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Kindof.
Bought a new 2013 Civic last week. I did a lot of research and the test drive went great. I love the car, except for the driver's seat, which becomes very uncomfortable after a few minutes. The headrest leans forward at a crazy angle and the lumbar support is too hard, too high and protrudes too much. Why I didn't notice during the test drive is a mystery to me, but I've learned I'm not alone. It seems that the seat does feel okay when first driving, but day-in and day-out it just hammers your back.
Taking it back is an option, but I'd lose a few thousand, and I otherwise like the car, so the solution is to fix the seat. Anyone have advise on this? Perhaps get the seat modified by a pro or buy an aftermarket seat.
BTW, the seat problems come up in none of the reviews. Perhaps reviewers are so used to crappy car seats, they didn't notice or they had the same--fine-in-test, bad-over-time reaction I and others have had. In my quest for a solution, I've found that in the past few years there has been a surge in complaints about car seats. It seems that the NHTSA changed standards for head rests in 2008 and it's now having a dramatic and negative effect on car comfort, though some companies are worse than others (I've read that Honda--with the Accord being the worse--Ford and Mazda are notoriously bad, which means going to another car isn't a solution either.)
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I noticed that when I had a new Ford Fiesta as a hire car for a month this summer - the drivers seat is frankly appalling. It's based on a "waffle" design, so you are sitting on a bunch of "ridges". It's probably ok if you are on a long journey - couple hundred miles in a single sitting - but for short journeys it really was a PITA...
The only instant messaging I do involves my middle finger.
English doesn't borrow from other languages.
English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.
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My wife has a Honda and I really dislike it: the seats are too small for me but she loves it. I want to buy an older car next, from a simpler time and then just add the modern touches I want.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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I see a lot of new vehicles with really bad seat designs, especially the headrests. I suspect that the NHTSA has something to do with that. My new Titan truck has head "rests" that are hugely unusable - they protrude forward at a sharp angle, and are entirely unusable for any purpose. But they are "dynamic" by regulation - in a collision, they move forward following the head, then ease back slowly to prevent a whiplash injury. The lumbar support is barely adequate, just enough to let them claim it exists, but it's a whole lot better to use a pillow.
Will Rogers never met me.
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We bought a 2013 Corolla in September. The seat isn't really uncomfortable, but I can't adjust it to my liking. The day after we bought it we drove up to Grand Canyon and back the following day, using mostly back roads, nearly a thousand miles.
The car has just over two thousand miles on it now and my biggest complaint is that the "audio system" doesn't randomize properly. But the 'Webs say it's a Linux system, so maybe I can write an app. 
Complaints like yours and mine are what Consumer Reports collects.
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Maybe try searching out for some sort of seat cover? It won't reduce the headrest protrusion but at least it'll put you're body forward more, relative to the headrest.
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All reviewers suck. They either pander to the Car companies best interest or think every car is a race car/luxury car and denigrate everything that isn't both.
With a Civic, there is probably a Recaro seat you can put in, very comfortable but also, very pricey. So you either lose a K taking it back or lose a K putting in a good seat.
Personally, I love the anti-whiplash headrest in my 2012 mustang. Probably the one thing in the car I adore, so I can't say it is about the standards really. I have heard a few people complain about them but after I taught them how and why they work the complaints magically go away. (re, headrest)
Now, with Ford and Mazda you can probably get a one-week loaner and actually evaluate for your self (I suggest doing so). Reviewers can't tell you if you will like the seats.
Lastly, if you want a pair of thrones, I read that BMW's Luxury seating package in the five series is the best in the biz. Never sat in them though.
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote: BMW's ... Never sat in them though.
Usually ride in the trunk?
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My BMW had fantastic seats that adjusted every which way - which was good because I am 6'3" with a bad back.
So:
1. Remove the seats from your Honda and throw them away.
2. Buy a BMW 3, 5 or 7 series.
3. Remove the BMW seats and throw the rest of the car away.
4. Fit the BMW seats in your Honda.
5. Job done.
Honda riding in wonderful comfort.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Perhaps, I should just buy every car with the best implementation of a feature and just combine them for the perfect vehicle!
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Psh. Take it back. Nothing is worth wrecking your back, neck or knees.
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Cushions? or after market seat but wouldn't you want to try before you buy?
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It's just a foam block covered with fabric designed for more butt padding. I wanted one anyway for long hours at my desk. For anything more than that, I'd have to try it.
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I finally got a pad for my desk chair because I spend of many hours at it that my back started to hurt and the pad really made a difference.
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Recently bought a 2009 Ford truck where the head rest is unusable as it is at least 45 degree forward. I am short so I just raise it all the way up as I have not found how to remove it.
[edit] typo on year and spelling [/edit]
modified 1-Nov-13 15:43pm.
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djj55 wrote: I have not found how to remove it
With a dremel?
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The problem is that most modern cars have racing ambitions and therefore need to have hard sport seats with side supports. Those seats don't adjust to your body. And it's just a very small adjustment that's needed.
I'm having the opposite problem, the VW Passat that we have as a main car doesn't have enough lumbar support, and when I adjust the lumbar support there's just a tiny roll protruding into my back, making it even worse.
My solution is a pillow[^] just the right size.
Another trick that could work for you is to make your seat softer so that it adjusts to your back. Buy a seat cover and buy and/or sacrifice a duvet for a childrens bed, that you cut to size and sew together with the seat cover. It's only the part in between the side supports that needs to be padded (13"-14" wide). If you pad the side supports it might get a cramped feel to the seat.
The protruding head rest isn't anything you shouldn't be able to fix with a pair of wooden boards and a crowbar. 
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man adapts the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
- George Bernard Shaw
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Really near where I live in Maryland there is a car upholstery place. Perhaps you could get somewhere like that to adjust the seat you have without having to replace it altogether. This way you can have it fixed to just how you want it.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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A friend just suggested that as well. His mother buys full custom seats for every car she buys, but this is a more reasonable alternative.
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take it back and take it back now
Or every time you drive that car you'll not be a happy camper and you'll wish you had taken it back
Bryce
MCAD
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You have the $2000 for the loss?
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I know what you mean and i understand where you're coming from - but i'd chalk it up to experience (albeit an expensive one)
I'd phrase it like this - and offer that (respectfully) you really don't want to be feeling any sort of regret or have any negative feelings about the car. You want it to be a happy place not an uncomfortable place 
bryce
MCAD
---
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How cavalier you are with my money. Do you work for the government?
A custom seat or just getting the current one modified is cheaper. Considering how many complaints I now hear about how uncomfortable most new cars are, seems that fixing the one thing I don't like is better than throwing away the whole thing and buying a car which I don't like, but which is comfortable.
bryce wrote: you really don't want to be feeling any sort of regret or have any negative feelings about the car.
Isn't that the definition of being polyannish?
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Are you suggesting you should just "harden up" ?
I'd say - stuff that - if you buy a new car you should enjoy it
I'd also reject your assertion I'm being cavalier with your money. One might suggest "cavalier" would be buying a brand new car instead of a second hand one.
However its your car - so you choose what you want to do. You asked for an opinion on what to do about your car and I offered my opinion and the reasons why
Bryce
MCAD
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modified 3-Nov-13 20:13pm.
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bryce wrote: Are you suggesting you should just "harden up" ?
Huh? I said it was cheaper to change the one thing I didn't like than spend an endless amount of money on the sisyphean task of finding the perfect car. (I had a neighbor who claimed his car was perfect, and then bought a new one and told me why the previous one was crap.)
bryce wrote:
I'd say - stuff that - if you buy a new car you should enjoy it
I do enjoy it, save for one issue. I'd rather fix that than buy a car which I don't enjoy, but which does that one issue right (which, after talking to a lot of people, is highly dubious due to, as I said, the NHTSA changing the standards for seats.)
I reject your rejection of my assertion that you're being cavalier with my money.
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