I posted earlier about a gasoline smell in my 93 accord. Well, I traded that in and I now have a new Honda accord sedan. I found that there is a contour to the mid-back that forces my back to arch too much and creates discomfort. I know others have also had various comfort problems with the 08-09 accord seats. Does anyone have a suggested fix for this? I’ve contacted the dealer and am waiting for a response, but I tend to doubt there is much they can do without voiding the warranty or affecting the built-in safety features. I did find a steel framed back support that rests on top of the seat and it helps partially, but I worry a bit that it could affect the side airbag in case of a wreck.
I had a friend that had an upholstery shop (automotive trim shop) remove the upholstery and change the padding inside the seat. This was sometime back. If you have this done, I don’t see how it would void the warranty unless these are heated seats.
I know what it is to live with uncomfortable seats. My department in a university furnished all of us new office chairs. Even with all the adjustments, I could not get comfortable in the new chair. I grabbed my old one back out of the hallway just before it was to be picked up for salvage.
Thanks for your reply. Now that you mention it, I do have heated seats. I forgot about that. I’m also hoping that the seat back padding may soften with time and the offending part of the seat back may have more give to it.
Lordosis is the preferred way of sitting for prolonged periods for most cars and people. For some, it’s not. We have a power lumbar adjustment in the 4 Runner that suits everyone. Is it too late to trade for a model that has one or inquire about a dealer option ?
I have an adjustable power lumbar support which I’ve flattened. But the problem is in the mid-back, a few inches above where the power lumbar support is. As you say, it may be that adjustment is important because possibly it’s the degree of lordosis that is the problem rather than all or none. The seat cushion I bought that has a back and a bottom to it does raise me about an inch and a half and if that doesn’t help enough, I might also try a wedge cushion that would raise me up even more and possibly put the offending part of the seat back closer to the natural small of my back. I’m happy with the car in every other way, but comfort is important.
I’ve found at my age I have to try on a car for fit just as I try on a pair of shoes. At one time I owned a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 with every possible option. I was never comfortable in the seat, even though it was a power seat and adjusted in every direction. My legs would cramp up after only 50 miles of driving. On the other hand, years ago I owned a bottom of the line 1965 Rambler Classic and I found the seats very comfortable. I’ve never driven an Accord, but I did drive a Honda Civic Hybrid from the fleet of cars at my institution on a 400 mile trip. I didn’t find the seats to be very comfortable. On the other hand, my research partner thought the seats were great. She owns a Honda Civic because she finds it comfortable to drive.
IF it really is too uncomfortable, you may have to bite the bullet on this one. There’s a regular poster on here who had to trade in his new car after only 2 months of owning it(mountainbike I believe) because of back problems.
Take an extended test drive of 30 minutes or more to get a good feel for how the seats will feel.
I have never found any of the Honda coupe or sedan line comfortable in seating or ease of entry/exit. These are cars for flexible people.
Right, I won’t sacrifice my body for a car. I did take it on a 200-ish mile round trip this past week with the back support in it, and I did better than I expected based on the discomfort I had had during the first 10 days of ownership. So it may be improving. But I worry because I commute 66 miles round trip 3-4 times per week. If it doesn’t improve despite all manipulations and my back is suffering, I won’t hesitate to trade.
Triedag, that analogy is a little concerning because I can never find a comfortable pair of shoes and once I find one, I wear them into the ground…
Does anyone think the steel framed back support would cause any safety issue with the side airbag or in any other way? It rests on top of the central part of the seat, not the side bolsters so it doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the side airbags. I’m glad for modern safety features, but cars these days are so complicated with all the airbags, it isn’t like you can just slap a seat cover on them…
I agree.
My '92 Accord was a great car in many ways, but the seats caused my lower back and my legs to develop severe cramps if I sat behind the wheel for more than 40 minutes or so. And, when I later drove my friend’s '01 Accord, I had the same problem.
Unless Honda has recently improved their seat design (including their traditional VERY low placement of the seats), I am not surprised to hear of the OP’s problem.
The 2009 is much bigger than the older accords (almost boat-like by comparison) and I find I’m sitting higher than I did in my 93 and it has a lot of height adjustment options. But I have short legs so that part is less of an issue (in fact, sitting too high could be a problem for me because with the back issue, I want to be sure my hips are not above my knees).
Put it this way,what would Honda say if you wanted their opinion on using such a device with a seat that contained a explosive charge in it?
Good point. They do say there’s a sensor that detects if anything is positioned so as to obstruct the side airbag and would prevent it from deploying if so, but I worry about relying on it. Anyway, I notice I’m starting to degenerate into answering my own posts, a sign of getting over reply-happy, but thanks for your patience and all of your responses. A major purchase is stressful so I need a support group on this issue.
I have a 2008 Accord Sedan and absolutely hate the seats. I have decided to trade it in it’s so bad. I’m 6’2 and the middle of the seat where the lumbar support is is terrible. This is caused by the active headrest restraint system which uses a metal plate in the lumber area so when you are in an accident your body will push into it and push the headrest foward. What I did to try and alleviate the issue was to push the headrest forward by sticking a small metal rod into the hole where the headrest goes into the seat and it made a big difference but I still can not live with the seat. It also sits way to high and is not wide enough for me. Worst seats I ever sat in.
The reason I used the analogy of comparing car seats with shoes is that I have a terrible time finding comfortable shoes. I wear a size 14 AA. The length isn’t too bad, but the narrow width is a real problem. Many shoes are now imported, and come in narrow, medium and wide. Narrow is about a “B” width, which is too wide for me to be comfortable. I wear a comfortable pair of shoes into the ground and drive a comfortable automobile until it croaks.
I finally had to get rid of a 1971 Ford Maverick Grabber some years back that was in really good shape. However, the car was so uncomfortable for me that I was spending more on Preparation-H than I was for upkeep on the Maverick.
What are you trading it for? Maybe I shouldn’t be, but I feel loyal to Honda because my 1993 was so reliable. I wonder if the 2010s seats have been redesigned or if another model would work better for me.
I’m trading in the accord for a BMW 335IX coupe. Extremely comfortable with the standard seats. Sport seats are a little too stiff and too much side bolsters.