Kazakhstanis complain about getting car sick in electric vehicles

Some passengers in electric cars report feeling nausea and dizziness during riding in a car. Social media users link this to the characteristics of EVs, but the reason is more complex than just the lack of engine noise, El.kz reports.

A Complaint goes viral on Threads

A post by an electric car owner went viral on Threads: a passenger in the back seat got car sick again, even though this never happened in gasoline cars before. The author of the post clarified that this isn’t a one-time problem – the symptom happens on almost every ride.

A lot of comments with similar stories gathered under the post. Some users confirmed their feelings, while others wrote the opposite – they get car sick specifically in cars with internal combustion engines. The variety of opinions shows that it’s not just about the type of engine.

What happens to the body inside the cabin

An electric car accelerates differently than a car with an ICE. The torque is applied instantly, without gear changes and the usual increase in RPMs, so the body feels the acceleration jolt faster than the brain can process it.

It adds an effect and regenerative braking – the system slows the car down even before you press the brake pedal, often more smoothly, but also more suddenly for an unaccustomed passenger. At that moment, the vestibular system gets a signal about movement, but your eyes and ears don’t confirm it: the cabin is quiet, and the scenery outside flashes by without the usual sound of the engine. Doctors call this a sensory system conflict: your eyes see one thing, your inner ear feels another, and your brain reacts to the mismatch with nausea. A similar mechanism kicks in for people who get motion sickness on a plane in turbulence or on a ship in rough seas.