I just bought a 2015 LX. I like the car but the front seats, the driver seat for me, are really poorly designed in a concave shape. After about 30 miles or so, I was in terrific back pain, like my back had been wrenched. This is beyond discomfort, graduating to health hazard. I am trying lumbar supports with limited success. I traded in a 1999 Tacoma with bench seats, which gave me no problem. I have also driven a number of other cars recently including a 2005 Prius, a 2013 Kia Rio, and a Chevy Aveo, all with no problem. I have contacted the dealer and got a little sympathy and a promise to put me together with a Honda rep. I was extremely disappointed that an otherwise well engineered car has such a poorly engineered seat.

Anyone else experiencing this? Any fixes?

Thanks

 

What did your test drive route entail? Where did u go, how fast, or heavy traffic?

 

The seats have always been an issue in the Fit.

This is why you should have:

A) Taken a longer test drive.

B) Done research into previous Fits, the few things retained from GD to GE to GK were the magic seats and gas tank under the front two seats...two factors leading to a very common issue.

 

EXACTLY... When you are looking to investing a lot of income in something you'll be in for an avg of 5yrs, you take your time. Drive over things that are known to send pain through your lower back like railroad tracks, if doing long commutes on freeway take car over 70mph an see if the noise is low enough to hear yourself think or other passengers. A test rive is meant for you to TEST the car out as if it were your daily routine. I dare a dealer to make me drive in a box so 5min later, youre back at dealer. I'll never risk being stuck in something for 5yrs I'll dread.

 

A couple things to try OP.

First you can raise the front of the seat a bit using plain washers on the seat bolts. Try varying amounts 1 , 2 or 3 washers. Easy to do.

The gas pedal spring mod. I found this helped me a lot. Like you I suffered back pain from trying to hold foot up on the pedal.

Gas pedal - https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...rn-spring.html

and this one too

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post986273

 

If you didn't test drive the Fit long enough to experience the problem, is it possible the same is true for the other mentioned vehicles?

Some of us here find the Fit seats to be perfect. OTOH, my wife, coming from a flat, firm bench seat in our F350, does not. She complains the Fit seats are just like my 1997 Acura GS-R.

However, as is the case in your post, she can't tell me what specifically is uncomfortable. I am guessing I need to have an upholstery shop make a set of bottom and back cushions she can move between driver and passenger seat, that conform to the seat underneath and are totally flat like a bench seat on the top--something like a school bus drivers seat.

 

Thanks for the advice

Obviously it's a big investment and I did research it but I missed the seat issue. I never had an issue with a car seat before and just assumed that in 2015 Honda would have managed at least a passable seat. I did test drive the car maybe 4 or 5 miles, the dealership had a route. The problem with the seat didn't have anything to do with driving over bumpy roads etc. It took about 30 or 40 miles to hit my back, so an extended period of driving. I suppose I could have have rented one before buying but I never had to do that before and I've owned a few dozen vehicles.

I drove all the vehicles I mentioned at least 800 miles for the Kia and Aveo, which were rentals and 10's of thousand miles with the Tacoma, Prius and mini. I know when something is not right and this seat is not right. For many people including me it's a health hazard because of the back damage caused by its concave shape and lack of lumbar support and possibly position.

I am now using 2 lumbar supports one on top of the other because one was insufficient to file the concavity of the seat. This has reduced back spasms but severe back stiffness remains.

 

try wat black3sr posted above. while it is for the GE, it could apply for your GK (?) as well.

i did the simple washers and spring and i can go 200miles non-stop in my '12 GE with absolutely no issue. i cant say that on my other GE without these simple mods. my wife's the primary driver so i didnt want to mess with that car.

 

Strange, my friend and I spent over five hours in my fit this weekend and we both commented on how well the seats are made.

I guess YMMV may vary.

I hope you find a solution to have the seats work for you.

 

My friend has found that folding a small microfiber towel and placing it against her lower back helps with back pain on long days in the Fit. I would place the thinly folded towel against the front edge of the seat to raise my thighs just a hair. Had the same problem in our Acura TL. I can get relief on long driving days from being able to move the towel to change the pressure points on my thighs. My friend, who has pretty serious back problems, says that with the towel down low at the back of the seat there is enough lumbar support to provide relief.

I get stiff sitting in any position for periods of time. I need to stretch.

Good luck with this.

 

I had the same problem in the beginning with my 2007 LX.
It is the lumber bump. I filled in the back to make it one flat
from side to side and have had no pain since.

 

I finally got a different Honda dealer to accept taking my leased 2013 Sport back for any Honda on the lot and if I'm not satisfied I can return it also but after reading your post that the 2015 is just as bad I'm going to have to reconsider. I have complained about my 2013 since the first week of ownership and I have had to see multiple doctors and finally a physical therapist for chronic neck pain all from my Fit. I recently received a Nissan 720 from my aunt and shipped it cross country and I drive it daily leaving my Fit for limited driving and neck pain. I found the arm rest which was the reason for getting the Sport model was 3 inches higher than my resting arm causing a sharp pain in my neck. I stopped using the arm rest and reversed the head restraint, and put a BackJoy pad on the seat which helped a little. Then my most recent 1hr drive I found if I put my seat way back my leg doesn't get numb but my hands can only reach the lower part of the steering wheel. There is no cure just small steps to aid in less pain. Lets face it these cars were not made for people tall or long legged.

I love the features of the Fit but the seating is horrible to say the least. I'm renting a Civic for a 1K mile trip to see if it is any better. I am also waiting for the new HRV to come out in 2016 as I was not happy with the size of the CRV. Read some of these complaints with Fit seating because it is not you it's the lousy seats.

2010 Honda Fit Uncomfortable Seats: 7 Complaints

Honda's Incredibly Uncomfortable Seats

Honda Fit Questions - how can I make the seat in the honda fit 2009 comfortable? please help... - CarGurus

 

OR, your back is quite sensitive.

User Solbrothers on the forum is 6'6" and has owned his Fit for 7+ years.

My dad drove a Fit from WI to CO and back without any pain whatsoever...at 6'4" with a 36" inseam.

 

Lets get real here. Honda can't engineer the perfect seat in a low margin economy car for every person's sensibilities. The perfect seat for you would not be perfect for somebody else. Get some realistic expectations already. Adapt, modify, or get rid of it and move on.

 

Let's not be so sensitive here, people post for solutions and sometimes they come when open minded and being persistent not the other way around. I'll keep posting till I get my answer so calm down. In another post a member swapped his headrest (head restraint) with a 2007 Honda Accord head rest and voila his neck felt better. I'll be trying that and perhaps it will solve other discomfort problems as well. I would like to hear from the original poster to hear what he ended up doing. Personally I love the car, it's quick around the corners and extremely useful for all loading. I want the 2015 but this post has me very concerned. When it comes to discomfort rolling into pain people get real upset and demand answers because they paid thousands for this pain. Honda had lots of complaints on their headrest and "did change it" in the 2015 models. Large companies have HR departments which actually read our posts to solve problems and continue to improve their products.

So if this post offends you don't read it.

 

I once took the foam out of a Miata seat. I had instructions, but it was surprisingly easy. If the OP is a hands on sort of guy he might be willing to take off the upholstry and see if there's some material he can add or remove to customize the seat to his body. If he doesn't want to do it himself, he might be able to have a shop do it for less than he might think.

There are tons of aftermarket seats available also, but it's hard to know which of those will be comfortable, plus some are quite expensive.

There's also the option of getting a seat or seats out of a totally different car. Some people might not like the idea of putting a used seat from the junkyard in a brand new car, but if he can find a clean, late model car with seats he knows are comfy, it could work well and look good. Get both front seats in the proper color and even if they're out of a non-Honda they could be a reasonable looking match for the rest of the interior.

 

Thanks Greasyman, I actually have test driven a Nissan Nismo which has Recaro seats and they were amazing! Unfortunately the Nismo which is a Juke had lots of cramped areas and blind spots nothing like our Fit. They were going to buy out my lease but I would have to rent one before doing that. Now I'm in touch with Recaro to order seats for my classic Nissan truck and now thinking of looking into a set for my Fit after some serious mileage. My only problem would be loosing the airbags and or warrantee.

I wonder if the Fit leather vs cloth on the 3rd gen Fit are much different. My big problem was the neck and height to prevent numb foot but I have only driven the 2015 for 5 miles. The 3rd gen has flat headrests due to complaints and height adjustment but they didn't add a lumbar support unfortunately. My sales person at Honda of Toms River will let me take the 2015 Fit for a longer ride so I'll be doing that soon. I've even offered a bill, ($100.) to take it 50 miles. I'll post my results ASAP.

I would love to rent a 3rd gen Fit for 1k miles anyone know of a rental agency with Fits?

 

I have a 13 Fit Base, 5MT. Had back problems with it the first week I had it. My chiropractor suggested taking a long tube sock, rolling up a towel & stuffing it inside the sock. That did the trick. Have also noticed that if I have the seat too far back, will cause back pain. There is a "sweet spot" for me where I can sit comfortably and use the clutch/shifter and reach the steering wheel, all with no pain. If I put the seat back one notch, it's too far back and will cause back pain. Weird seat design I guess. I have seen lotsa posts about the seat problem - either it's OK or causes problems. Oh, I also have the seat upright.

 

Wow great idea on the sock pillow, how did you fasten it to the seat?

 

I didn't fasten it to the seat. Just put it on the seat where the seat bottom & back part of the seat come together L < and it stays in place. Have to "fluff it up" every once in awhile, but that's it. The tube sock is about 14" in length.