Very uncomfortable car seats! Killing my back!! Otherwise love the car!
Interesting observation. I just tested the all-new 2023 HR-V, and the seats are very different from the outgoing generation. I liked them, but even the top EX-L trim does not have adjustable lumbar support. Seemed to be a glaring omission. Hope you find a solution.
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The vehicles I have had with adjustable “lumbar” supports have limited the adjustment to amount of pressure, not vertical position. “Lumbar” support has always press me in the thoracic spine somewhere around T7, T8.
Girlfriend’s base model Camry is the worst, non-adjustable, support is very hard, very little cushioning.
Aftermarket back cushions offer little to no relief.
Yes! No support devices have helped!! I am so upset!! The new seats in the 2023 HRV are supposed to be much better… do you think I could switch out my 2016 seats for the new 2023 seats?
Thanks in advance!
Suzanne
It may be do-able, but the cost of buying new seats from the parts department is going to be… very high.
But, even if you are willing to lay out a couple thousand $$ for those new seats, be sure to check with the service department to see if it is possible–on an electronic basis.
The side-impact airbags in the outer edge of your seats have to be able to communicate properly with all of the other airbags, and with the computer that controls all of the airbags. Because of differing electronics, it is entirely possible that the sensors in the 2023 seats will not be able to communicate properly with the electronics of the 2016 vehicle, thus leaving you with non-functional safety systems.
No. The seats are engineered for the specific model. You’d be better served to think about trading in the car for another…
But I suggest you take a long test drive or even rent the model you want to buy for a trip just to make sure. Seat comfort is very subjective to each individual person so your experience is the only one that matters.
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Okay, makes sense. Thanks so much for the great info! Very helpful!
Best,
Suzanne
Yes, I just bought the HRV a week ago after trading in my 2017 civic with low miles…loved it but wanted an economical SUV for the snow in New York State. My civic is still on the dealers website for sale- I plan on re- purchasing now despite the financial hit I will take… can’t stand the back pain and sciatica pain! Ugh!!
Thanks so much!
Suzanne
I can definitely empathize. As much as I liked everything else about my '92 Accord, the sciatic pain that I would get from driving for more than 30 minutes led to my trading it in on a car with more comfortable seats.
Are you saying you are going to purchase your old Civic, the same one you recently traded in? If so, those seats must indeed be a big problem for you. In my working years I always had a job that involved sitting at a desk for many hours of the day, so the chair comfort was very important. Everything was going smoothly until all the chairs were removed and a new chair – called a Herman Miller chair I think was the chair’s name – were moved in as replacements. OMG, my back didn’t take to that change at all, back pain galore. I had to ask the folks who fixed the chairs --building maintenance staff – to rescue one of the old chairs for me. Once the old chair returned, back pain vanished.
What about the HRV seats is uncomfortable? If you identify the specific issue you can shorten the time to find another small SUV that meets your needs. When you narrow the list down, take one for a long test drive to see if it fits your needs. Since it’s a used car the dealer should not have a problem with this and might let you borrow it overnight.
In 2017 I was looking for a new car and test drove a new Avalon. It turned into a long test drive and a good thing it did. I found that the seat back didn’t fit me well. The similar Camry has similar seats and when I had one of them as a rental it hurt my back in the same way. Those seats fit a lot of people, just not me.
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Thanks so much for your input! The seat back is just way too hard or something and it puts pressure on my lower back, sciatica nerve which then causes pain down my right leg about 15 minutes after driving. I never had this happen with my previous cars, which were all economical ( Saturns and Honda Civic). My work week was sooo painful!! Couldn’t believe it!! The good news is I purchased a lumbar support cushion for a car seat from Amazon and it helps a lot! So not sure if I now need to trade in my vehicle? I plan on seeing how this week goes, I have about 40 minute commute just to and from work every day. Fingers crossed 
!!
Suzanne
Omg so funny because I also had to play musical chairs when I changed work sites a couple of years ago! I finally found the right chair from my old site and asked maintenance to deliver to my new office space which they did! No more back problem!!
I have decided not to re- purchase my civic, still want an suv if I do trade in my HRV. So far it’s been okay since I started using a lumbar support over the past 24 hours. We’ll see how it goes this week, but refuse to be in such back pain that impairs my quality of life for a vehicle.
Thanks!!
Suzanne
Oh wow! What kind of vehicle did you end up getting? I really like my suv too- so upset! And of course if I do trade it in it will be a good financial hit for me too… terrible luck but can’t stand the pain! Yes! You totally understand!
Thanks so much for the support! Good to know other people have gone through this!
Suzanne
See how the cushion works out. F it isn’t perfect, maybe there is another one out there that will improve it. My MIL uses a bean bag cushion when she rides in my Accord or my wife’s Odyssey. Seems to work for her.
@Suzanne14 I understand your problem with seats. I need to try out the seats in a vehicle before I purchase the vehicle just as I would try on a pair of shoes before buying them.
While you found the Civic seats and driving position comfortable, I had the opposite experience with the Civic. The university where I was employed had Honda Civic Hybrids I’m its fleet. I could never get comfortable behind the wheel when I was assigned a Civic for a road trip. However, my research partner found the seat and driving position very comfortable. Her own personal car was s Honda Civic. I would have her drive most of the trip if I was assigned a Civic.
We once owned a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 with all the bells and whistles. After 75 miles of road travel, I found the seat and driving position gave me leg cramps. Mrs. Triedaq thought the seat comfort and driving position was great. Years ago, I had the bottom the line Rambler Classic 550. For me, the seats in that Rambler were very comfortable.
The most comfortable vehicle seats ive ever had were in my 1962 Cadillac, my 1966 Imperial, and my 1975 Olds 98.
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One relative of mine had a pretty severe back problem. His pain mitigation for his truck seat was placing a wood-bead cover over the seat. Not a typical seat cover, it was made of marble size wood spheres, strung together in a fabric-like array, similar to beads. He said it helped his back. These are still available. Google “wood bead seat cover” for more info. The Zento versions looks pretty similar to his.
I replaced the Accord wagon with a Subaru Outback, and both the seats and the entire vehicle were so much more to my liking that I kept it for 9 years before trading it in on another Outback. Currently, I’m driving my 3rd Outback and I would buy a 4th one if Subaru made a plug-in hybrid that was to my liking. Unfortunately, they don’t make one that I would want, so despite almost 30 years of complete satisfaction with that marque, my current Subaru will be traded-in on a different make, this year or next.
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A lot of NYC taxi drivers use those.