Headrest solutions?
SMS
been struggling to find a solution to those absurd headrests. Right now
she has them all reversed, and I helped her notch the opposite post so
they latch in. This helped, except for the center rear headrest which is
very small and has short posts because of the fold down console, and
when reversed is totally non-functional. This is the seat she would like
her 7 y.o. to sit in, but the child's head is now reaching the headrest,
and it's so uncomfortable that the child was squawking about how it hurt.
I see a large number of complaints about the Honda headrests, but no
good solutions. Some people say reclining the seat further helps. Some
say using a cushion behind you to push the rest of your body forward
helps. Some say to take them to an auto upholstery shop and have them
modified. Some suggest after-market LCD headrests that don't jut
forward. I've seen the Pyle LCD headrests which aren't all that
expensive (about $63 each) even if you don't use the 7" LCD. They come
with 1/2" post sleeves which are needed for the Honda (some LCD screen
headrests don't have large enough diameter posts, and there have been
complaints by Honda owners that bought them that they don't latch in).
However from the specifications on this headrest, it may not allow the
posts to be close enough together to replace the middle headrest in the
back.
What are others doing? I tried sitting in her Accord with the headrest
facing forward and it's incredibly uncomfortable. She also has a Honda
Pilot, and that vehicle does not have this issue, but the headrests are
not interchangeable (besides being the wrong color and material).
I know the reason Honda did the headrests like this, but personally this
is more than enough to prevent me from buying an Accord. She would not
have bought the Accord if she had realized how bad the head rests were.
jim beam
did she not test drive it??? instead of wasting electrons here, why
don't you write to honda corporate and say she wants to return the car
and get her money back? if nobody says anything, nothing will happen.
if everybody does something, that thing will get fixed quicker than
you'd believe. y'all only have all y'all to blame if y'don't do nuthin'.
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
tww1491
"SMS" wrote in message news:4e0765de$0$2164$742e...@news.sonic.net...
My sister-in-law bought a 2011 Honda Accord a few months ago and has
been struggling to find a solution to those absurd headrests. Right now
she has them all reversed, and I helped her notch the opposite post so
they latch in. This helped, except for the center rear headrest which is
very small and has short posts because of the fold down console, and
when reversed is totally non-functional. This is the seat she would like
her 7 y.o. to sit in, but the child's head is now reaching the headrest,
and it's so uncomfortable that the child was squawking about how it hurt.
I see a large number of complaints about the Honda headrests, but no
good solutions. Some people say reclining the seat further helps. Some
say using a cushion behind you to push the rest of your body forward
helps. Some say to take them to an auto upholstery shop and have them
modified. Some suggest after-market LCD headrests that don't jut
forward. I've seen the Pyle LCD headrests which aren't all that
expensive (about $63 each) even if you don't use the 7" LCD. They come
with 1/2" post sleeves which are needed for the Honda (some LCD screen
headrests don't have large enough diameter posts, and there have been
complaints by Honda owners that bought them that they don't latch in).
However from the specifications on this headrest, it may not allow the
posts to be close enough together to replace the middle headrest in the
back.
The complaints I have seen talk to the seats being uncomfortable on long
drives. By comparison, the seats in my 06 coupe are very comfortable. I
suppose there must have been a major redesign for the supposed better.
SMS
> American Honda needs to be put in its place, but stupid people keep
> doing stupid things that move money from their pockets to American
> Honda's pockets.
This is true.
I had the first year CR-V (I know, big mistake buying the first year of
anything). The cruise control had a design flaw that every owner
experienced if they ever drove on a highway that wasn't flat. Honda
acknowledged the problem, explained what caused it, and said that they
would not fix it. In subsequent years of the same generation they did
correct the problem. But that was my last Honda, I just didn't like the
company's whole attitude.
In any case, I wasn't looking for a lecture on the subject of how dumb
someone was for not realizing the problem (she already admits how dumb
it was), I was hoping that given how big a seller the Accord is, and
given that all recent Accord buyers have the same problem (unless they
are vertically challenged), that someone would have some ideas for a
solution.
Apparently it's not limited to the Accord, as Civic owners have also
complained. The foam solution worked for one,
<http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/headrest-solutions-t1274.html>, and on
the CR-V <http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/headrest-solutions-t1274.html>.
As to why it wasn't noticed on the test drive, I think that last URL
represents the experience of many of the owners that are complaining,
they just didn't realize the problem until it was too late.
Apparently some other vehicles have the same issue because the jutting
forward headrests are part of the restraint system. So the best solution
that doesn't mess with the headrests is probably to add foam padding to
the seat back. Some people put on seat covers over the foam but that's a
bad idea on the Accord because there are airbags in the seats.
SMS
> In article<4e07b124$0$2152$742e...@news.sonic.net>,
> SMS<scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Apparently it's not limited to the Accord, as Civic owners have also
>> complained.
>
> (re)introduced. My long-time salesman warned me, this is the direction
> Honda is going.
>
> Really. Well.
Some people (many people) buy cars (and other products) on emotion
without doing sufficient research.
What's ironic about this case is that my sister-in-law complained about
the head rests in our 2007 Camry which are not nearly as horrible as
what Honda has done in the Accord.
Personally, if it were my vehicle, I would buy the after-market
headrests with the LCD screens for at least the front seats (whether I
wanted the LCDs or not). I would not reverse the headrests as many
people have done to "fix" the problem. I would take the risk that the
after-market headrests were less protective in a crash. The seats are so
incredibly uncomfortable when the headrest pushes your head so far
forward that I would not tolerate it. On a $19,000 vehicle, another $140
is lost in the noise.
Seth
"SMS" <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4e07b124$0$2152$742e...@news.sonic.net...
> On 6/26/2011 2:45 PM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>
> In any case, I wasn't looking for a lecture on the subject of how dumb
> someone was for not realizing the problem (she already admits how dumb it
> was), I was hoping that given how big a seller the Accord is, and given
> that all recent Accord buyers have the same problem (unless they are
> vertically challenged), that someone would have some ideas for a solution.
I'm 5'11" and have zero discomfort on my 2011 EX-L (maybe trim level is part
of the equation?). My wife at 5'5". older daughter at 5'6" and youngster at
5'2" have also not complained.
jim beam
so, are you going to write to honda corporate or not? what part of the
management principle of "not being able to correct a mistake if nobody
says anything" is difficult to understand? or are honda execs supposed
to trawl the whole of usenet for one bleating and take that as an
emergency requiring a full recall and immediate corrective action?
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
SMS
No, the EX-L is what she got as well. I'm 5'10" and could not stand the
front seats or the right and left back seats.
One thing that makes a difference is whether or not your own head juts
forward. If your head doesn't jut forward to match the headrest then
your back can't be against the back of the seat, there's a big gap
between your back and the seat. That's why some people added foam to
solve the problem. Part of the problem is that the lower lumbar support
is too thick, and some people have had upholstery shops modify the seats.
There's a good thread here
<http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@.f194d64/0> on the various
things that owners have done to solve the problem, and some are very
elaborate.
Some people want to bend the support rods for the headrests to be
straight, but I think this would weaken them.
What's scary is the person that wrote: "I had the same problem with the
CRV. When I mentioned it to the salesman, the pulled the headrest out
and flipped it around. That position was more comfortable than the
original position." Uh, can you imagine the liability that dealer now faces?
SMS
> On 6/26/2011 5:44 PM, Seth wrote:
>>
>> "SMS" <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4e07b124$0$2152$742e...@news.sonic.net...
>>> On 6/26/2011 2:45 PM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>>>
>>> In any case, I wasn't looking for a lecture on the subject of how dumb
>>> someone was for not realizing the problem (she already admits how dumb
>>> it was), I was hoping that given how big a seller the Accord is, and
>>> given that all recent Accord buyers have the same problem (unless they
>>> are vertically challenged), that someone would have some ideas for a
>>> solution.
>>
>> I'm 5'11" and have zero discomfort on my 2011 EX-L (maybe trim level is
>> part of the equation?). My wife at 5'5". older daughter at 5'6" and
>> youngster at 5'2" have also not complained.
>
> No, the EX-L is what she got as well. I'm 5'10" and could not stand the
> front seats or the right and left back seats.
Actually she didn't get the EX-L, she got the EX. Maybe the leather
seats are not the same seats just covered with leather, but a different
seat entirely.
C. E. White
complain about the headrest in my 2009 F150. Interestingly, they don't seem
to bother me but I am older and sit higher in the seats than my older son,
and my youinger son complains about everything.....
I think this is one you can blame on the IIHS. Having the headrest jut
forward improves the score on the IIHS head restraint evaluation. See
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?honda .
Older Accords only got the acceptable rating. The newer models get a good
ranting. Of course the ratings don't take into account what happens when the
Custoemr modifies the headrests to fix them.
Ed
"Seth" <sethN...@NOSPAMclcpro.com> wrote in message
news:iu8jq9$rc2$1...@nocheese.eternal-september.org...
jim beam
> It is not just Honda that has headrests that annoy people. Both of my sons
> complain about the headrest in my 2009 F150. Interestingly, they don't seem
> to bother me but I am older and sit higher in the seats than my older son,
> and my youinger son complains about everything.....
>
> I think this is one you can blame on the IIHS. Having the headrest jut
> forward improves the score on the IIHS head restraint evaluation. See
> http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?honda .
> Older Accords only got the acceptable rating. The newer models get a good
> ranting.
indeed they do ed, indeed they do.
> Of course the ratings don't take into account what happens when the
> Custoemr modifies the headrests to fix them.
>
> Ed
>
>
> "Seth"<sethN...@NOSPAMclcpro.com> wrote in message
> news:iu8jq9$rc2$1...@nocheese.eternal-september.org...
>>
>> "SMS"<scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4e07b124$0$2152$742e...@news.sonic.net...
>>> On 6/26/2011 2:45 PM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>>>
>>> In any case, I wasn't looking for a lecture on the subject of how dumb
>>> someone was for not realizing the problem (she already admits how dumb it
>>> was), I was hoping that given how big a seller the Accord is, and given
>>> that all recent Accord buyers have the same problem (unless they are
>>> vertically challenged), that someone would have some ideas for a
>>> solution.
>>
>> I'm 5'11" and have zero discomfort on my 2011 EX-L (maybe trim level is
>> part of the equation?). My wife at 5'5". older daughter at 5'6" and
>> youngster at 5'2" have also not complained.
>>
>>
>
>
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
SMS
> It is not just Honda that has headrests that annoy people. Both of my sons
> complain about the headrest in my 2009 F150. Interestingly, they don't seem
> to bother me but I am older and sit higher in the seats than my older son,
> and my youinger son complains about everything.....
>
> I think this is one you can blame on the IIHS. Having the headrest jut
> forward improves the score on the IIHS head restraint evaluation. See
> http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?honda .
> Older Accords only got the acceptable rating. The newer models get a good
> ranting. Of course the ratings don't take into account what happens when the
> Custoemr modifies the headrests to fix them.
Right, and technically they are not headrests, they are head restraints.
There's a reason why they (and some other manufacturers) did what they
did, but the side effects of this are pretty crappy. Honda seems to be
among the worst though. I went peering into a bunch of parked cars to
compare, and many don't have the problem that Honda has (though I did
not compare IIHS scores on the vehicles).
And of course despite those head restraints, the Accord was still not a
top safety pick for IIHS, the agency whose ratings are much more
relevant than NHTSA ratings. <http://www.iihs.org/ratings/>.
tww1491
"SMS" wrote in message news:4e0765de$0$2164$742e...@news.sonic.net...
My sister-in-law bought a 2011 Honda Accord a few months ago and has
Anyone on this thread who remembers old Morgan Plus 4s from the early
60s -- inflatable bladders on wood with a coal cart ride. And we loved it.
J.L.Hemmer
wrote:
>My sister-in-law bought a 2011 Honda Accord a few months ago and has
>been struggling to find a solution to those absurd headrests. Right now
>she has them all reversed, and I helped her notch the opposite post so
>they latch in. This helped, except for the center rear headrest which is
>very small and has short posts because of the fold down console, and
>when reversed is totally non-functional. This is the seat she would like
>her 7 y.o. to sit in, but the child's head is now reaching the headrest,
>and it's so uncomfortable that the child was squawking about how it hurt.
Several months ago, a similar discussion was going on. One person
mentioned that the headrests from the 2007 series seats would fit (the
posts are the same spacing). The headrests in that model don't have
the severe forward tilt as the ones that have "active" head
restraints.
SMS
> Several months ago, a similar discussion was going on. One person
> mentioned that the headrests from the 2007 series seats would fit (the
> posts are the same spacing). The headrests in that model don't have
> the severe forward tilt as the ones that have "active" head
> restraints.
As long as the posts are also the same diameter, that would be a
solution. They've got two sixth generation (1998) Accords, and a Pilot
in their fleet as well, but no seventh generation Accords which is where
the 2007 falls into. I checked on-line, and of course new headrests for
the 2007 model year are expensive, $177 each. She could buy two
headrests with 7" DVD screens for less than that, even though she would
not use the screens. She could also check some used parts places.
jim beam
> On 6/27/2011 8:54 PM, J.L.Hemmer wrote:
>
>> Several months ago, a similar discussion was going on. One person
>> mentioned that the headrests from the 2007 series seats would fit (the
>> posts are the same spacing). The headrests in that model don't have
>> the severe forward tilt as the ones that have "active" head
>> restraints.
>
> As long as the posts are also the same diameter, that would be a
> solution.
they'd have to be the same distance apart for that to have any chance of
working. and they'd have to have the same height adjuster tooth profile
for it to be "safe".
> They've got two sixth generation (1998) Accords, and a Pilot
> in their fleet as well, but no seventh generation Accords which is where
> the 2007 falls into. I checked on-line, and of course new headrests for
> the 2007 model year are expensive, $177 each. She could buy two
> headrests with 7" DVD screens for less than that, even though she would
> not use the screens. She could also check some used parts places.
has she written honda corporate yet? or have honda contacted her
thanking her for the valuable feedback based on their extensive usenet
research and your extensive analysis of the situation?
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
W.T. O'Niel
> My sister-in-law bought a 2011 Honda Accord a few months ago and has
> been struggling to find a solution to those absurd headrests.
Not sure what her problem is but mine are fine. In fact, one of the
reasons I bought my Accord is that the seats are so damned comfortable.
Surprised she didn't notice the incompatibility between her ass and the
Accord seat right off when she sat in the car in the showroom, much less
on the test drive...
jim beam
message still not getting through. try this:
imagine it's warm and sunny, and you're running a lemonade stand. you
make your lemonade, and you sell it to the other kids on the street.
but no one ever comes back to buy a second one. would you not want to
know why? the answer is probably yes, unless you think that going back
to mom and asking for a raise in your allowance to compensate for your
business [and lemonade] failure is an acceptable solution.
now, imagine you're the head of honda usa. would you want to know why
your repeat sales are dropping or not? put yourself in their shoes and
make a decision about what /you/ would want done to ensure you don't
piss your customers off.
you gonna write now? or is carrying on whining to people that care less
than mom the solution?
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
