan Pathfinder)