Motion Sickness

Hi Austin - I am a motion sick sensitive person, and I have never experienced this at all.
I am thinking older cars (when I was a kid in the 50s and 60's) if there was exhaust leakage or fumes in the car, then that would tend to make motion sickness worse. Today exhaust is 100x cleaner with the catalytic muffler. However, you might want to verify exhaust system is functioning properly and maybe put CO detector in vehicle (the ones I have just sit on a desk I could easily take it in the car if I wanted to).

PS- Go Dramamine!

 

Provide air ventilation. Adequate air ventilation might help prevent car sickness. Try to keep the air clear of any strong odors, too.

According to Wikipedia, motion sickness is theorized to be the body's autonomic response to toxins, whereas motion fakes out the brain in this regard.

I prefer regular Dramamine but that makes you drowsy. I have also used the Trans-derm scop (scopolomine) skin patches on long airlines flights.

 

Is there anything in the ride quality that may be provoking it? Would new shock absorbers and struts (leading to a firmer, better controlled ride) help?

 

With an inherited susceptibility to motion sickness, I have started getting sick in the driver's seat in previous cars when trying to make fast time on winding roads. It hasn't happened in my (Gen3) Prius, probably because I haven't tried to push it that far.

If her susceptibility has any similarity to mine, make sure the climate control is set for adequate fresh air ventilation (mine is never turned off, unless passing through a cloud of smoke or heavy dust), and that she is adequately hydrated and fed. I frequently get motion sickness from ordinary alpine skiing in poor visibility. Lots of fluid, some more food, and Bonine (competitor to Dramamine) usually resolve it.

 

Just for comparison. What car did you previously drive that did NOT make her motion sickness present itself?

 

I have suffered from motion sickness my entire life. The biggest improvement for me was getting lasik ten years ago. Once my vision was fixed and I no longer needed a strong prescription, I experienced an improvement of about 85%.

It started with lazy eye. Operated on twice. Fixed at 12 years old. However, the fix is cosmetic and how your brain processes images has a lot to do with it. The longer the condition goes without being fixed, the worse it is when you are older. I'm not saying this is what causes her problem, but people with the same history have experienced the same thing as me...

However, yes, smells do contribute to the condition. So does hard braking and acceleration. If you drive smoothly and brake smoothly, it shouldn't bother her. Cool air, toward the face helps as well. Sitting with the seat closer to the glove box will also help...

Also, if she is that sensitive, don't Hypermile or Pulse & Glide with her in the car. She WILL feel it and not like it.

 

Time for a new fiance

 

I would take her to test drive a Prius C and see if this car still produces the same effect...if so I am not sure what to suggest next...I find my Prius C to be both fun to drive and also the feeling from the drivers seat is a bit more like a traditional car. I tested a Gen III and it did feel as though it was something I would have to get acustom to.

 

Sounds like a personal health problem not a car problem... First and foremost, see a doctor... Then add some padding to the seat and get healthy by increasing the body's circulation with regular cardio. Too often health problems like these revolve around too much lethargy and stagnation in the body and if ignored for too long these symptoms can compound with other symptoms and ultimately kill you.

The more the person exercises the more these kinds of symptoms diminish. For example jogging: when someone jogs for the first time in years the muscles and tissue that hold all your organs in place aren't ready for it and they get bounced all around and the new runner experiences something very similar to motion sickness. But after a few runs the body adapts and nausea diminishes. And of course a ride in a car is gonna be way easier to handle once your body is more used to all that bouncing.

 

My wife will get a little motion sick if she isn't keeping an eye out the window. Like trying to read a book or something. And this has occurred in at least 5 different vehicles. I have Meniere's Disease due to hearing loss and will get very uncomfortable vertigo-like symptoms when working in an enclosed space like beneath an automobile. It can get really bad after recovering from a head cold, sort of like your vertical hold coming loose and your visual environment starts to roll. Usually followed by projectile reverse peristalsis. Never had motion sickness though.

 

I'm at a loss. Most people with motion sickness are not affected when they drive because they are in control and anticipate the movement of the vehicle.

Maybe an anti-sway bar and an under carriage box stiffener would tighten up the suspension and make the ride harsher and tighter. Other than that, I have nothing further to offer on this...

 

While P&G may be bad for motion sickness, many other Hypermiling items will be beneficial.

That doesn't bother me at all, but I can imagine how it might get someone else. Does she have an aggressive or spirited driving style, or soft and gentle grandparent style, or something in between?

If she has only driven it, never ridden as a passenger, then we have no clues to separate her driver reactions from everything else (e.g. ventilation, cleaning products, peripheral vision interfrence from sunroof, etc.) More experimentation is needed.

While motion sickness susceptibility is greatly reduced in the driver's seat, it is still possible for some of us. Trust me.

 

...at your own risk:
is has been scientifically proven that those susceptible to motion sickness make the best lovers!

 

If she gets motionsick while *driving* the Prius then she shouldn't drive it. If she gets sick while your passenger, then *she* should drive.

 

"Dear PriusChat, I cut my wrist badly while trying to change the headlight, and now I'm bleeding all over the place. Starting to feel faint. It's an '08 Gen II with 100k miles. My battery voltage is 11.8V. What should I do?"

 

Another poster already and very wisely mentioned this, but it bears repeating.
You need to ensure that this is not an environmental or a health problem.
No....not that kind of environmental problem. The interior of the car.
We need to determine if there's a hidden problem that's triggering the motion sickness symptoms. This might be seating position, cleaning products, an undetected leak. Some people have had concerns about EMI. I
personally discount this as a possibility, but there are George Noory types out there that have reported symptoms....real and imagined.
There's also your intended's health to consider. Does she spend a lot of time in the car? Are the exhibited symptoms really motion sickness?
Depending on your respective ages and relationship it could be many MANY things ranging from a cardiovascular issue to morning sickness.
I'm a hard sell on the fact that Priuses induce motion sickness. I have nine Sea Service Deployment ribbons and so I do have some familiarity with the phenom, although I myself haven't been experienced motion sickness.....YET!
(You always say "yet"....GOD has an interesting sense of humor when people say the word "never"! )
Despite meager visibility Priuses have a lot of glass.
You're not going to be able to roll over a dime and be able to tell whether it's heads or tails....and although there is a lot of body roll for a car in it's class, you're not going to log 20-degree pitch and rolls during normal driving.
In a word......vanilla, but vanilla is a flavor.
You do get SOME feedback from the car.

You didn't disclose your location, but statistics and your posts indicate a US location (with apologies to readers abroad.)
Healthcare is still widely available in the US, and if you can afford to drive a Prius, you can afford a few tests at a doctor's office, and besides.....you're engaged so you probably still like her a lot.
CLOSE THE LOOP on the motion sickness thing!
Make sure that she does not have an undisclosed health issue, and that the car (not the car type) isn't inducing motion sickness symptoms from something in THIS specific car.

If nothing else works?
Here's a possible solution.
Rent a G3 (2010-) for a weekend. If she's symptom free?
Trade up.

PS. Some G2 drivers won't like the "trade-up" appellation to this transaction. Although I do take sinful joy from their discomfiture, I really intended no insult (this time!)