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Seat Comfort - Help Needed!

1001 Views 18 Replies 11 Participants Last post by JRMCR, 20 d ago

jdrinboston

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

Hi all! I recently picked up an A-Spec Tech Package a couple of weeks ago and have put about 700 miles on it. I love the car. The only problem is I still haven't been able to get fully comfortable in the driver's seat. In fact, I would say the seat is actually giving me lower back and neck pain, either from the seat design itself or me trying to contour myself into it while driving. Long story short, I took a lengthy test drive on the dealer's demo car, which was an A-Spec Non Tech with the fake leather seats and found them perfectly comfortable, if not enjoyable. I knew I wanted the Tech package so I walked the lot and sat in the various Tech options before settling on mine. Other than the suede insert, the seats appeared identical to my demo car and with the added power and lumbar support options clearly seemed and felt like a superior seat when I sat in them, so I had no misgivings. But since picking up the car, I've had nothing but discomfort. Essentially, it feels like the bottom part of the seat is digging into my lower back un-naturally. And no matter what recline position I try, I can't get the seat to feel unobtrusive and natural. I've done some searching on forums and reditt and people seem generally happy with their seats, so I'm worried that this whole thing might be something I'm doing wrong.

Is there anything I'm missing here or any steps I might be able to take to resolve? As I said, I otherwise love the car, but I'm getting nervous that I might not be able to keep it if I can't figure the seat out. As of right now, it's a complete non-starter for any long drives or road trips. Appreciate any help or tips you might have!

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WakeIntegraGuy

· #2 · 2 mo ago

Hi. Sorry to hear you're having these problems with the Integra seat comfort. I actually switched from Civic SI to Integra to get the improved comfort, and so far am finding the Integra definitely better. That said, the Integra seats are definitely on the firm side compared to my wife's Kia SUV seats, but it's a sporty car so needs some firmness. For myself, I think the Integra strikes a pretty good balance. I have taken several day-long highway drives and found the Integra really good, especially with the Comfort mode option.

For me, on a long drive, adjusting the lumbar to give more push on the lower back makes a difference. So I'd suggest fiddling with the lumbar and adjusting it while driving and see if that helps. Good luck. Hope you can find better comfort in your Integra.

Reactions: 1

nate8088

· #3 · 2 mo ago

jdrinboston said:
I'm worried that this whole thing might be something I'm doing wrong.

Don't worry... it's not just you.
I find the seats very uncomfortable. They make me long for the seats in the 2013 ILX I switched over from. (though other than seats, everything else is an improvement.)
They're like sitting on wooden church pews.

I managed to kinda shift the drivers seat around to a point where it's livable, but it took a lot of trial and error in seating positions. I still don't think I'd want to road trip in it, but it's good enough for daily driving.
I'm still hoping to get the fake suede seats replaced with real leather at some point, so I'm hoping when I get that done I can get whoever does the install to add a little extra padding at the same time.

It's interesting that you found the non-A-Spec seats to be more comfortable, though... maybe I'll consider just swapping with someone who has one of those cars.

Deltayo

· #4 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

I did a road trip in my A-Spec Tech Pack. The cushion does not have good suspension, so I found myself supporting my body weight on the lumbar support most of the time. Unfortunately the lumbar support isn't suppose to actively support your weight the entire time so your body will sink deeper into the cushion over time which requires you to readjust your body back into the lumbar support. Proper cushion suspension should support your weight the entire time, but these seats are meant to be low down and firm for more sporty driving I'm assuming.

A note for lumbar support: Proper setting is to form with the curvature of your back and you shouldn't feel it at all. If it feels better with it digging into your spine, you should probably go to a chiropractor or physical therapist because you might have some pre-existing lower back problem lol. It may feel good in the short term because you're alleviating whatever pain you got from your potential lower back problem, but it'll end up causing more problems down the road which will make it more difficult for your core muscles to support your body weight.

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jdrinboston

Discussion Starter · #5 · 2 mo ago

Thanks for your thoughts....what's strange to me is it feels like my discomfort is coming from the lower part of the backrest - almost as if the lines on the suede pattern are burrowing into my back - rather than the seat, which seems firm, but fine to me. I've ordered a $35 cushion on Amazon, which seems to be well-rated. I'm not crazy about disrupting the design of the car with an add-on cushion, but I'm going to see if this helps my experience and allows me to keep the car.

Appreciate everyone's insights!

Leehro

· #6 · 2 mo ago

I got mine in august and now have 6000 miles on it. I had similar experience with longer drives (2-3H) last fall, but I think the seats have broken in now. I took some long drives in February and didn’t have any discomfort

Reactions: 2

jdrinboston

Discussion Starter · #7 · 2 mo ago

Leehro said:
I got mine in august and now have 6000 miles on it. I had similar experience with longer drives (2-3H) last fall, but I think the seats have broken in now. I took some long drives in February and didn’t have any discomfort

Leehro, I can’t tell you how much better I feel after reading your post. A part of me wondered if this is just a normal breaking in of the seat or me just having to get used to a sports seat vs the leather seats I had in my older cars. From your experience, sounds like this just might be the case. Fingers crossed!

Reactions: 1

ryanizzle

· #8 · 2 mo ago

The seats took a while to get used to. They’re definitely more firm & low-slung than my Mk7 Golf’s leatherette seats. And it took a multiple weeks & a lot of trial/error to adjust the seat perfectly. Ironically, I still have my Golf and now sitting in that car feels a little uncomfortable lol

For me though, my discomfort came from my legs which is different from back & neck. Don’t remember the exact specs, but I would imagine there’s extra hardware in the seats for the added adjustability & heating element for the Tech features which would make them feel different from a base trim. I still recommend some trial/error with the adjustments. I thought it was kinda silly that it took me that long to get the seats right, but I’m glad I eventually got there

Reactions: 2

Leehro

· #9 · 2 mo ago

jdrinboston said:
Leehro, I can’t tell you how much better I feel after reading your post. A part of me wondered if this is just a normal breaking in of the seat or me just having to get used to a sports seat vs the leather seats I had in my older cars. From your experience, sounds like this just might be the case. Fingers crossed!

I definitely felt sore in the lower back at first and just couldn't get the lumbar right. But like I said, it hasn't been a problem lately. I'm not sure if the seats broke in or I did

. Honestly I think it was a combination of break-in and getting used to this car after being in my last one (a 2012 MDX with leather) for so long.

Plus, I have the 6MT and was trying to find a good position that was comfortable for my legs but not too far back to clutch.

Reactions: 3

SMTGolf

· #10 · 2 mo ago

I had the same issue. Commute 45 minutes to work and the first 1500 miles were not comfortable (I have a 6MT) at all. I'm now at 3000 miles and I don't notice anything whether I drive 15 minutes or 2 hours. The seat feels much better.

Reactions: 2

nate8088

· #11 · 2 mo ago

SMTGolf said:
I had the same issue. Commute 45 minutes to work and the first 1500 miles were not comfortable (I have a 6MT) at all. I'm now at 3000 miles and I don't notice anything whether I drive 15 minutes or 2 hours. The seat feels much better.

That's encouraging! I only just passed 3000 miles, so maybe it just needs more time to break in.

lauren01

· #12 · 2 mo ago

It seems like every time I have changed cars after driving a prevoius car for many years, it takes me several months to like the seats in the new car. I am free of back problems. I think that sitting so long is not good for us (house, office, car) and it is an adjustment to get used to sitting in another seat that is unhealthy for a long period of time.

Reactions: 2

JRMCR

· #13 · 2 mo ago

Just a question for the OP, have you tried moving the lumbar up and down? I'm 6'2" and my wife (who is the principal driver of ours) is 5'2" so a lot of difference. I found that I needed to adjust the height of the lumbar to get it just right.

It definitely feels different from my '10 TL (whose seats I absolutely love), but I'm now quite comfortable in the Integra too.

Hope you find something that works for you.

jdrinboston

Discussion Starter · #14 · 1 mo ago

JRMCR said:
Just a question for the OP, have you tried moving the lumbar up and down? I'm 6'2" and my wife (who is the principal driver of ours) is 5'2" so a lot of difference. I found that I needed to adjust the height of the lumbar to get it just right.

It definitely feels different from my '10 TL (whose seats I absolutely love), but I'm now quite comfortable in the Integra too.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Hi! I have played with the lumbar all 4 ways and to be honest, I don't even really notice much vertical movement when I tried to press the up and down buttons. The most discomfort I have experienced is the point where the bottom seat and backrest come together and the lumbar doesn't seem to go down that far.

With that said, on Friday, I made a 5-hour drive from Boston to NJ with the Integra - making only one 10-minute stop in southern Connecticut. FWIW, it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I was worried it was going to be and actually seemed to get more comfortable as the drive went on, so here's hoping.

Reactions: 2

mick and Ike

· #15 · 1 mo ago

jdrinboston said:
Thanks for your thoughts....what's strange to me is it feels like my discomfort is coming from the lower part of the backrest - almost as if the lines on the suede pattern are burrowing into my back - rather than the seat, which seems firm, but fine to me. I've ordered a $35 cushion on Amazon, which seems to be well-rated. I'm not crazy about disrupting the design of the car with an add-on cushion, but I'm going to see if this helps my experience and allows me to keep the car.

Appreciate everyone's insights!

I had to immediately get a cushion from Amazon when I purchased my car in August. Without the cushion I can't drive for more than a block without feeling like I'm sitting on a toilet stool😬

ab2c4

· #16 · 21 d ago

mick and Ike said:
I had to immediately get a cushion from Amazon when I purchased my car in August. Without the cushion I can't drive for more than a block without feeling like I'm sitting on a toilet stool😬

Which cushion did you get and has it helped with comfort while driving?

i recently bought an Aspec with Tech. I really love this car except for the driver seat which I think absolutely sucks. I realize I only have about 600 miles on my car but after multiple seats adjustments I haven’t found any position comfortable. Within 10 minutes of driving my butt and the back of my legs are killing me. Not happy with the lack of cushion in these seats.

my wife has a 2023 RDX Aspec and those seats are really comfortable so I was even more disappointed with the Integra drivers seat.

JRMCR

· #17 · 20 d ago

ab2c4 said:
Which cushion did you get and has it helped with comfort while driving?

i recently bought an Aspec with Tech. I really love this car except for the driver seat which I think absolutely sucks. I realize I only have about 600 miles on my car but after multiple seats adjustments I haven’t found any position comfortable. Within 10 minutes of driving my butt and the back of my legs are killing me. Not happy with the lack of cushion in these seats.

my wife has a 2023 RDX Aspec and those seats are really comfortable so I was even more disappointed with the Integra drivers seat.

Have you tried lowering the front of the cushion? From the discomfort you're experiencing, sounds like the front of the cushion is too high creating pressure points on the back of your legs and bottom.

ab2c4

· #18 · 20 d ago

JRMCR said:
Have you tried lowering the front of the cushion? From the discomfort you're experiencing, sounds like the front of the cushion is too high creating pressure points on the back of your legs and bottom.

I have the front of the cushion all the way down to the lowest point currently . I have tried adjusting that, seat height, and adjusting the back of the seat (more upright, and reclined). It seems at least for me there just isn’t enough cushion on the bottom of the seat especially where your butt sits.

JRMCR

· #19 · 20 d ago

Sorry you're having this issue. I'm 6'2" and about 175. The seating position is different from my TL but I've been able to get a quite comfortable driving position in ours.

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