CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2010 Honda Accord some several significant flaws: excessive oil consumption, premature brake wear, & uncomfortable seats.
In October 2013, Honda settled a class action for excessive oil consumption which extends their V6 powertrain warranty out to 8 years & no mileage limit. However, is the inconvenience & risk of dealing with Honda on this problem worth it? We don't think so.
Owners have consistently reported uncomfortable seats with the entire 8th generation (2008-2012) of Honda Accords. Complaints range from back pain to leg circulation problems due to bad lumbar support, cushioning, & seat angle. Unwary buyers report the seat pain is mainly only noticeable after 15-20 minutes. The common theme we hear is "never noticed this during the test drive."
9.2
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$20
Average Mileage:
21,300 miles
Total Complaints:
70 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (38 reports)
Honda should replace the seats (19 reports)
replace seats or offer good trade in deal (4 reports)
T - This petition is to make Honda aware of this problem so they replace their defective driver seat which is causing honda owners severe pain and injury to their body. This affects Honda owners from the year 2008 up to and including 2012.
I had the exact same problem reported by other with Honda accord seats, I analyzed the situation and concluded the the front of the seat is tilted too high up in comparison to the rear of the seat. This pushed against the bottom of the lower thighs and pushed your back against the back of the seat creating several pressure points. The bright engineers at Honda did not have the sense to make the power seat adjust the tilt of the seat down enough. The solution is simple. Shims under the back of the seat frame to raise the back of the seat. Here is how to do it.
1. move the seat all the way forward.
2. Pop the rear of the plastic seat rail cover with a screw driver.
3. Remove the 2 rear holdown bolts.
4. Shim the back of the seat with 9 washers
5. insert a pen throught the seat frame through the washers and into the nut in the car floor to line up the washers.
6. Insert new longer high strength bolts M10 X 1.25 X 40
7. Tighten bolts
8. Enjoy the car
Update from Sep 25, 2010: Second for the lower back buldge in the seat, push the seat head rest forward which reduced the buldge in the back of the seat and inset a 1/2" narrow spacer behind the posts that hold the head rest. This will permenently reduce the buldge and not render the active head restraint inoperative.
PS these are modifications to the car safety system which the dealer and Honda will not support but is the only way I can drive the car without pain.
Update from Jul 20, 2012: The problem with the last generation of Honda Accords is two fold:
* First the seat can not be sufficiently leveled from front to back, consequently your thighs are higher than your butt which pushes you back into the seat.
* Secondly the seat has an active head restraint system so that during a rear end accident when your middle back is pushed hard against the seat a plate in the middle/lower back of the seat will move back and through a linkage system move the head restraint forward to prevent whiplash. You can see how this works by pushing the head restraint forward with one hand and feeling the bulge in the middle of the seat back move away or vise versa. The discomfort is caused by your lower back being pushed against a plate in the seat that does not have sufficient padding. Other make cars have the same system without issues.
My solution to make the seat tolerable was first to remove the bolts holding the back of the seat to the car floor and use washers and longer bolts to raise the back of the seat over 1". Second step was to add spacers in the back of the 2 head restraint rods that go into the seat top. This pushes the head restraint slightly forward and the plate in the back of the seat further into the seat so it does not jab your back. Honda can easily modify future seats that way.
I thought I was alone in my feelings about how uncomfortable the seats are in my 2010 Accord until I read similar complaints all over the web. I thought it might require an adjustment period on my part but it's two weeks now since I picked up the car and there's no relief in site. I'll try some of the suggestions offered by others and hope they do the trick. The thought of putting up with it for the next three years makes me ill.
I will definitely have to agree w/ the all the others....I have a short commute (30 minutes) to work and back - the seats are very uncomfortable and the head rest has caused enough issues that I have started seeing a chiropractor for tension in my neck. I noticed this the 2nd wk after buying this car and going on a road trip. I wish I could blame it on something else but I've onyl had these tension issues since buying this model. I am S.O.L. now and will have to wait until I am right side before buying anything else, but in the meantime I will fill out a complaint on hondas website as well. If nothing is done they will loose to honda customers - me and my husband.
The seats in my 2010 Accord are HORRIBLE. The stupid lumbar jams me in the lower back, the headrest pushes the back of my head forward. They are very uncomfortable and the dealer acts like they never heard of this problem, but come to find out I'm not the only one with this issue. So who's full of crap now!
Uncomfortable seat, strong vibration on rough road produce uncomfort to driver and side passenger; adding noise in cabin to the factor make Honda Accord 2010 a total bad car regarding comfort driving for daily commute.
I bought a cushion from http://www.drivingcomfort.com
- dinh,
San Jose, CA, US
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I recently purchased a 2010 Honda Accord LX-P and have only been driving it a month (1,000 miles). Like so many others, I did not realize how uncomfortable the driver seat was during the test drive, but only after driving to and from work each day. The front end of the seat is like a ski ramp and the lumber support pokes you in the lower back so you feel like you are sitting in a wedge. The side "wings" of the seat back also feel uncomfortable on my back and I'm not that wide. My left leg goes numb every time I drive it for more than 10 minutes. In addition, I am 6 feet tall and my right leg is never comfortable because my knee comes right up to the corner of the plastic center console and the dash. Moving the seat back leaves me too far from the steering wheel even with the steering wheel fully extended. I don't see how anyone over 6 feet tall could possibly be comfortable in this seat. The seat is really poorly designed especially with the head restraint system. I tried 2 seat cushions with no luck.
The dealer will only take my car back as a trade in and so I'll loose at least a couple thousand before spending thousands more on a different vehicle. Here is what I have done to resolve most of my discomfort: 1) sit upright as much as possible. This gives me more knee room to keep from hitting the dash/center console 2) push the headrest completely down and pull it forward to decrease the lumbar support. It will tend to stay there flat without too much effort. (thanks for the tip pitus 3) I purchased a LifeForm Travel Lite seat cushion from the Relax the Back store for $135.00. It is high quality memory foam that is not too thick so it won't put you up too high and it fits nicely in the seat bucket. I tried several seat cushions at the store and elsewhere and this is the one.
Not trying to sell the product but just sharing what I think will work for many out there. This definitely takes care of the hard seat bottom and angled lip at the front of the seat. Like many of you, I can't afford to waste thousands to get rid of this car just because of a poor seat design.
The seats in the Accord are absolutely horrible! The lumbar system sticks in your lower back and you cant adjust it! I have back pain all day and it is difficult to sleep at night! Not everyone has this problem, so be sure you test drive your car for at least an hour before buying it! How can they make a system for a car that you cant adjust?????
My son purchased a Honda Accord EX 2010 manual transmission coupe. He has owned three Hondas prior to this and felt "safe" buying a Honda. He wanted something bigger than the CRX he inherited from his brother, the prelude he inherited from his father and the civic he bought five years ago and lost (totaled) a month ago by being rear ended by a 17 year old traveling 35 mph while on her cell phone. He was tending towards the Civic again but thought something a bit bigger would be good. We encouraged him, unfortunately. We all feel sick about this purchase. The seats are uncomfortable within 15 to 20 minutes of driving, something that didn't become evident in a test drive. We are baffled that none of the reviews I, my son or my husband (who receives 4-5 auto magazines) read mentioned these seats that appear to have been around for 2-3 years. My son feels stuck and I feel sick. He is already talking about trading the car in as soon as he receives his title and can do so - with a loss of $4,000 plus. How have others remedied the extremely uncomfortable front seats?
bought 2010 accord within a week I could hardly walk. the driver seat is so bad i had to park it.told dealer was told you bought it.They would buy back at whole sale.then laughed
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I had the exact same problem reported by other with Honda accord seats, I analyzed the situation and concluded the the front of the seat is tilted too high up in comparison to the rear of the seat. This pushed against the bottom of the lower thighs and pushed your back against the back of the seat creating several pressure points. The bright engineers at Honda did not have the sense to make the power seat adjust the tilt of the seat down enough. The solution is simple. Shims under the back of the seat frame to raise the back of the seat. Here is how to do it.
1. move the seat all the way forward.
2. Pop the rear of the plastic seat rail cover with a screw driver.
3. Remove the 2 rear holdown bolts.
4. Shim the back of the seat with 9 washers
5. insert a pen throught the seat frame through the washers and into the nut in the car floor to line up the washers.
6. Insert new longer high strength bolts M10 X 1.25 X 40
7. Tighten bolts
8. Enjoy the car
Update from Sep 25, 2010: Second for the lower back buldge in the seat, push the seat head rest forward which reduced the buldge in the back of the seat and inset a 1/2" narrow spacer behind the posts that hold the head rest. This will permenently reduce the buldge and not render the active head restraint inoperative.
PS these are modifications to the car safety system which the dealer and Honda will not support but is the only way I can drive the car without pain.
Update from Jul 20, 2012: The problem with the last generation of Honda Accords is two fold:
* First the seat can not be sufficiently leveled from front to back, consequently your thighs are higher than your butt which pushes you back into the seat.
* Secondly the seat has an active head restraint system so that during a rear end accident when your middle back is pushed hard against the seat a plate in the middle/lower back of the seat will move back and through a linkage system move the head restraint forward to prevent whiplash. You can see how this works by pushing the head restraint forward with one hand and feeling the bulge in the middle of the seat back move away or vise versa. The discomfort is caused by your lower back being pushed against a plate in the seat that does not have sufficient padding. Other make cars have the same system without issues.
My solution to make the seat tolerable was first to remove the bolts holding the back of the seat to the car floor and use washers and longer bolts to raise the back of the seat over 1". Second step was to add spacers in the back of the 2 head restraint rods that go into the seat top. This pushes the head restraint slightly forward and the plate in the back of the seat further into the seat so it does not jab your back. Honda can easily modify future seats that way.
- silberstein, Clifton Park, NY, US