Clarity Seats....uncomfortable?

It all depends on body shape. My wife and I consider the seats to be very comfortable.

 

Me too. And isn’t it strange that anyone would buy a car with seats that didn’t fit them. I suppose that’s why there are so many types of aftermarket seat cushion toppers available.

 

Lack of adjustable lumbar support was a problem for me (too many years of back damage). I got one of these
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2RLBZ1
which helps. It's thin enough that it doesn't push me forward too much and still allows some heat through.

 

Pictures. We want pictures!
Great idea BTW.

 

For trips of 300 miles or fewer I find the seats in the Clarity to be good as-is. When I do a long trip, say more than 1000 miles which I do about once per-year (I like driving for vacation), then I like to use some type of additional lumbar support. The one I have is like a hard plastic board with a cloth cover. It tends to force a specific sitting posture. I don't like to use it at all on short trips, but find it very useful on long ones. I also have some back injury from doing grading work in a lumber yard when I was in my 20's. Lots of heavy lifting and twisting, didn't realize would affect me later on. Anyway, may not matter for folks with healthy backs.

 

Very creative solution.

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KBB review made a huge deal about lumbar support, so when test driving the Clarity we paid special attention to it. Our Accord had lumbar support, we have never once used it (netiher me or the wife). So that being said, Clarity is very comfortable to us and we do not notice that there is no lumbar support. I guess some people need it, while others dont. To me it just feels like something is jabbing me in the lower back when I try to use it.

 

I also find the seats to be very comfortable. During trips where I’m driving for more than five hours at a time, I’ve sometimes noticed a little more leg stiffness and fatigue than I’ve experienced in other vehicles (although middle age is another variable in this equation that shouldn’t be discounted). I’ve also noticed though that using ACC and the brake hold feature can really help to mitigate (or altogether avoid) a lot of the leg stiffness on long trips.

 

Attached pictures as requested.
Plywood slides up into frame slot at top and then into bottom slot
My back may be unique, but this change makes me look forward to drives anywhere in the Clarity.
Support is improved along the entire back for me.
I would have rated the seats at zero before and 100 now.

 

Thank you for the pictures.
What thickness of plywood did you use and did you happen to record the measurements for us?

 

10" x 18" piece of 1/2 plywood

 

Well, not all that strange. I took extra care in test driving with my wife and paid extra for touring as I thought the seats were better. My wife agreed with me that the seats were ok. First long trip we took she is in pain because there is not enough thigh support, the passenger seat is too low. Our fault totally, but what more could I do, I test drove the thing 3 times and I think my wife was just fed up with the process. So that is how someone can buy a car that’s not comfortable for them on long distances.

 

Or, you could be like me in Canada and have no opportunity to test drive one within 600kms, being instead forced to rely on five minutes in the seats when the car show is in town.

 

I bought my Clarity for the technology - battery range and high efficiency powertrain.
The seats seemed softer than I liked, but over time it became a chore to sit during long trips.
Lumbar cushions didn't help: they were too big and moved around while I was driving.
FYI, I use a stand up desk at work because it's easier on my back.
I was at the point of shopping for racing seats with more support when I saw that some seats have optional inserts and that's when I got the idea to look at modifying the seat frame/cushion.
My original idea was to brace and then shim lumbar and thoracic areas, but I found shimming wasn't necessary in my case.
I lucked out with just bracing the saggy springs, since the cushion is already designed/shaped very well.

 

Nice work on the wood supports. I bet others will follow your lead.

 

I think the thigh support in the driver seat is insufficient: I use a tapered cushion 'backwards'.

 

my left hamstring hurts and feels like the circulation is cut off. My 2008 civic was much more comfortable for me. My back does not suffer though, just my left leg.

 

Thus one of the few advantages of the Touring, tilt adjustable dear bottoms.

 

Re thigh support:

That was a concern for me also, since seat was shorter than my old Accord:

One thing the Touring has, that the base does not (even unpowered) is a seat tilt control. I assume your wife tried this to bring the front of the seat up for more thigh support? If not consider it. I did this in driver’s side and it was a big help.

This was actually a major consideration for me in Touring vs base (pricey, I know, but...)
since as far as I can tell the base doesn’t have any control to adjust this.


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PS power seat is different. No tilt.