Nausea in Electric Cars: Reality or Myth?

Let’s talk about something no one expects when switching to an electric car: feeling a bit queasy. Some drivers swear EVs make them nauseous, while others say it’s nonsense. 

In reality, people have been getting motion sick in cars long before electric vehicles existed. What’s different with EVs is that they feel unfamiliar, and the brain needs time to adapt to these new motion cues.

Read on to learn when nausea occurs in electric cars, what causes it, what manufacturers are doing about it, and practical tips to prevent it.

• Passengers get sick in EVs way more often than drivers.

• Motion sickness also occurs in combustion cars.

• The absence of engine sound in an electric car may be a major factor contributing to increased feelings of car sickness.

• Whether you experience nausea or not can depend on the EV model.

• Some people report feeling sick in EVs even though they have never experienced motion sickness before.

Electric cars can cause nausea because the lack of engine noise causes a conflict between our expectations of the car’s movements and how it actually moves. Another factor is their different driving rhythm, such as smoother acceleration and regenerative braking.

Your brain has spent years learning how petrol and diesel cars behave:

• engine noise before acceleration

• vibrations when speed changes

• familiar braking patterns

Electric cars behave differently, and it is possible that your brain hasn’t fully adapted yet. 

People feel nauseous in electric cars

• when riding as passengers, especially in the back seat

• during stop-and-go traffic

• when strong regenerative braking is used

• during rapid starts or sudden slowing

• on first or unfamiliar trips in an electric car

• when looking at screens or phones while the car is moving

However, nausea can also occur without any specific trigger. Even people who usually feel fine in other types of transport, such as planes or ships, may feel dizzy in an electric car, although this is relatively uncommon.

Researchers in Europe and Asia have linked EV-related motion sickness to unusually smooth acceleration and deceleration, lack of predictive sensory cues, and regenerative braking. Some studies even show that adding sound cues or vibrations can significantly reduce symptoms.

• Kuiper et al. (2020, Applied Ergonomics)

The study found that anticipatory audio cues (sounds that signal upcoming acceleration or braking) can significantly reduce motion sickness. It is suggested that the lack of engine noise in EVs removes an important predictive signal for the brain. In other words, your brain can struggle to match sounds with what’s happening. This is even suspected to be one of the main reasons behind nausea in electric cars.

• Xie et al. (2024–2025, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction)

Many EVs slow down as soon as the driver lifts their foot off the accelerator. Regenerative braking creates long, smooth deceleration instead of short braking moments. This is exactly the type of motion that often triggers nausea.

The Xie et al. research demonstrated that high levels of regenerative braking impact motion sickness to a great extent. Participants exposed to stronger regenerative braking experienced an earlier onset of dizziness. Another interesting finding was that adding auditory cues reduced symptoms even when the feature remained set to a high level.

• University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (2024)

Electric motors deliver power immediately. Even gentle pressure on the gas pedal can cause sudden movement, which may be disorienting for the passenger. You feel it even stronger if the electric car you are riding in is much more powerful than the ICE vehicle you are used to. In that case, the difference in acceleration can feel much more pronounced.

Flooring the accelerator in a combustion engine car with a 4-cylinder engine, compared to doing the same in an electric car, will be a huge difference. Reddit user

The researchers at Michigan Research Institute identified longitudinal jerk, rapid changes in acceleration and deceleration, as a key trigger. These normally happen during one-pedal driving as higher jerk levels cause motion sickness to build up faster. Interestingly, the effect was proven to be more significant for back-seat passengers.

• Japanese Nagoya University research (2025)

In Japan, it was discovered that exposure to a short 100 Hz sound before or during travel can reduce the feeling of dizziness. The sound appears to stimulate parts of the inner ear responsible for sensing gravity and acceleration, which helps to stabilise perception.

• Chinese mainland survey (2025)

The survey with 639 participants shows that while motion sickness does not always occur more frequently in EVs than in combustion cars, symptoms are more severe when they do occur. Overall, motion sickness in EVs was reported to be about 10 - 30% more intense than in fuel-powered vehicles. This can also be explained by the lack of experience. Most people have far more experience riding in combustion cars. With EVs, your brain is still learning how to “read” what’s coming next.

By the way, acceleration and regenerative braking strength vary widely between EV models. This explains why some electric cars cause more nausea than others:

I test-drove a Volvo C40 and felt great. I just drove a Cadillac Lyriq, and I feel incredibly nauseous. Reddit user

My wife suffers from motion sickness. It's not a problem when she's driving our current gas guzzler (Mazda CX-5), but the test drive in the Ioniq5 literally made her ill. Reddit user

While car sickness isn’t dangerous in itself, it can lead to:

• vomiting and dehydration

• fatigue and headaches

• anxiety about travelling

• avoidance of EVs altogether

For taxi services, ride-sharing services, daily commuters and families with kids, this could become a real usability issue if not addressed.

Some brands now offer smoother throttle mapping, adjustable regenerative braking levels and dedicated “motion sickness relief” driving modes.

Because electric cars are largely controlled by code, manufacturers can change quite a few things that impact your driving. For instance, they can adjust how the car accelerates, slows down, and responds to your input. Brands like Tesla, BYD and MG all have the option to reduce regenerative braking. This helps avoid the constant forward-and-back motion that can make passengers feel unwell.

Xiaomi YU7 has even introduced dedicated “motion sickness relief” or comfort modes. In early tests, these settings have shown promising results. Fewer people are feeling sick, and symptoms are appearing later during a journey.

While electric cars are quiet by nature, that silence can actually confuse the brain. To counter this, some manufacturers like KIA are experimenting with subtle artificial sounds. The ‘Active Sound Design’ on the EV6 and EV9 means the vehicle indicates when the car is about to accelerate or slow down.

However, there are trade-offs:

• Advanced software, sensors, and testing increase vehicle prices

• Reducing regenerative braking can slightly reduce energy recovery

• What helps one person may not help another

• Drivers still need to adapt their driving style

To avoid nausea in an electric car, helpful measures include sitting in the front seat, focusing on the road instead of a phone, getting fresh air, and lowering the temperature. Don’t hesitate to ask for smoother driving, and consider using ginger cookies or candies. In extreme cases, medication may help.

By the way, these tips are not unique to electric vehicles. They are the same strategies commonly recommended for motion sickness in combustion engine cars.

A common reason for motion sickness is missing visual cues. In this case, we are talking about the inability to see the road ahead. That’s why drivers almost never feel motion sick, explains John Golding, DPhil, a motion-sickness researcher and Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Westminster.

So if you can, sit in the front passenger seat instead of the back. From there, you can watch the road, mentally get ready for upcoming turns, and sense when the car is about to brake or speed up. Paying attention to what’s happening around you helps your brain predict movement and keep your body calm.

Reading or scrolling on your phone may feel like a nice distraction to avoid dizziness. However, it usually makes car sickness worse by confusing your eyes and body even more.

In cars with an internal combustion engine, engine noise rises and falls with movement. That’s how your brain understands what’s happening. Electric vehicles are much quieter, so those cues are missing. Looking at the horizon, traffic, or distant objects helps your brain stay in sync with the ride.

Fresh air is not a trick created specifically for car sickness - it’s a good way to avoid dizziness in general. Open a window, increase airflow from the vents, or slightly lower the temperature in the cabin to reduce nausea. A niche but repeated tip from long-ride EV passengers:

• Keep hands warm (jacket, pockets)

• Keep face cool (air vent or window)

Driving style matters a lot. For instance, the driver flooring the gas pedal when the traffic lights turn green can have a big impact on how you feel during the ride. Things like that make the car lurch back and forth, even at low speeds.

Smoother driving is the most obvious solution here. In addition, using Eco, Comfort, or Chill driving modes can also help. These modes usually reduce throttle sensitivity and soften regenerative braking.

As one person on a forum reported, “I had a colleague who suffered from this, no matter how carefully I drove, until the regenerative braking was set to minimum. Then he was fine.”

As the Japanese Nagoya University research shows, even simple sound cues can reduce dizziness and nausea. So you could try to fake the sounds if that’s what your brain is missing.

Examples:

• Low music with a steady beat

• Artificial engine sound modes (where available)

• Slight window opening for wind noise

Ginger chews, tea, or candies can help you reduce nausea. For instance, people who feel dizzy when playing VR games say that ginger cookies ease nausea. So do people who experience motion sickness during flights. Ginger candies against nausea are even sold in pharmacies, which further supports their effectiveness.

For longer journeys, you might want to try tablets against motion sickness. Keep in mind that there might be side effects. For instance, some tablets cause drowsiness. This may not be ideal for short trips and is definitely a no-go for daily commuting. If you’re unsure, it’s always best to check what works for you ahead of time.