A friend just bought a 2020 EX, but her right knee hurts so much after driving for a "distance" that she is considering selling it. It's okay around town, but if she drives for forty minutes or more, her knee hurts a lot. Using cruise control helps a bit, but that can't be constant. She has tried all possible seat adjustments and different pillows, but nothing helps. Looking online, she found lots of similar complaints.

Any ideas? If your knee is fine, great! So is mine, and you don't have to tell us.

 

This sounds really strange. Most people would discover an uncomfortable driving position on a test drive.

Either she's running into a non-ergonomic situation where she can't get comfortable (accelerator pedal too close/far/left/right), or she has underlying knee pathology which is being unmasked by the driving position. One of the two.

If she can drive other vehicles without issue, I'm at bad ergonomics. Time to sell. No sense keeping a car that makes you miserable just driving it.

 

Earlier this year I developed a pain in my right knee when walking, going up and down stairs or driving. That's highway runs for about an hour since I live in the country. The pain has been getting worse and I recently had a cortisone shot in the knee which has helped but I know it will wear off. I can see the writing on the wall and I'm guessing that I'm heading for a knee replacement. I don't believe that driving any other car would make much difference although the Fit's cramped floor space doesn't help. My age of 70+ also doesn't help.

 

I have a second gen and could never see doing a long road trip in it. The seating position is just odd. It's fine for around town and my 30 min commute, but 6-7 hours or even more and I could see some discomfort appearing.

 

Your friend has a right knee problem.

 

I’ve had this pain and I’ve seen this happen with other drivers that drive non-Fit cars. It must be an ergonomic thing. I’ve boiled it down to a flare up in the Sural nerve branches in-and-below the knee. The solution for me was to adjust the seat all the way back and exercise.

 

The GK's driver seat = no lumbar support! Get something to support your lower back.

 

It is not a very comfortable car for long trips, especially if you're a taller driver. The Fit driving position very much reminds me of sitting in a hard wooden classroom chair. Very upright, knees at right angles. And yes, no tunable lumbar support really sucks on top of that.

My BMW is like driving in a personally crafted recliner. It's a wild difference.

You can get track extenders for the seats, but that only helps with the height issue, not really the seating position or angles you're forced into.

 

This Fit owner is also your age, but the Fit is the only car that hurts her knee. She's been driving a CR-V for 250,000 miles with no problems.