Model S might be…. Better?

[manderson4040]

Hi!

I’m 35, 6 foot 7, have been driving a bmw m3 competition for the last 5 years as my daily driver, loved it, but loved the tesla tech. And the space in the car… there’s nothing like it for my legs.

got good as one pedal driving on my test drive. I never knew I had “motion sickness” - I was always disoriented after flight for an hour or two, and after train rides for a bit. Dizzy and sick feeling. I feel it RIGHT away in the tesla.

I rented a model Y, I’m a week in and still feel sick. Was planning on keeping it for 2 more weeks because I’m hoping it “gets better”.

I love everything about this car but obviously this sensation is a red flag. Does it get better? Am I screwed ? Is this all EV’s ??

Or maybe it’s the suspension on the Y? Ugh. It’s hard to accept!

Looking for “it gets better” or “it doesn’t” thoughts. My fear is that for some people, EV’s just won’t work.

 

[dwbv]

@manderson4040 I've got a P85D.

I'm very prone to motion sickness. As a passenger, I can get sick especially if I sit in the back where I can't see the road. As a driver, not so much. This happens in ICE cars.

The first 1-2 weeks of my P85D, I would get motion sickness as a driver. I think it was down to a few things: 1) the instant movement and torque from a dead stop even with minimal acceleration. Unlike ICE cars, EVs don't crawl forward. My brain didn't like that, 2) regen was hurting me badly. Had to learn how to let off the pedal smoothly to limit jerking. Also, I would misjudged the distance to stop for using 1-pedal driving and would have to use the brake pedal hard causing jerks, 3) launching the car or flooring it from a dead stop will cause instant sickness and will linger for a day. Sport mode is bad, insane mode is worse. I dread showing new passengers how fast the P85D is from a dig but do it anyways knowing I will suffer, 4) the quietness may have been a contributor as well. My brain didn't understand why the car didn't have sounds when all other cars did.

I am perfectly fine now. It's been only 6.5 months of ownership and as long as I don't launch it, I'm fine. I can floor it while the car is already in motion (10mph+) without any issue.

Your condition may be worse than mine. I am like you, no issues in my prior 300ZXTT, S4, SL65, M3, and even GTR no matter how hard I pushed those cars. Got into the P85D and instant sickness, hehe.

I say stick with it and keep the rental going for an extra week or two. If the sickness won't go away then just upgrade to M5 or M8.

 

[father_of_6]

My fear is that for some people, EV’s just won’t work.

I've given a lot of rides to a lot of people in my Model 3, and my life's only experience with car sickness was my 5-year old son while sitting in the back of a friend's ICE (lead foot).

Not trying to argue, but I'd say ICE vehicles don't work for *all* people.

 

[etekberg]

I would describe myself as very sensitive to motion sickness. I don't get sick when I am at the steering wheel of a car or the yoke of an airplane (unless doing steep turns repeatedly). I think my muscle memory is expecting the resulting geforces. The only thing I can think of that is different with the Tesla is the regen braking. I would guess you are just not expecting it and that will change with time.

 

[SoCal Buzz]

When she drives does she use that too? I’m wondering if I should buy the car and assume this will work. I wonder if there’s a way to test it…

She won’t drive it I wouldn’t assume anything. Find a way to try it out yourself.

 

[manderson4040]

She won’t drive it I wouldn’t assume anything. Find a way to try it out yourself.

I would describe myself as very sensitive to motion sickness. I don't get sick when I am at the steering wheel of a car or the yoke of an airplane (unless doing steep turns repeatedly). I think my muscle memory is expecting the resulting geforces. The only thing I can think of that is different with the Tesla is the regen braking. I would guess you are just not expecting it and that will change with time.

Weirdly it isn’t the regen braking, as least I don’t think. I tried a model s for a while today. It started after about 20 minutes of driving, whereas in the Y it happens much faster. It’s weird. I get a lingering dizzy feeling for about an hour or two after I drive even if I’m cruising at about 20 mph

 

[manderson4040]

I've given a lot of rides to a lot of people in my Model 3, and my life's only experience with car sickness was my 5-year old son while sitting in the back of a friend's ICE (lead foot).

Not trying to argue, but I'd say ICE vehicles don't work for *all* people.

They definitely don’t. But I weirdly experience this as a driver and a passenger in the Tesla. Less in the S and way more in the Y. It might be a weird air pressure dynamic.

 

[father_of_6]

They definitely don’t. But I weirdly experience this as a driver and a passenger in the Tesla. Less in the S and way more in the Y. It might be a weird air pressure dynamic.

Does having the windows rolled down change the equation?

Ultimately, there's no reason the Y can't drive exactly like an ICE... that's all up to your foot. I suspect you need to taper off the accelerator even slower when coming to a stop. Start earlier and decelerate even slower.

 

[PCMc]

I met a man 20 years ago that had severe motion sickness. He would not ride in a car with anyone else and would always need to drive. He explained that medical testig had determined that there was a large difference in the sensitivity of his inner ear between the two sides. Think of two accelerometers set to very different gains. Any normal acceleration/deceleration was perceived by his brain as if he was wildly spinning. What he said was so critical for him with driving was that very final coming to a complete stop, doing without the very subtle abrupt stop or jerk that most of us likely don't even notice. He explained that he had been able to train his kids to avoid this, so could ride with them, but had never been able to teach his wife how to stop without it.

Not sure if there's something subtly different in how MS vs. the MY that was driven. If it was an older MS, so before the "Raven" varient that doesn't have the one permanent magnet motor, then this could be different due to the characteristic of how the inductance motor and PM motor comes to a complete stop.

 

[jpk195]

They definitely don’t. But I weirdly experience this as a driver and a passenger in the Tesla. Less in the S and way more in the Y. It might be a weird air pressure dynamic.

I’ll second the earlier recommendation that you talk to a doctor - the dizziness sounds disruptive to your life and potentially dangerous.

There’s lots of potential causes for dizziness - I had benign positional paroxysmal vertigo after a bad throw in BJJ (dislodged something in my inner ear). There was a straightforward treatment that really helped, though I occasionally have issues with it when I am sick. I’ve never had issues with it from my S, but everyone is different.

 

[manderson4040]

@manderson4040 I've got a P85D.

I'm very prone to motion sickness. As a passenger, I can get sick especially if I sit in the back where I can't see the road. As a driver, not so much. This happens in ICE cars.

The first 1-2 weeks of my P85D, I would get motion sickness as a driver. I think it was down to a few things: 1) the instant movement and torque from a dead stop even with minimal acceleration. Unlike ICE cars, EVs don't crawl forward. My brain didn't like that, 2) regen was hurting me badly. Had to learn how to let off the pedal smoothly to limit jerking. Also, I would misjudged the distance to stop for using 1-pedal driving and would have to use the brake pedal hard causing jerks, 3) launching the car or flooring it from a dead stop will cause instant sickness and will linger for a day. Sport mode is bad, insane mode is worse. I dread showing new passengers how fast the P85D is from a dig but do it anyways knowing I will suffer, 4) the quietness may have been a contributor as well. My brain didn't understand why the car didn't have sounds when all other cars did.

I am perfectly fine now. It's been only 6.5 months of ownership and as long as I don't launch it, I'm fine. I can floor it while the car is already in motion (10mph+) without any issue.

Your condition may be worse than mine. I am like you, no issues in my prior 300ZXTT, S4, SL65, M3, and even GTR no matter how hard I pushed those cars. Got into the P85D and instant sickness, hehe.

I say stick with it and keep the rental going for an extra week or two. If the sickness won't go away then just upgrade to M5 or M8.

REALLY appreciate the detailed response. You sound a lot like me honestly. In terms of preference and in the issue! Lol. So I tried my Y and I got dizzy and it lingered all day even after a 10 minute slow ride around the block. But I tried the S today and it didn’t kick in until I went fast. Which I find interesting. The suspension is far better on the S it seems…

I actually went and bought “motion sickness goggles” today at Walgreens. They helped with 50% of the problem. I actually love this car so much (I’ve always loved cars…) that I feel like I need to do some physical therapy and figure this out. If it’s possible.

Hard to say of course, but this is something that should … get better?

 

[manderson4040]

I’ll second the earlier recommendation that you talk to a doctor - the dizziness sounds disruptive to your life and potentially dangerous.

There’s lots of potential causes for dizziness - I had benign positional paroxysmal vertigo after a bad throw in BJJ (dislodged something in my inner ear). There was a straightforward treatment that really helped, though I occasionally have issues with it when I am sick. I’ve never had issues with it from my S, but everyone is different.

I bought motion sickness glasses today and that helped a bit. Sounds crazy right ? But I love the car that much. I can’t get over the quietness, the speed, the comfort. I spend a lot of time in the car and if I can figure out this issue (which stinks) … it’s a big deal.

 

[manderson4040]

I would describe myself as very sensitive to motion sickness. I don't get sick when I am at the steering wheel of a car or the yoke of an airplane (unless doing steep turns repeatedly). I think my muscle memory is expecting the resulting geforces. The only thing I can think of that is different with the Tesla is the regen braking. I would guess you are just not expecting it and that will change with time.

Does it ever “linger” with you? I find that things happen, i feel “off” in a car or plane, and then it lingers for a couple of hours

 

[manderson4040]

I've given a lot of rides to a lot of people in my Model 3, and my life's only experience with car sickness was my 5-year old son while sitting in the back of a friend's ICE (lead foot).

Not trying to argue, but I'd say ICE vehicles don't work for *all* people.

Trust me… I want this to be the case. I’m signing up for physical therapy just to get this car! Although the S does seem to be better than the Y for my head.

 

[manderson4040]

My wife is quite sensitive. I can make her ill driving any car if I want or try. Just two things from my experience:

I think issue for many is not the acceleration, but the quite sudden, abrupt initial deceleration which can happen as to let off the accelerator. As others have commented, this is more a smoothness issue and largely relates to building the appropriate muscle memory for how you roll out of the accelerator.

The other issue which I don't believe others have mentioned is potentially some of the visual stimulus, especially if you have some of the side or rear camera views set to show on the screen while you are driving. I don't have the side cameras in my AP1 version MS90D, but it's guaranteed disaster if I drive with the back-up cam image displayed on the center console when my wife is in the car. This actually happened during my first test drive 7+ years ago, wife in back seat, owner-advisor running shotgun turned the rear camera on to be on the big screen as they demonstrated features to me as I drove. Fortunately I was able to spot my wife in rear view mirror, realize she was about to turn green, and I got the display shut off before the impending disaster hit. That's where I'll always caution people about driving with some of those rear facing camera displays (including side rear blind-spot cameras) unless you're really familiar with your passengers. Not sure if this might be part of OPs issue, but another consideration.

Appreciate the response - I love this community, so helpful.

My issue seems to be related to something visual - I got motion sickness glasses today, and I reduced issues by 50%. I’m probably prone to something and for whatever reason the tesla triggered it. I’m gonna do some physical therapy - I also get it on planes, but only after I land for about an hour or two. Seems like something that one could improve upon. I LOVE the tesla outside of this. I’ve never been more comfortable or had more fun - I love cars and a lot of my purists counterparts hate on EV’s - I don’t care. It’s awesome tech.

 

[manderson4040]

Could it be the glass roof that's causing your issues? At 6'7", you're probably sitting much further back than most, giving you more view out the ceiling. Try temporarily blacking out the roof and top of the windshield.

This was interesting and helpful - I actually raised the seat up a bit and that helped a little !

 

[smogne41]

Something else worth researching is the reasonably widespread issue of the buffeting/rumbling noise issues in the MY. This has to do with the back glass in the hatch. There are threads on here about it and elsewhere. I have not experienced it myself (never ridden in a Y), so I don't know if it is the sort of sound that might have this effect.

 

[manderson4040]

Something else worth researching is the reasonably widespread issue of the buffeting/rumbling noise issues in the MY. This has to do with the back glass in the hatch. There are threads on here about it and elsewhere. I have not experienced it myself (never ridden in a Y), so I don't know if it is the sort of sound that might have this effect.

I GOT THE CAR! And I love it !!!!!