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I have stock seats in my '13 Fit, and I cannot drive for an hour without inducing severe back pain. Forget cushions, lumbar rolls and sincere prayers at church on Sunday. Let's talk about an aftermarket driver's seat that would provide real relief and comfort. I wanna drive long distances.
If there is already a thread on this, please direct me to it.
I have stock seats in my '13 Fit, and I cannot drive for an hour without inducing severe back pain. Forget cushions, lumbar rolls and sincere prayers at church on Sunday. Let's talk about an aftermarket driver's seat that would provide real relief and comfort. I wanna drive long distances.
If there is already a thread on this, please direct me to it.
Cheers.
Maybe the issue isn’t with the seat? I drove from Chicago to New Jersey, stopping two or three times, even sleeping in the Fit. Repeat for return trip. Not particularly comfortable, but far from inducing severe back pain. The only cushion I have is the worn down foam that’s part of the CoverKing seat covers for my 2010 Fit Sport... which has stiffer Swift springs and slightly higher pressure (38 psi) tires. I also did trips from Chicago to Detroit and back, then to Lexington, KY and back shortly afterwards... still in the Fit.
When my mother Is riding in the passenger seat, I notice that she’s slouching pretty badly until I tell her she’s not sitting right. I would fully expect her, being elderly, to have back pain in my Fit even sitting “properly”... but much of the problem goes away from the moment she adjusts her posture.
If it matters to anyone, I move the seat about one click shy of all the way back, to allow myself to be able to fully stretch my legs. Then, I adjust the steering wheel height to make sure I don’t jam my hand on my legs and can still see the instrument panel. Also fully extending the telescopic part of the steering wheel. Finally, I adjust the back of the seat until my arms are just about fully extended, but not stretching, hand at top of steering wheel and my back firmly against the seat. I tend to lean off the seat when I drive, so that position works well for me.
PS, back in 2011, a year after buying my Fit, I took a 5 week, 11k mile cross country trip through most of the continental US, in said Fit. And it was the same, not the most comfortable, but not particularly bad either.
I have a 2013 Fit, had a lot of back pain. So ended up moving the seat back & just putting a tube sock with a towel inside to provide back support. No problems for the last 3 years. The seats really aren't that great, but I at least I don't have back pain anymore. Honda is kinda infamous for bad seats.
Everyone is built differently, but I find the seats in our GD to be livable. A good friend and my Mom have GE's and they are instant back pain for me. I can live with the GE for a short drive if I roll up a towel and fill in the void between the lumbar and seat bottom, but it's still not enough for more than short errands. My Dad sits on a cushion when he rides in my Mom's to help rise him up above that void. He also agrees that ours in the GD are better.
If you haven't sat in one, try the GD seats. We've done 10 hour drives in ours multiple times and my ears are bleeding from the road noise, but my back is OK.
I would think that would be an easy swap and you would still have the airbag.
2) My driver's seat has worn to the point where it is like dropping my a** into a bucket. To compensate, I use a thick, dense foam seat pad from Bed, Bath and Beyond, but it is not enough.
3) Are you guys saying that an aftermarket seat would necessitate losing the driver's side air bag?
There is an airbag built into the side of the seat. You would lose that airbag and have an airbag malfunction light if you don't run a resistor to trick it into thinking the airbag is present. For many, that's a no go. Removing an airbag can have ramifications.
There is an airbag built into the side of the seat. You would lose that airbag and have an airbag malfunction light if you don't run a resistor to trick it into thinking the airbag is present. For many, that's a no go. Removing an airbag can have ramifications.
All of this.
OP I understand your struggle, I hate the Fit seats, I'm just pointing out reasons it may be more trouble than it is worth.
Only thing is headrest slightly too far forward so need a few thicknesses of washcloth in the upper back for long trips.
As many ppl have mentioned seats are a very individual thing. Usually you can get more comfortable but possibly not totally solve your problem. I'd definitely encourage tweaking for a few weeks before you go full up replacement. After all ... no guarantee you'll like em better :P
After doing a recent 6 hour road trip in my Fit the seats do hurt my back (not severe, just sore). I will try some of these suggestions though and see if they help. I find the seats in the Pilot not comfortable on long trips either. My poor posture does not help.
Just another GK perspective:
I drive about 388miles every weekend. The seats could be better and do nothing to ease back pain. I find introducing a lumbar support throughout the drive off and on helps simple to change the position. Essentially a less fancy version of this QVS-Ergonomic-Lumbar-Back-Support. Try popping it in the base if the back of your seat from time to time for veriety. I also find it can help to adjust the angle of the seat to shift preassure points and keep you from turning into a slouchy sack of goop.
The challenge is that seat comfort is very, very subjective to the individual.
Too many random variables that will be different for each person. Height, weight, back condition. The ergonomics of what may be comfortable to and for one person, may not be comfortable to the next person.
So my only advice to the OP is that if you go as far as to switch out seats, you better make sure what you are switching to, is something that will work for you.
My concern would be, that perhaps the discomfort has more to do with seat angle, or range that you can slide the seat either forward or backwards. Or of course, it could be pain manifesting from the condition of the person themselves. A bad back....can be problematic with a lot of seats on a long drive.
Switching seats out also raises concerns about airbags and safety.
I've have read threads in this forum and other automotive forums where people were more or less forced to give up and switch vehicles, just because they found the seats untenable.
I hope it wouldn't come to that.
But if any amount of cushions, back-rolls, lumbar support...doesn't alleviate the problem? I'm not sure there is an answer here.
Personally? I'd keep experimenting with both seat bottom cushions AND various back lumbar supports or cushions. Maybe a combination of the two could help?
But if you stumble upon a combination that works, or a cushion that works for you? It might ONLY work for you.
I don't think there can be a guarantee given that the installation of any aftermarket seat or replacement is going to be comfortable. You are still limited by the surrounding ergonomics of the vehicle, the rail length, steering wheel height.
It's bad luck if a auto seat is painful for you. It takes an amount of luck to find the proper solution.
The biggest problem with the Fit seats is lack of adjustability. They either work or don't and not much way to adjust.
There is a reason why the seats in my Lincoln are 12-way power adjustable. 12 adjustment points means that they will be comfortable to a much wider range of people. Sadly I don't have the Elite package that includes massaging
In general, I find Honda seats to be lacking though. My Dad's new CR-V isn't exactly comfortable either. Also in general, I find European car brands to have the best seats.
A lot of the pain is the individuals body and not the seats. I have a bad old back yet I find driving in the Fit does not affect it. In fact it feels good.
One thing I did encounter when I first got the Fit (2009) was severe right leg pain. Good old sciatic nerve was taking a beating. It was from the soft gas pedal. I was trying to hold my foot up so as not to speed. This would cause pain. I solved that by adding a spring to the pedal. It has been on now for over 9 years and works well.
The spring maybe doubles the resistance. Hard to say as I have had it on for 9 + years.To me it just makes it comfortable by not having to hold foot off the pedal. Does not slow down mashing it.
Is that spring also a fuel economy mod? It's gotta be
Someone mentioned lack of adjustability, but my dear mom has a Subaru Outback and I can adjust that six ways from Sunday and not be comfy. It's just not adjustable in the upper back where it's needed. Good design is best; and then runner up is a thin pillow or towel ... I would definitely check out that option before buying entirely new seats. Much less a new car.
That said, I am certainly intentionally not buying a Subaru Outback until they redesign it in 2020, in the hopes it'll fix the issue. Love the car overall, but you shouldn't intentionally buy a car that makes you uncomfortable.
Is that spring also a fuel economy mod? It's gotta be
S
Not really as I tend to leave my auto in 3rd around the city. Does not help mpg but more funner. I also have a throttle controller set down a notch or two in Eco mode.
09-03-2018, 12:05 PM
