How To Fix Lumbar Lump In 2008 + Accords That Hurt Your Back*
 

I have finally figured out how to relieve the back pain I, and others are having with their 2008+ Accords. First I must say that I have never had back problems and I am in very good health. I only started having back pain once I purchased this car (2008 EXL sedan however this will work for all Accords and is probably similar for all Honda cars for these years). The pain I experienced was so bad that I ended up on pain killers and decided to sell the car if this did not work. In my quest to fix this problem I wanted a solution that does not compromise the Honda Active headrest safety device but provides relief for the pain this device inflicts on my back. I also wanted to make a modification that could be COMPLETELY "undone" to put the car back the way it was from the factory if I didn't like the change and wanted to get rid of the car. With that said, this procedure modifies the seat and a safety device but in my opinion still keeps it functioning and accomplishes all of the above.

I believe that if you have some minor mechanical experience, some time, patience and will to get the job done, you can accomplish this task. The first thing I realized was that to make any changes to the seats inner workings, I would need to get the seat back off. The seat back is just a large piece of plastic with two clips holding it on at the bottom.

This is my first "How to" thread so I don't know how to post the pictures so they look all nice and be in the post. So you'll have to look at the photos on the bottom attachments.

1. The first photo is a picture of one of the two clips so you can see what you are working to get free.. The two clips are located at the very bottom of the seat back cover in the bottom left and right corners. You will need to unhook the elastic strap that holds the bottom of the fabric in place at the bottom of the seat so you can see (feel where these are located. If you can feel them, you might be able to pinch them with a pointy nose pliers and work them out (pretty unlikely). The mechanic at HONDA said they just pull really hard on the bottom of the seat and break the clips. The new ones are about $3 a piece.

2. In the second photo you can see what the internal workings of the seat with the back cover off.

3. The third photo shows the two holes in the bottom corners where the clips go into and in the bottom center you can see the adjustable lumbar support cable hooking into the white adjuster plate. The adjuster plate lies in front of the black large plate. I'll get back to that later.

4. The fourth photo is where you can see I am pointing to the upper thin wire. In this photo you can see the black lumbar plate, the upper thin wire I am pointing to and the lower thick black wire.

5. Take a look at the upper wire and slide it out of its connections on each end. The wire then can just snap out with a little effort. Bend the wire so it looks like photo 5.

Continued..

Continued.

6. In the next step you will need to remove the lower wire. This is made easier by pushing forward in the head rest. When you push it forward, you can see that it becomes loose and then you can unhook it from the pivoting plates it hooks into on each end. You then need to get a wire that is the same diameter and type of metal so that you can bend it into a new modified replacement wire. I went down to Lowes and purchased a Heavy Duty tomato cage ($3.50) and removed one of the vertical wires because it is nearly the same size. Picture #6 shows the original lower wire and the new one I fabricated. The new silver one is slightly deeper than the original one.

7. The new re-fabricated lower wire is only different in that it is longer on each end by about 1/2" on each side. Take a look at photo #7 (the second one in this post). This step took a little time but all I used was a pilers and a channel lock type pliers to grab and bend the wire.

8. The next thing I did was put a layer of foam that I got from Walmart that you would put on top of your bed into the entire seat back. Also not shown here is some added foam that I put on the very top and some more on each vertical side of the seat back. Look at photo #8 (third in this post).

9. The next photo shows the black back plate re-installed WITHOUT the white adjustable lumbar support in place. If you remove the white adjustable lumbar support plate, this will stop a lot of the pain but obviously you won't have that function anymore in your seat. I personally am glad it is gone. Well worth removing it. Please note that the lower wire is installed upside down. Installing it this way will lower the entire back plate which will further relieve the pressure on your back.


Replace the adjustable lumbar cable even though it does not connect to anything so that it does not interfere with anything and put the seat back on. You can snap the back cover into place and feel the results of what you have done without putting the new bottom clips in. If you fabricated the new wire TOO deep, the seat back will not stay on. It is tempting to make the lower wire even deeper, but it won't allow you to get the seat back on...... No good. If you are not satisfied and want to put the seat back to it's original condition, you can do that from here. Also if you want to leave the adjustable lumbar in place you can do that also. I recommend taking it out.

I hope this brings relief to your back and allows you drive your car the way it should be. It is just a shame that HONDA didn't do all this in the first place.

I hope this gets a Sticky!!

Nice write-up - THANKS.

nice write up
 

thanks for the great write up! another way i found to help this issue is to push the head rest forward, and stick some bolts or something solid into the 2 slots the head rest goes in. This holds the head rest in place and pushes it forward. The lumbar lump decreases significantly and is WAY more comfortable. I know its kinda ghetto but it works great. If you don't mind the head rest pointed up forward a bit...then its fine. I dont really use my headrest when driving.

If you drive with your seat fairly reclined when driving you probably won't notice the headrest tilting forward, but if your seat is more upright, you will notice it. The fix explained here is integrated into the seat and keeps everything looking nice. The idea you mentioned will simulate how the fix I showed here will feel to drivers who want to try it. Both ideas really make a big difference.

Awesome! I just bought my 2008 EX-L coupe and was in love with it, until the back pain set in. Not to mention the numbness running down my leg, etc. I was worried I was going to need to install an entirely new seat! Thank God I read this, I will try it right away. Thanks!

Great step by step write up. The pics help a ton too.

All of the modifications are not really that hard. The only thing is just pulling those two bottom clips out, and getting the right bend in the lower wire by trial and error. All I have to do is do this again to my passenger seat!

I removed the entire Active Head Restraint plate assembly today and it made a world of difference. When I get around to buying some wire, I might try the modification outlined here.

To add to the original post: To remove the back cover, you need to work a couple more side clips off. These are not the clips mentioned in the post. After removing the trim clips that are shown in the post, there are two plastic clips "pinching" the squiggly grey looking tubes shown in the pictures. One on each side. They will pop with a little force. Just work your hand in there from the right side bottom to about the middle and you can tell from the tension that it is there. I don't think you would be able to break them by doing this.

Be careful, your active head restraint is now non functional. I found driving without it for about a week helped let my back heal while I fabricated the wire.

This is exactly correct. Thanks!