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Help Me, I'm Drowning...

5K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  Fireblade6 
#1 ·
I hate to gross out my fellow posters but I believe this is of legitimate relevance.
For the second time this month, my 21-month-old son threw up all over the back seat of our brand-new MDX! And this time after only 30 minutes on the road.
This only happened once before in our previous car (a 1999 Subaru Outback) and he has been on many trips, some as long as 6 hours, without any problems.
This concerns me because the kid's only been in the MDX four or five times, and on it's maiden voyage (to Providence; one hour away) he did the same thing on the return trip.
More than one friend has suggested that it's the "new car smell", which is particularly strong. I've also noticed that he has a better view from the side window and tends to look outside a lot more than he used to. Are all those trees whizzing by at 75 miles per making him sick?
I cleaned and conditioned all the leather with Mother's and also wiped down all the vinyl and plastic with Meguiar's so now the interior smells like a tropical rain forest. I also placed a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda in the CD compartment to help cut down on the new car smell. Will this be enough? Is baby Dramamine my last hope? (Does it even exist?)
I told my wife that we're carrying a bailing bucket on our next trip and tonight when I say my prayers I'll be thanking Tim for those all-season floor mats...
 
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#2 ·
I think part of that "new car smell" includes off-gassing. (Actually, I thought there was a recent report that some of the trace chemicals released in a new car are carinogenic--anybody else hear this?)

Perhaps it may be the off-gassing that's affecting your child and covering up the smell may not necessarily help. This is what I found about indoor pollutants:

"Children, especially toddlers, are the most vulnerable to indoor pollutants, says Canada’s Medical Post. They are closer to the floor than older people; they breathe more rapidly than adults do; they spend as much as 90 percent of their time indoors; and because their organs have not yet matured, their bodies are more susceptible to toxins. They absorb some 40 percent of ingested lead, whereas adults absorb about 10 percent."

You could try keeping the windows open while the MDX is parked in your garage and maybe driving with the windows open.
 
#3 ·
BostonX said:
For the second time this month, my 21-month-old son threw up all over the back seat of our brand-new MDX!...I've also noticed that he has a better view from the side window and tends to look outside a lot more than he used to.
Maybe he caught glimpse of an MClass :p
 
#4 ·
Good one, Gator :D

Here's an old thread on motion sickness in the MDX. It was a grownup and not a toddler, tho. Some information is in there. It's an entertaining read: http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=925

(Stargazer already ID'd the most likely solution - fresh air. Via windows or rear vents. Worth a try.)
 
#5 ·
TheWorm said:
Good one, Gator :D

Here's an old thread on motion sickness in the MDX. It was a grownup and not a toddler, tho. Some information is in there. It's an entertaining read: http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=925

(Stargazer already ID'd the most likely solution - fresh air. Via windows or rear vents. Worth a try.)

MostonX - as the author of that "old" thread, I am glad to report that after about 6 months the motion sickness ended. I would attribute it to several factors - "broken-in ride", no more "new car" smell, and general adaptation to the car. Once my wife realized that the MDX is here to stay and "it's me or the car" will not work, she stopped faking. :):):)

I realize that 6 months is a loooong way and you might very well run out of all the cleaning stuff before that.

I do not know if drammamine (sp?) or any other drugs or that "ReliefBand" discussed in the previous thread would be good for your toddler. :( Driving with open windows in the middle of winter is not a solution either. :(

Keep a few shopping bags handy ffor now. Have your wife keep the child's attention on the stuff outside a car.

Good luck.
 
#6 ·
BostonX said:
I hate to gross out my fellow posters but I believe this is of legitimate relevance.
For the second time this month, my 21-month-old son threw up all over the back seat of our brand-new MDX! And this time after only 30 minutes on the road.
This only happened once before in our previous car (a 1999 Subaru Outback) and he has been on many trips, some as long as 6 hours, without any problems.
This concerns me because the kid's only been in the MDX four or five times, and on it's maiden voyage (to Providence; one hour away) he did the same thing on the return trip.
More than one friend has suggested that it's the "new car smell", which is particularly strong. I've also noticed that he has a better view from the side window and tends to look outside a lot more than he used to. Are all those trees whizzing by at 75 miles per making him sick?
I cleaned and conditioned all the leather with Mother's and also wiped down all the vinyl and plastic with Meguiar's so now the interior smells like a tropical rain forest. I also placed a box of Arm & Hammer baking soda in the CD compartment to help cut down on the new car smell. Will this be enough? Is baby Dramamine my last hope? (Does it even exist?)
I told my wife that we're carrying a bailing bucket on our next trip and tonight when I say my prayers I'll be thanking Tim for those all-season floor mats...
I don't know how old your child is...But..Considering how comfortable the ride is it may perhaps made his car sickness worse in the MDX than say in the Subaru... Young children in some cases have the tendecies to have car sick like ones that can have sea sick when on the boat or air sickness when on the plane. I know when I was at about six years old..I had car sick when riding on the back of the station wagon facing the back. I think this is normal for your child..And am sure that he/she will grow out of it but I dont think its the new car smell...its just the way cars make a child feel when on long distance trips.

I dont think there is anyway of preventing your child from getting sick but I do know that if you are planning for a long haul...make sure to make a LOT or rest stops and not let your child be in the car for more then say twenty minutes at a time. By doing this..this will build his/her immunity on the way the MDX ride is for him/her.
 
#7 ·
When I first drove home in the MDX, I didn't feel too well after the 45 minute drive because of the "new car" smell.

After that, I opened all the windows and the rear hatch and had a fan circulate air in the garage for about a week. Sometimes I had the fan blow air through the MDX.

By the third week, I stopped using the fan. About a week later I stopped opening the hatch and now I just roll down the front two windows when I park in the garage.

Although my CL had a "new car" smell for years, I didn't have to air it out like the MDX. Some of my friends think I'm crazy for trying to get rid of the new car smell.

Keep in mind that the MDX is very well sealed (see the other posts regarding how air pressure makes it hard to shut the hatch) and unless you air it out, it will smell for a long time. A vomiting 21 month old kid doesn't make it any better.
 
#8 ·
We did a 3 hour drive with full load of adults and kids to Nashville. Everybody was fine then. I was a very cold day.

I found the other day my 8 yrs old said she was about to throw out.. This was like local driving (40mph) after 15 minutes. Opening the window actually solved the problem.

IMO The sickness tends to come from stuffy warm air during weather about 60+ and the car temp was set to about 63 degree. The outside temperature is like on the border line so the air conditioner does not know what to do... I guess. It is too hot to kick in the heater.. not cold enough to let in the airconditioner. I can feel the "stuffy air" inside at that point.

I have seen this at a time on my friend's Lexus 400. He likes warm air inside.. and a female passenger was just ready to throw out when we arrived at the destination. so.. just some judgment on the MDX ride.. Try to use some cold air from time to time.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for throwing me a line...

Thanks for all the suggestions. In my desperation I'll probably try every one of them! GatorGreg's assertion that he caught a glimpse of an M-Class might be right on the mark, either that or it was an Isuzu Axiom...
 
#10 ·
Re: Thanks for throwing me a line...

BostonX said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. In my desperation I'll probably try every one of them! GatorGreg's assertion that he caught a glimpse of an M-Class might be right on the mark, either that or it was an Isuzu Axiom...
Hey Fellow Biker-

I would love to see a pic of your Agusta MV F4S. Am currently have a deposit down for the 2002 Agusta MV F4 Senna. God...that was a painful decision. Oh man...was my wife pissed......"32 thousand dollar for a BIKE.....What the F*ck is wrong with you??!"

Well needless to say....for being such a GOOD FATHER to our child..she had since forgiven me.

I have recently posted some pictures of my MDX and my 1996 erion Brothers Racing Honda CBR900RR. Check them out!
 
#11 ·
You asked for it Fireblade...

... here it is;
I got my name on the waiting list in about 1998. Since that time we had our first child. Two summers ago I got the call and picked up my 2000 F4S with a serial number in the low 200's. How's that for a wait time MDXers; two years?!!
Saw my dealer this week and he said that two Senna's would be arriving next month (beautiful bike, both spoken for). The extra horses (140+) will be nice. A suprisingly smooth bike with superb high-speed handling. Remember though, it only seats one and there are ZERO cup holders...

 
#12 ·
WOW!

BostonX

What a beautiful bike. Moving art on wheels. Thats what I think of the F4s. I CANT wait for mine.

You know I have been riding 900CC bikes and twins for awhile...and I wanted to know how the 750CC engine in the F4 is?

Like the MDX...I have made a purchase of this bike without testing driving it because Agusta/Cagiva dealers DO NOT have them in stock for testing and if they do...They do not want to rack up the mileage...Any feedback will be helpful.

Thank you for sharing the picture of your beautiful Agusta F4s.

Another thing that I was really disappointed on is that Agusta no longer will be making the Series Oro for the F4s..Ahhh but they are making it for the Brutale.. I wonder why..

Thanks again fellow motorcyclist. Stay up right and may your knees feel the tarmac at every corner! :D
 
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