Last Updated on: 4th July 2025, 11:18 am
A myth is a belief that is based on a small kernel of truth but then gets blown completely out of proportion. Now that the Republican Party has decided the US government should be realigned to favor corporations and billionaires — neither of which are mentioned in the Constitution — the focus going forward will be on extracting, refining, and burning every molecule of fossil fuel available anywhere on the face of the Earth. Since an EV (electric car, if you are just joining us) is more efficient than a car powered by an internal combustion engine, it is viewed by some as spawn of the devil that must be eradicated as quickly as possible.
That sort of paranoia leads to myths that soon grow into urban legends, which then get amplified by antisocial media and the Faux Comedy Channel. Here’s a doozy that just set the teletype machines in the CleanTechnica newsroom clattering this morning. According to Autoglym, a purveyor of fine car care products in the UK, 21 percent of UK drivers surveyed believe they risk getting shocked while washing an EV. This closely correlates to another myth — that you cannot safely drive an EV through a car wash.
According to Motor Trade News, 8 percent of drivers age 55 to 64 believe this nonsense, but that number rises to an astonishing 46 percent among 25 to 34 year olds. In the 18 to 24 year old age group, 40 percent said they could get shocked while washing their EV. For reasons known only to UK residents, 45 percent of car owners in London believe the shock risk nonsense, while only 7 percent of drivers in Wales believe it. Perhaps there is some anti-EV mind virus that is destroying the brain cells of Londoners but has yet to find its way to the Welsh countryside?
Quentin Willson, a UK television personality, offered this opinion on the matter: “Getting a shock when cleaning an EV is a very old myth and completely false. Car makers rigorously test battery EVs for safety and perform special water soak tests to make sure all high voltage components are insulated and consumers are always protected. On YouTube there’s lots of footage of EVs driving effortlessly through heavy floods. There’s no evidence anywhere of someone getting a shock from an EV while cleaning one. Electric cars have been on sale since 2009, so if this was genuinely a danger, we’d know about it by now.”
Indeed we would, Quentin, although your reasoning ignores the fact that people believe what they want to believe. Facts and science have no impact on a closed mind.
Lee Irving, the technical training manager at Autoglym, was more specific. “We know that the world of EVs can be a mystery to some, but making sure that the misconceptions are rectified is extremely important, especially as we’re all being encouraged to make the switch to this new form of clean mobility. While we recommend owners avoid flooding an EV’s charging port with water, cleaning one is no more dangerous than cleaning a petrol or diesel powered vehicle.”
Petrol, for those of you who are not steeped in UK culture, is how the Brits say “gasoline.” There is no truth to the rumor that petrol is made from the carcasses of petrel birds. Speaking of rumors, here’s how they get started. Motor Trade News ends its report with this tidbit: “The primary difference between cleaning an EV and cleaning an internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicle is the amount of brake dust, according to Autoglym, as regenerative braking is used by most EVs.”
Well, that is shocking news indeed, since regenerative braking does not use the mechanical brakes hardly at all and therefore an EV creates far less brake dust than a conventional car. But people will read that and believe that every EV creates clouds of brake dust while driving.
Regen & EV Motion Sickness
Another EV myth being hyped by so-called news agencies recently claims that people are much more likely to suffer from motion sickness while riding in an EV. The Guardian ran a story on this phenomenon recently that explained it all.
“Greater sickness in EVs can be attributed to a lack of previous experience, as both a driver and as a passenger, where the brain lacks accuracy in estimating the motion forces because it relies on previous experience in other types of cars,” said William Emond, a PhD student who is researching car sickness at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France. “If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car’s motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,” he said.
There is a kernel of truth here. Our brains can become disoriented when exposed to unfamiliar environments. Some people find riding on trains or airplanes unsettling, and seasickness is so common that it is almost expected of people who are new to travelling across the water in vessels. Astronauts who experience weightlessness for the first time often report feeling disoriented.
“If a person has spent most of their life driving a combustion engine car, their brain anticipates acceleration after the rev of the engine, a warning that they are about to experience a change in speed. In a battery-powered car, the electric motor makes no such noises,” The Guardian says. A study in 2024 found a strong correlation between the severity of motion sickness and vibrations in EV seats. That may come as a bit of a surprise to readers who drive an EV, as there is nearly a total absence of vibration in an electric car while driving.
Regenerative braking may contribute to feeling disoriented. To be fair, different manufacturers manage regenerative breaking differently. The algorithms that control regen can vary considerably from one brand to another, and drivers who are new to the EV experience may take a while to learn how to manage regenerative braking properly. A 2024 study suggested regen was one of the primary causes of motion sickness in an EV.
“Motion sickness is thought to be caused by a mismatch between various sensory signals the brain simultaneously receives about the body’s movement. Specifically, it happens when the inner ear, which helps control balance, the eyes, and the body send conflicting information to the brain,” The Guardian reports. “Being able to anticipate the movement of a vehicle appears to be integral to the experience of motion sickness, which is why people who are driving a car don’t tend to experience symptoms. They know what is coming.”
None of this is meant to disparage those who experience motion sickness, which is similar to vertigo. No one who has experienced it — as I have — ever wants to repeat the experience. The problem is the power of suggestion. Once we hear about someone else’s experience, we are more likely to believe we are affected as well. There is a fine line between responsible journalism and sensationalist reporting.
I am feeling a little queasy myself just thinking about all this. I think I will go outside and wash my EV — in the rain.
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