So a few weeks ago, I picked up a 2010 LX-P with less than 40k miles. Got it to replace the wife's 97 Buick that was still running good but just falling apart. We love the car (as most everyone else has been saying). Handles good, good interior space, nice ride, etc. And I know that Honda builds a good car and I know many that have owned them and have well over 200,000 on their Accords and Civics and the like, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. But on a whistle stop trip to Houston and back a few nights ago, I began to wonder if I made a mistake. The drive was 2 hours one way, so 4 hours spent total driving the car. By the time I got back home, I was in pain and thought the car was just riding too rough. Drive it around town, it feels great, so what gives? I took another 4 hours out of my Saturday the other day to just drive the stupid thing and see if I could figure out if it's worth keeping or not. And I've narrowed the problem down to the lumbar support tied to the headrest. The passenger seat is not anywhere near as bad, but still there.

So I've been doing a lot of reading and looking and it looks like it's a fairly easy fix that will make the car worth keeping for the wife and I. I have studied Mike's thread and am going to pick up a twin size piece of convoluted foam so I can shove in there and experiment with.

However, my LX-P has a white backplate not the black one with the white lumbar support like the one here. I haven't got the full seat cover off to take a look at how the mechanism ties together, just unzipped one side to get a general idea, but what have folks done with this setup? Is the large metal bar that is between the two smaller wire clips the lumbar support in this setup? Just trying to get an idea of what I'm going to be looking at.

 

It looks like post 27 has the setup like your accord. The write-up makes it sound like bending those coat hanger-type wires, so the plastic support moves towards the rear of the vehicle helps with back pain.

 

Yes. The photo in post 25 (linked above) and 27 are the same.

I'm just curious as to what part is actually the lumbar plate? In Mike's photos, the lumbar plate sits at the bottom, in front of the large black plate (which in my case is white). But I don't see the same lumbar plate. When I open the seat cover, I see what is in posts 25 and 27. I can't see how the cable is tied from the headrest to whatever plate is providing the lumbar support.

I guess I'm just going to have to get out and tear into it. Hopefully this tropical storm blows through quick so I can get at it before the weekend. I'd like to be able to anyway.

 

I think the white plastic piece is the lumbar support.

From what I read, adjusting the headrest changes the lumbar position. I'd suggest moving the headrest to see how the mechanism works.

 

Well that was my plan when I had time to completely unzip the seat and look at it, but I just wondered what I might be dealing with, that's all. Thought someone would have jacked with it in the 2010's and could give me a heads up... looks like it changed from 09 to 10.

I thought there would have been a smaller piece that sticks out like a bowling ball. I'm aware that the big white plastic like in my car is the entire lumbar support, but I'll dig into it once this tropical storm blows through.

 

Ok, my Accord is NOT set up like Mike's post. There is no cable that attaches to the lumbar. It's all linkage from what I can see (see pics in posts 25/27 in Mike's thread I linked above). So... what have others done with that type of a setup? Will that whole system come out?

 

Well, I got into it last night. Thankfully all the remnants of Bill passed by noon and things started to dry out. Phew! Anyway, I just removed the whole thing. I put the top wire back in to hold some foam in place in the upper back area, but there is no separate lumbar support in my LX-P. It's just that big piece of white plastic (or in Mike's thread, black). The headrests are connected by linkage to the lower "tomato cage" wire that moves back and forth and the large plastic piece moves with it, pivoting on the smaller, top wire. I just removed the whole thing, stuffed with foam (more in the upper back than lower) and put only the top wire back in place to hold the foam in place. We'll see how I handle this now ... If I can't make this work, I guess I'm trading it and going to go back to a Chevy. This is the ONLY thing that I don't like about this Accord...besides the fact that I can't do anything to the radio to get XM or ipod integration, but I'm solving that by completely swapping to an aftermarket HU. Anywhoo.... wish me luck!