Motion sickness for passengers

6804 Views 15 Replies 12 Participants Last post by bluzed91, 1 mo ago

subaru_ny

Discussion Starter · Nov 1, 2018

As we're getting more serious in considering the Ascent, my wife and I took a longer test drive yesterday. We took turns driving and both of us experienced mild motion sickness while in the passenger seat. (Our route included highway driving as well as a bit of stop and go traffic on local roads.) . We're coming from a '09 gen Forester, where this never happened. We were both surprised and kind of disappointed as we thought the Ascent would be the perfect next car for us. Also a bit surprising was that on the 1st (shorter) test drive, we didn't experience this at all. Not sure where to go from here - has anyone else dealt with this coming from a smaller car?

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

pro10is

· #2 · Nov 1, 2018 (Edited)

You may wish to read this thread on the same subject:
https://www.ascentforums.com/forum/9-2019-subaru-ascent-general-discussion-forum/3305-motion-sickness.html

I've experienced no motion sickness at all as a passenger or driver in my Ascent. But in all fairness, I'm an avid boater and it would take a lot to make me motion sick.

Reactions: 2

traildogck

· #3 · Nov 1, 2018

Or see here, for sway bar bushings --- tighter handeling.

https://www.ascentforums.com/forum/...uspension/1437-sway-bar-bushings-cke-ssp.html

Reactions: 1

SubaruNewbees

· #4 · Nov 2, 2018

This is due to the Lane Assist. IMO Lane Assist is great for night driving when/if you are tired and shouldn't be on all the time due to the motion it can cause for backseat riders. We just got back from a 7500mi trip and experienced the motion sickness first hand and after we turned off lane assist all was good. I hope this helps!

Reactions: 2

Jigger

· #5 · Nov 2, 2018

I'll also vote for the lane assist has possibly causing the issue. I turned mine off as I found the vehicle was twitchy while the lane assist was on. I have installed the 85d bushing as stated above and tried lane assist again. The response is night and day different. You feel the vehicle being corrected but it isn't a twitchy floating feel. I don't normally use lane assist though.

Reactions: 1

subaru_ny

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 2, 2018

Thank you for all the suggestions. I would like to drive it again - how can I be sure Lane Assist is turned off next time I drive it? I hope I won't have to modify a brand new car (bushings) ... but we do like the Ascent quite a bit otherwise.

GHP1

· #7 · Nov 2, 2018

Overhead console left side. Hold down until you hear the beep.

Robert.Mauro

· #8 · Nov 2, 2018 (Edited)

SubaruNewbees said:
This is due to the Lane Assist. IMO Lane Assist is great for night driving when/if you are tired and shouldn't be on all the time due to the motion it can cause for backseat riders. We just got back from a 7500mi trip and experienced the motion sickness first hand and after we turned off lane assist all was good. I hope this helps!

Jigger said:
I'll also vote for the lane assist has possibly causing the issue. I turned mine off as I found the vehicle was twitchy while the lane assist was on. I have installed the 85d bushing as stated above and tried lane assist again. The response is night and day different. You feel the vehicle being corrected but it isn't a twitchy floating feel. I don't normally use lane assist though.

Lane Keep Assist does not cause this. Not actively continuously steering when LKA is on causes this. The difference may seem subtle, but it's really very much not subtle. :tango_face_wink:

If LKA is jerking people back and forth, active steering is required and getting familiar with the width of the Ascent is required. I learned that from watching the camera views when replicating people's complaints.

It's not that you're driving wrong. It's that you're not used to driving with a system that assists. It does not self drive and it does not lane center. The advantages of it not lane centering is that as you get used to the system, you've got a lot more possibilities on how you let it assist you, such as riding right near the edge of a lane and having it help you stay there. I prefer lane keep assist over lane centering systems, but, to each their own.

Reactions: 2

DixieGent

· #9 · Nov 2, 2018 (Edited)

GHP1 said:
Overhead console left side. Hold down until you hear the beep.

I believe the LKA on/off button is on the bottom right side of the steering wheel. You just press it and do not have to hold it. The button on the overhead console is for the Lane Departure Warning, which I recommend to keep it on all the time. See the LKA section of the EYESIGHT Owners Manual starting on Page 70.

Reactions: 1

GHP1

· #10 · Nov 2, 2018

Your correct. I keep LDW off unless I'm on a long trip. Around town it is a PITA IMO.

NotAClunker

· #11 · Nov 5, 2018

So the overhead button disables the warnings only? But if I disable LKA from the steering wheel I don't get any warnings regardless of the overhead console button. Am I getting this right?

DixieGent

· #12 · Nov 5, 2018

Turning off LKA turns off the automatic steering that’s keeps the Ascent in the middle of the lane. This avoids the “pinballing” effect if the driver is not actively steering. Turning off LKA does not turn off the Lane Departure Warnings controlled by the overhead console button.

Robert.Mauro

· #13 · Nov 5, 2018

DixieGent said:
Turning off LKA turns off the automatic steering that’s keeps the Ascent in the middle of the lane. This avoids the “pinballing” effect if the driver is not actively steering. Turning off LKA does not turn off the Lane Departure Warnings controlled by the overhead console button.

Yep, except one correction. LKA is not a lane centering system. When people try to use it as one, it pinball,because it just works to keep one in the lane.

I use it to ride lane edges.

Kevin Williams

· #14 · Nov 5, 2018

The smart-a$$ comment from the other thread is, "Drive Better" but there is truth to it. If you stay in your lane and don't wander to the edges of the lane, the LKA never turns on.

If you slowly approach a lane line, the LKA will give a little nudge to the steering (you can feel it) and the green car light on the dashboard will turn on, showing you were close to the line and it corrected for you. If the light is going on a lot, it means you're not used to the size of the car and are too close to a line. It is much wider than an Outback or normal Sedan, so takes some getting used to. In the city, the nudges feel more gentle, but as you get up to highway speed they can make the steering feel twitchy and I could see how that motion could unsettle motion sensitive people.

If you approach a line too fast, you get the Lane Departure Warning, which is the yellow flashing lights on the HUD and the lane line flashes on the dashboard.

Yes, use the steering wheel button (lower right) to turn off Lane Keep Assist (LKA). I sometimes have to do this when the AZ sun reflects off the road at a certain angle and it looks like there are more lane lines than there are.

But as you get used to the car, you'll find LKA rarely triggers.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

Tom2154

· #15 · 2 mo ago

subaru_ny said:
As we're getting more serious in considering the Ascent, my wife and I took a longer test drive yesterday. We took turns driving and both of us experienced mild motion sickness while in the passenger seat. (Our route included highway driving as well as a bit of stop and go traffic on local roads.) . We're coming from a '09 gen Forester, where this never happened. We were both surprised and kind of disappointed as we thought the Ascent would be the perfect next car for us. Also a bit surprising was that on the 1st (shorter) test drive, we didn't experience this at all. Not sure where to go from here - has anyone else dealt with this coming from a smaller car?

I've had mine 2 years now and neither my wife nor I have ever experienced that. If you want to be sure, ride in the third row seat - I've gotten a little queasy back there before on a winding road, especially if your going pretty fast.

bluzed91

· #16 · 1 mo ago

Did you test drive other cars on the same loop? I’d try this before buying or modding any car.

Reactions: 1

1 - 16 of 16 Posts