Motion Sickness

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Kelangst

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
72
Just wondering if anyone is experiencing motion sickness as a leaf passenger? My son has been complaining about significant motion sickness in the back of the car- not as much in the front. So my husband and I spent some time being passengers and experimenting. I was seriously affected in the back seat, and mildly affected in front. Husband had no issues.

I have had one other adult mention this while riding in the passenger seat in the front.

I have been very careful to not punch it from the line and to drive smoothly, but it still happens. Did not happen for the kid in the Murano or the Prius we previously owned, nor the Acura TL my husband drives.

Anyone else?
 
I've heard several people say the exact opposite. They normally get motion sick in other cars but not in the LEAF... But I could see it. As a passenger in a gas car you get some warning of acceleration as the engine revs up, but in the LEAF it just goes and you have no advance warning. Try manually make a "vroom" sound before you hit the gas. :lol:
 
Perception. Also, if you have the ECO package it may be a view of the center applique in the peripheral:)
 
The rear windows are small and high. Add in the monster head rests blocking the front, and perhaps he simply can't see out well enough.
 
My SO complains of motion sickness ANYTIME she is not driving. i think its a scam to let her drive the Leaf more often

she makes the same complaint in the Prius as well
 
I am getting a little motion sick *driving* the LEAF. I think there a couple of things that are different.

First I think acceleration and deceleration are a subtlety different. In D mode the first obvious difference for me is the acceleration is a lot stronger (I normally drive a RAV4-EV or 2002 Prius). The second difference for me is finding the coasting/gliding points. What I noticed is that LEAF regen seems to come on a little stronger. I tried ECO mode and that made it worse for me, in particular the even stronger regen. I know when I'm a passenger I'm very sensitive to relatively abrupt acceleration and deceleration.

The second small difference is sitting position. The window sills are higher on the LEAF and the sitting position is a little lower than our other vehicles so I think I think there is more of a that inside a boat sensation.

On the Prius I remembered that on the freeway it was little "wandery". Early on I felt like I was fighting it to keep a straight line (which also made me a little queasy). That eventually went away as I got used to it.

arnold
 
The first comment my daughter made when sitting in the rear seats is how high the rear seats are compared to other cars. This is a positive to her because it means that she can see more outside instead of feeling "blocked in" with less visibility. The higher and smaller windows didn't seem to bother her because she's able to sit high enough in the rear seat to see out easily. She's about 5' tall.

Her comment about the front seats is that the seats are lower and the dashboard is fairly high, reducing her visibility out to the front windshield. She'd have to sit on a seat pillow to help raise her seat height to a higher level.

When I sit in the rear, I don't experience motion sickness. But I notice that I had to ask my son (who was driving) to turn up the fan so I can feel more ventilation in the rear. I can see how a lack of ventilation may make people feel motion sickness.
 
Motion sickness is caused by a disparity between what the inner ear is perceiving as motion and what the eyes are reporting. If your son is looking downward (such as at a hand-held video game), he's going to get sick, because his sense of balance is reporting one thing (motions from front to back, side to side and up and down), and his eyes are showing something else entirely.

I used to get car-sick a LOT as a child, until I started staring out the window when the car was in motion. That cured it completely. If he's not tall enough, get a booster seat!
 
You can of course try over the counter meds - but if you are concerned about drugs and kids (rightly so) there are bands they can where on their arms - or there is the Nevasic app.
 
My wife can easily get car sick in any car. I have to drive more smoothly, less sudden acceleration and less quick stops. Also lots of quick turns on small neighborhood streets doesn't help. When my OEM tires on my 2011 Leaf wore down and needed replacing I also went with Michelin tires for a little smother ride even though miles/kWh efficiency dropped a little. High tire pressure can also affect bumpiness.

My son likes the back seat as he can see more up higher than our 2002 Prius. Yes, looking out the window is better than play some electronic game
 
Some cars intentionally raise the back seats up so the passengers can see out of the car better with the intention of reducing motion sickness. It should help to look out the car like others are suggesting. I don't really know how the Leaf compares to other cars but what others have suggested of the rear doors being higher is likely to play a role. If motion were the issue, being in the middle seat should help as it will move less then the rest of the car. When you go over a bump, the corners of the car move significantly more then the middle of the car, which is why long wheel bases help ride quality.
 
You have to ask, though, "How much of the result is lessened suffering, and how much is just suffering made silent?" That kind of matters.

I suffered from car sickness as a young child. I think it may have been from looking down a lot, but I'm not certain. I think that getting the person to look out the window is the best advice. Maybe all of those games of 'spotting things' families often play actually originated to treat car sickness as well as impatience...
 
I used to get car sick a lot as a kid, but it took me well into adulthood before I figured out why. It was due to my father's driving. He was one of those who on a 65 MPH roadway will let his speed drop down to 50, then floor it up to 75-80 before letting off the gas again. Rinse and repeat.
 
This won't help kids, but I cured my motion sickness in a car by being the driver as often as possible. On a plane I take Dramamine and on a cruise ship, I wear one of those patches. Good luck to all of those who have similar issues with motion sickness.
 
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