This. Yes this! Awesome suggestion.

Obviously (or is it?) the new car smell is not one of the cause to OP's issue so it is fine to test used vehicles.

 

Also, OP could easily trade it in anywhere and swallow a roughly $5k hit, which isn't a great pill to swallow but it's not the end of the world and much better than owning a car that can only be driven a short time without getting sick. If she takes it back to the same dealer, it could be less of a trade loss and maybe she can try a different vehicle, after a several day rental (test drive) on turo first.

Personally, I would examine why the Pacifica wasn't an issue but other cars are. I'd even consider getting a if that was the solution to my road tripping problems. Study the suspension system, tire size (sidewall height), tire pressure, lower center of gravity (especially with a PHEV battery; consider a sedan instead of high center of gravity of SUVs), seat settings, window tint (excessive glare can exacerbate motion sickness), where and how OP was sitting (maybe the seat settings allowed better blood flow or allowed OP's brain to better comprehend spatial orientation), and so on...

 

You have a point, all the best to OP.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses. Just to clarify, I had issues with carsickness mostly as a child/younger person (I'm 60 now) and as many of you have said if I sit in the backseat or read then I might have a reaction, nothing so extreme as vomiting, just general nausea, and as long as I switch seats and look straight ahead and have good ventilation that resolves but the fact is I would never sit in the back or read or even not keep my eyes focused on the road due to my past problems. I'm very aware and on top of how to manage carsickness.

The issue for which I wanted to buy a new car was not for carsickness but for this weird shaking reaction I'd get after about 4-5 hours of highway driving in our 2020 Hyundai Palisade, a reaction that only started after we'd owned it for 3.5 years with no reaction after long road trips or otherwise and no carsickness. I did notice at some point a weird feeling/noise coming from the front right wheel that me and my son called the "thumpity thumpity" noise. I had at least 2 alignments and several tire rotations and balancings and purchased new Pirelli tires that were recommended for softening the ride, but my impression was that perhaps there was a vibration being created that was transferring to my body from the road that was overly exciting my central nervous system leading to this shaking reaction, which is what the Valium was prescribed for, not for anxiety or emotionality.

Thus began my quest a year ago for a car that would lessen vibration transfer to passengers. After 25-30 test drives of everything from Subarus to S-class Mercedes sedans, while also taking into consideration that we would have to park in a 95" garage opening, that my son needs a minimum of 40" of headroom in the rear middle seat with no pano roof cuz the pocket for them clips the back of his head, and we would need to ferry him and his stuff back and forth to college several more times as well as us back and forth to Florida for extended vacations with enough stuff for a month, I settled on the GLE. My reasoning: inline 6 creates less vibration, long wheelbase makes for a smoother ride, Mercedes standard suspension is supposed to be one of the best without being too "floaty," it fits in our garage, it fits our son, it has enough room to transport what we need, and being on the highway so much with a ridiculous amount of trucks I felt safer in an SUV than a sedan. That was my reasoning then anyway. If I'd had any idea it would cause me to be in the least carsick, which wasn't even on my radar, I would never have entertained it as an option. I'd read that the Toyota Highlander has a known issue with carsickness and that the Honda Pilot has a known issue with carsickness from warped windshield glass and it doesn't fit in our garage, so I'd ruled those out, mostly because *my son* gets carsick (but I do too if I ride in the back therefore he sits there, sorry kid). But I really didn't want to have to spend the amount of money required for the Mercedes, so I shelved the car replacement finding project and figured I'd wait to see what the 2026 models had to offer.

But then a few weeks ago, our Palisade broke down and we had to rent a minivan to take my son to college. It was a Chrysler Pacifica. We'd had a Toyota Sienna when the kids were young and I always thought that was an excellent car, but much too big to drive around so we bought a Civic. Then when our youngest child by 6 years grew to such great heights, we had to buy something he could fit in, hence the Palisade with its 40 plus inches of headroom and 42.3 inches of legroom. We are not the type of family that would ever have considered a "luxury" car other than due to my condition. To answer someone's question, I drove the Pacifica all the way to college (950 miles) over 2 days and had zero carsickness because like I said, I don't really get that anymore, and minimal shaking/central nervous system reaction. My husband drove all the way back. Again, zero carsickness (no surprise) and minimal shaking reaction. So, since we had to buy a new car due to the state of the Palisade, I quickly went back to my spreadsheet of vehicles I'd created months earlier and we again discussed the Mercedes. My husband was dead set against any sort of "luxury" vehicle, but he eventually relented due to my belief that it would help with my shaking/central nervous system reaction. Again, I'd not had carsickness of any major kind since I was a teenager.

I called several Mercedes dealers and asked if they had any GLEs without the pano roof (my son can't fit in those). None did. Then one called back and said they had a dealer demo with $7,300 miles on it with no pano. So I did my third test drive of a GLE and as usual the car drove like a dream and my husband said ok, so we went ahead with it. I had the honor of driving it away. On the way (about 35 min), I texted over Siri that it was like driving on a cloud, but then something changed, I noticed a lot of side to side movement while going around bends and over bumps simultaneously, and I suddenly got carsick. I told my husband who was livid that we'd spent so much on a car that is now making me sick in another way. The next morning we took it for a drive and it was fine for about the first half hour and then the symptoms set in again. The Palisade had been repaired and later that day I got in it and drove it and felt perfectly fine. I waited 2 days to make sure all symptoms were completely gone, even taking into consideration emotional ones that could have led to any reaction, and took the GLE out for a drive yesterday around 6 pm in perfect 68-degree weather, being careful to have left all windows open to air out all day in case of fumes. I left all windows down for my drive, drove very carefully in sport and eco mode as suggested by the dealer (we don't have lane-keep assist or run flats, and the tire pressure is slightly under the 38 psi recommended), and after 20 minutes or so I could feel the tell-tale carsickness nausea symptoms emerging. So hilariously, my husband loves the car and does not want to get rid of it. I will try as hard as I can to take it out several times a day and see if my brain will acclimate to it. I will buy the silly carsickness glasses. I already know about how to keep carsickness at bay so I'm already very careful and follow all of that advice. We do not live in a state that allows for a return, but apparently the CPO warranty allows for 7 days or 500 miles to exchange it for something of equal or greater value so any suggestions are appreciated. Otherwise we will do what one poster suggested and sell it at a loss because, of course, no one can live like this for long.

 

Did you also test drive a GLE with airmatic suspension?

 

OP, if you really have to, take advantage of that exchange period of 7 days and get another model before resorting to selling at a loss. Does the State allow a second exchange if the second vehicle is still causing problems? As others suggested, first rent a few models from Turo but keep an eye on that 7 days 500 miles limit of the GLE.

 

I went to the dealer to pick up my plates, armed with my SeaBands, Ginger chews, meclizine, advil, and tylenol (lol). I spoke with the finance guy there about how to go about trading it in if needed. He said that of course we'd lose a bit, but that they'd help us out as much as possible. He said that he gets carsick too, but only as a passenger and that the only time he got carsick as a driver was driving a client's car that had a prescription windshield. He spoke to the GM, and she said that she has heard of this issue and she recommended tinting the windshield darker and that other customers had had success with that. Apparently you can get a note from your doctor to circumvent state law. Anyway, then I read online about other people having a similar issue with windshields that are steeply raked. And I thought back to the only other test drive we did that made me queasy and it was in the Tesla Model X, which has a pretty crazy windshield setup. But this seems to be the most likely cause given it's happening when I myself drive. I do also wear glasses. So just thought I'd give this update and see if anyone had had any experience with this issue and what they did.

 

I would recommend the X5. I have a ML which is the same as a GLE and had motion sickness issues and then got an X7 and never had an issue in that car.

 

Thanks for the update, I actually never heard of prescription windshields so looked it up and those are so rare given vision changes and the limitations such as exact seating position and can't share vehicle with others but I learned something new.

 

Update: tried so hard to acclimate and my symptoms just kept getting worse and worse. Sold it back to the dealer at a loss. Bought a Camry. Symptoms gone. Life goes on.

 

So sorry to hear that. Best.

 

Sorry to hear that OP.

 

Just glad you have a vehicle that doesn't get you nauseous. Your experience sounded terrible to deal with. Did you happen to test drive the Toyota Crown? I bought one for my mom last year and I found that it's near Lexus quality.

 

So the thinking here was to first get a sedan and not an SUV based on the research on motion sickness that I read about. Some folks here also recommended that route. Then I figured I'd rule out anything that wasn't Japanese/Korean, since I'd only ever had those cars and maybe am just used to them. I wanted something that was known for a smooth comfort ride but where I still could have some connection to the road, so I ruled out Lexus because I was afraid that some of the features (very insulated cabin, very smooth) might be triggering, so I didn't even bother doing a new test drive of those. I had ruled most cars out before because my 6'6" son does not fit in the back seat of almost any of them. The only way the Camry will work when my son's home from college is if I drive, my son sits in the passenger seat, and my husband sits in the back. That brings me to your question about the Crown. I didn't bother to test drive it because when we went to Toyota it was very apparent that the second row headroom was even less than the Camry and that even my 6'2" husband would be very constrained. It's bad enough that he'll have to sit in the back as it is!! I wish Toyota would design some cars for tall people!!! The Hyundai Palisade and Santa Fe and the Kia Telluride are the mid-size SUV champions of tall people. Anyway, thanks to all! Wish I could've stayed being an owner

 

Yes. I can definitely imagine that the vehicles with higher center of gravity, like SUVs, could induce more swaying.
More swaying could easily upset the inner ear and lead to motion sickness.
In the military, a bunch of us were tested on a MSDD, and a few were discovered to be susceptible to motion sickness.
Of those, probably 95% could be conditioned out of motion sickness susceptibility, by ironically, exposure to motions that cause motion sickness.
So in the end, only a couple of us were eliminated.
Sorry for your travails OP.

 

Oh I DEFINITELY would've been eliminated!! I wouldn't even have gotten in the contraption!! And thanks for the support!

 

This all makes sense. Wish you the best.