My wife bought this Accord for me for Christmas. Having never sat in the passenger seat she didn't realize how uncomfortable it was for her. We took a 200 mile trip one weekend and she was in agony all the way and back and afterwards as well. Dealer says they hadn't heard of any complaints but on the web there seems to be a ton of complaints about the Accord seats. We bought a cushion to change the seat angle but it helps only a little. I'm going to a seat upholsterer to see what might be done as Honda said there is no fix - since it hasn't been a problem...

I did a local test drive only (didn't figure that freeway driving would be much different). I tend to sit up, away from the seat in town, as most roads are rough enough to bounce my head around. On the freeway, I lean back, settle my head against the headrest and cruise. The headrest has been forcing my head forward at an uncomfortable angle since I began driving on the freeway.

I have driven over 500 miles now, 80% of which is freeway, and I cannot adjust to this. I commute 60 miles daily, for over 1.5 hours total. The dealer told me the headrest shape was a legal requirement (I've heard something about whiplash prevention before). My neck and shoulders are getting very stiff and painful now. My husband has back and neck difficulties (service-related), and he is ready to throw the headrest out the window.

I'm ready to go to the local pick-n-pull to get an older headrest model (or steal my daughter's from my old 1999 Accord!). This is completely rediculous.

An extremely simple fix would be to have the manufacturer allow a choice between whiplash prevention and the old "flat" version to prevent neck and shoulder issues. I never dreamed that the new Accord would be this annoying; I really thought I had it good with my old, 13-year old model.

I will attempt to update with my VIN later -- not available at this time.

I bought a new Honda Accord 4dr with heated leather seats with lumbar. During the test drive i did not notice the seats much other than being real firm. After driving it for a few hundred miles I started to notice how really uncomfortable the drivers seat is. I have moved it to every position possible and cannot get comfortable. The lumbar is useless. If you use it it makes the seat even more uncomfortable. I have never in my life had a back problem. I could lift heavy objects, no problem. But after a week in this Honda, I have constant pain, even after I am out of the car for hours, even as I type this. I bought it because of Hondas reputation for quality. Bah! This will be the only Honda I will ever own, and then only as long as it takes me to get rid of it. That is unless Honda will replace the seats, which ain't gonna happen. I complained to the dealer. He said that they had never heard of that problem. He said to bring it in and let his technican look at it. As if they are going to admit they have a problem. I will for sake of form, and see if they can connect me to a factory rep. I intend to complain loud and long about this problem.

I cannot and will not continue to drive this car. It's a good thing I leased it through Honda because I will not make ANY payment on this car until they give me a seat I can sit in for the next 200,000 miles. The side lumbars in the seat dig into my kidneys so bad I feel like I might piss blood once I get to work. After 5 minutes in this seat all I want to do is pull over, get out and take a sledge hammer to the head of the idiot who designed this seat. Tomorrow I am taking this car back to the dealer and leaving them with the keys until Honda puts a different seat in this car. Once they do that, I will gladly start making payments. This seat is so bad I would rather take a trashed credit rating than continue to drive it.

Have purchased honda's for almost 20 years now and have had 4 Odyssey vans, 2 Accords, and 2 Civics, and have never had seats that are uncomfortable until now. Driver's seat is so uncomfortable that it is hard to even drive the car for more that 15 minutes the seat cushion is way too long and it digs into my hamstrings and cause leg and hip pain. Lumbar is in awkward position and headrest is too far forward and not matter what adjustments I make to the seat it is still uncomfortable. I am so dissapointed in Honda and am now stuck with a brand new car that hurts to drive.

I bought a 2012 Honda Accord less than 1 week ago. Within 2 days, I started to have significant lower back pain. I actually DREAD driving the car. On a hunch, I came across this website and what do you know, I found over 20 similar complaints from people who had just purchased the same car! Can't be a coincidence. I feel like something is off kilter in my spine. It is so bad, that I am going to have to do something right away. I am going to try the padding that someone mentioned earlier in this forum. I am also going back to the dealer tomorrow and do whatever it takes to get into a different car. In the meantime, DO NOT BUY THIS CAR. I will have pity on you,

I just bought this car two weeks ago. The first time I noticed the issue was on a long drive, 5+/- hours with the car. At the end of the drive, my lower back was on fire and I had a hard time moving around for the rest of that weekend. Then the drive home was worse, because my back already was hurting. These seats are AWFUL! I took the car right back to the dealer and told them about the issue, I was told they really couldn't do anything about it and their is nothing wrong with the seat (it wasn't broken). I then call Honda care, explained my issue and was given a case number. That case ending in Honda USA basically telling me to pound sand!

I have said that I was not the only person with these issues, just go and google it. The Honda rep to me they were un-aware of any issues like this and they don't pay attention to web postings.

Now I have an issue, I have a brand new car that I HATE to drive. I ended up pulling my 10 year old Saab 140K mile (which the Accord was supposed to replace) back out of the garage and parked the Accord.

Please Honda, get your Sh*t together and help myself and all other people get this resolved. These are BRAND NEW cars!

Leased a new 2012 Accord SE. Previously had a 2008 Accord LX whos bucket seats had to be replaced. I wanted leather and chose the SE version hoping that I wouldn't run into any issues with the seats again. Test drove the car twice and even though the seat seemed overly firm and were not able to be lifted high enough, I chose to lease this car as I received a very good deal. I have driven the car for 5 days, short trips of 10 miles and am having severe back pain. I have been unable to find a good position for the seat and I continue to struggle with comfort in this vehicle. I regret my my decision 100% and would not recommend this car to anyone. All the complaints on this page bring up valid points. For me, it is my middle and lower back that is in severe pain along with my legs and hips. I have contacted the sales office today asking if there is anyting that can be done to help resolve this issue. I will do anything to get out of this car.

It really sucks to be sitting in a new car with all sorts of excellent features and that is driving well and be in so much pain and discomfort that you want to get rid of it. Honda NEEDS to fix this... it's been since 2008 and they still have done NOTHING. Obviously they're not going to (or they would have done it in between model years). I was such a Honda die-hard before this.

Update from Jun 13, 2012: My dealership, for their part, seemed genuinely concerned and caring, but also powerless as their regional sales manager has no solution. The local sales manager was very well meaning and sincere in trying to find a good solution for me ... he even bought me a dollar-store backrest (the black mesh kind - like you'd use in an office seat) which surprisingly DID get me far enough off the lumbar lump to greatly decrease the lower back pain. But the dull pain in my neck/upper back persists daily and hip pain after long trips as well.

The basic problem is that the entire middle of the seat needs an inch or two more of padding. That'd pad the lumbar area/active head restraint issue, lift the hip off the seat, lift the upper back away from the too-large shoulder side supports, and keep the back of the head off the forward-pushing headrest. Again, seriously Honda, how much does foam cost?!?

Update from Jul 9, 2012: Just got off the phone with Honda customer service. Really amazing response. They asked me what I wanted them to do about it. I said I'd like them to fix the seats, or failing that, buy the car back from me minus miles. The guy went and checked with someone about buying it back. He came back on the phone and said that since it's not "a defect", that they would not buy the car back but he recommended I trade it into the dealership for a new car that I'm more satisfied with. He said that their cars are designed the same for everyone (no duh) and that they may not fit everyone (I'm 5'10", 180 ... pretty much your average American male).

When I mentioned to him that in fact it IS a defect and that lots of people were having this problem, he said that he was very sorry and "understood my frustration" but stood by what he said. I said, "So, just to verify, Honda's position is that if you're extremely uncomfortable in their car, you should just trade it in at a huge loss?" He said, "That's the best solution in this case, yes. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Apparently not.

Purchased my 2012 Honda accord lx on 12/2011. Was wearing my winter coat when test driving the car and of course throughout the winter. It's now April/2012 and wearing a shirt while driving. I can no longer take the back pain. The area in question is just above the lumbar support. It feels like something is pushing my back slightly forward above the lumbar area and causing like pressure on my nerve in my back area. I went to Super Walmart and bought a twin size bed memory foam for $29.99. I cut it out in the shape of the whole seat. I cut an extra piece for added/doubling support in the back. It seems to have helped but I can just slighlty still feel the discomfort. I still find myself trying to adjust the seat with the memory foam for a good driving position. I plan on getting some kind of elastic seatcover to hide the memory foam. But maybe I should wait before buying the seatcover and see what happens. If I can't get comfy while driving this car I'll have no choice but to sell it.

I like everything about my 2012 Honda but the driver seat. But I refuse to drive in pain.

Hey Honda, recall you front seats on the 2012 accords.

Very uncomfortable drivers side seat. I am the commuter driver, around an hour each way, my wife does short trips around town and she has no issues. About 15 minutes into a trip my upper back gets a deep pain. I've tried adjusting the seat with no luck. I am in the market for a pillow or something to ease this pain but I've had no luck yet. I bought the car on a Saturday and took my first long trip the next day and that's when I felt the pain. I owned a 2009 ex-l that I traded in and had no issues with it. This vehicle is the 2012 ex model. I haven’t even made a payment on this car and I’m already trying to figure out how to get rid of it, sad isn’t it.

Myself and my husband have driven this car for less than one week and we Both already have Back and Neck pain from the poorly designed Driver and Passenger Front Seats. We commute one hour each direction to work every day and after the first day or driving one way we were both in pain. We have tried every possible combination position of the seats with and without lumbar support and no matter what, they are beyond uncomfortable. We dread having to even get in the car and cannot believe that Honda has yet to acknowledge a problem that is very obvious to so many people. Not only is the back of the seat an issue but the head rest location results in neck pain as well. We had a Toyota Camry and I am very unhappy that we didn't say with the Toyota Family as their cars are much more comfortable and reliable. Hopefully Honda will address this serious issue and retain their customers. I have never disliked a vehicle more than this one and yet it is the most money I have paid/wasted on a car. Such a Major Disappointment to buy a new car and then Hate Driving that new car because of the pain associated with being in it. HONDA...Please Replace these seats !!!