19 Accord Touring 2.0 uncomfortable driving position + short term review

stocovick said:

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting on the forum, and I would just like to share some of my thoughts after driving the car for about 8k km and also get the opinion of other accord owners. As the title says, it is the 2019 Touring 2.0t, pearl white with the tan interior, and the car is a lease. I feel like most reviewers do not mention the things I describe here so I hope this post helps people that are planning on buying one.

First, I would like to say that I think this car is one of the best values in the market right now and I really enjoy most of its features, power, handling, and aesthetics. However, a few things are bothering me since I got the car, and I am not sure if it is me or the car. The only thing I know is that I did not have some of these issues with any other car I had before. I also drive different cars from work and never experienced any of the problems I am about to describe.

So the main issue for me is the driving position and seat comfort. For reference, I am skinny, 1.82m height and weight about 76kg with long legs and a shorter torso. For some reason, I just can't find a position that I don't feel pain in my lower back, outside thighs, butt chicks, and left knee. I find the seat cushion too hard. It feels like I am sitting on a hard surface, especially so on the left side. Maybe it has something to do with the ventilated seats? The seat also feels strangely narrow for such a big car. I feel like my left thigh is sitting on top of the seat bolster which seems too high. That creates a terrible pressure point, which makes me want to move my left leg constantly. It does not help the fact that the footrest is on a strange angle/position and is not big enough for my foot. Besides being narrow, the seat is also too far from the left armrest to allow for keeping the hand on the wheel while resting the arm. Moving on, the lumbar support feels strange for some reason and seems to "deflate" after some time. Not sure if that is really happening or not, but I find myself having to adjust it constantly. As I mentioned, I have long legs, and that means I need to push the seat almost to the back, but when I do that, the steering wheel gets too far to reach comfortably. The depth range of movement of the steering wheel is abysmal, and for that reason, I can never find a proper seat adjustment. I have to choose between sitting closer and having my knees bent too much to the point of causing pain or sitting farther back and having to reach for the steering wheel with my arms almost fully extended, which after some time, can cause fatigue. Still, on the topic of the steering wheel, does anybody else feel like it is too hard? The palm of my hands gets sore after some time driving. Because of all that, I can never feel comfortable when driving the car, and that is really disappointing. I feel like I have to keep moving to relieve pressure points and pain across my body. It just doesn't feel right. And before anyone say it, I did a test drive the car before I bought it, but in the short time that I drove it, I was too busy having fun with the powerful engine and did not notice the seat comfort.

Other smaller issues and complaints I have:
- Android Auto and Google Maps cannot start navigation and always gives an error message. You can find more about it, searching on Google.
he Bluetooth connection is a bit unreliable, but I am not sure if it is the car or my Pixel 3 XL. I just know that sometimes I have to turn off the car, right after having turned it on, because the phone does not connect. I think the problem is the car because I tried rebooting the phone, and that does not fix the problem. Only turning the car off and on again fixes it.

• The cup holders are too big and do not keep taller bottles and cups securely in place.
• This one does not bother me too much but I did notice panel gaps outside that are too wide for my taste. My front doors do not align flush with the back doors. The front hood also does not align properly. But like I said, these things don't bother me as much but they are noticeable.
• Now, this next one maybe somebody could test and let me know. When using the lane keep assist, the system does not handle curves to the right as well as it does to the left. I had a 2017 Civic before that had the same behaviour. I am not sure if there is a reason for that or if it needs calibration but it is something that I noticed.
• The armrest padding could be better. It seems the trend with this car is that every surface that you touch is hard.
• The subwoofer rattles. It was a known issue with the Civic and it is with this car. I tried a few things but can't get rid of it completely so I end up avoiding some songs. But overall I don't find the system that bad. It could definitely be better if the subwoofer was placed somewhere else.
• The automatic gearbox is not the smoothest. People say it gets better the more you drive it so let's see. But you can definitely feel it from second to third or the other way around in some situations. It does not happen all the time though.
• The infotainment crashes from time to time. It can be annoying if you are using navigation. The screen turns black and the system reboots. I tried checking for updates over the air but didn't find any.
• No sensor in the back doors is a bit of a hassle.
• No mirror adjustment memory linked with the seats.
• No height adjustment for the passenger seat.
• The car has too much power to be front-wheel drive only. It is easy to spin the front tires under stronger acceleration. An all-wheel-drive system would make it way better

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• Never had any issue with the cupholders, super tall water bottles? Sure they are top heavy only a much smaller opening that fits the tall bottle snug would work. Try using the ones in the door forward of the pocket.
• Panel gaps haven't been an issue for me, the rubber strip above the windshield has been on both cars though.
• Which armrest, door or center? I just drove to my second 300 mile road trip Saturday. I felt no discomfort in any way. I am a big guy too, about 6' and 3 bills.
• Never had any rattle unless I try to max the bass on a real heavy bass song. The whole sound system is a negative IMO
• I experienced some rough shifting when really new. It has smoothed out a lot. Some downshifts in Sport mode are still firm but that is part of Sport mode. I love how the 10 spd works personally.
• Info system in my car has been nearly flawless, not so much in my wife's. Reboots on it's own, assuming it crashed, freezing, never booting at start up sometimes.
• Sensors in the back door???
• I'm grateful having the seats but side mirrors would be icing on the cake indeed.
• Never understood Japanese cars not having this on ANY car ever I've owned!
• Never too much power. Better & wider tires would likely help. A vicous or helical diff would do the job to quell it also.

stocovick said:

Now the pros:

• The car is quick and the handling is very good. I actually like the pumped in engine noise. It makes the car feel sportier. Too bad I can almost never use all of its power. The traffic and roads here in Toronto are not the best.
• The heated seats have worked very well so far but the winter hasn't really started yet so we will see.
• I love Honda sensing and I think it works pretty well. It is definitely an improvement over the system in the 2017 Civic that I had. ACC works way better than in the Civic. Some people complain about the automatic emergency breaking being too sensitive but I didn't have any issues with that.
• The automatic dual-zone climate control is awesome.
• The steering wheel design is one of the best and I love the easy to use controls.
• I love the remote control and walk away to lock features. Although the walk away to lock can get in the way when filling up the gas. If you wait too long the car locks and you can't open the fuel door so you have to touch the handle again or use the remote.
• The LED headlights and fog lights are amazing.
• The trunk is huge and the space for passengers in the back seats is great.
• Having two keys linked to the different memory seats presets is very cool.
• Road noise is very acceptable when driving on good asphalt. Over rough pavement, it can get noisy though. I am not sure how much the noise canceling is actually blocking and how much is just the insulation.
• The buttons and knobs feel nice and clicky and are well labeled and organized throughout the cabin.
• I love how the climate control lowers the fan speed when using voice commands. I am not sure if other cars also do that.

I think I got everything but if somebody has any questions about the car please feel free to ask. And please let me know what you think about the seats and driving position. I know everybody is different but maybe somebody feels the same way I do.

Thank you!

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• Ha try Detroit roads!
• I never use more than med setting. Wife uses the high all the time. If I get in her car it "cooks" my A$$, they work just fine and should continue to.
• I thought they had the same Sensing systems? How are they different? I'd expect them to work the same.
• I rarely use it but it has worked well when I have.
• I like the wheel. The base LX/EX wheel is awful without the leather though.
• Never had an issue, you get out and the gas door is right there to open, how are you not opening it in time?
• I tire of being flashed as if I have my brights on....
• First comment my son had was the back seat is enormous.
• Like a luxury car.
• Same experience there.
• Honda ergonomics
• First car I had with the feature so IDK

stocovick said:

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting on the forum, and I would just like to share some of my thoughts after driving the car for about 8k km and also get the opinion of other accord owners. As the title says, it is the 2019 Touring 2.0t, pearl white with the tan interior, and the car is a lease. I feel like most reviewers do not mention the things I describe here so I hope this post helps people that are planning on buying one.

First, I would like to say that I think this car is one of the best values in the market right now and I really enjoy most of its features, power, handling, and aesthetics. However, a few things are bothering me since I got the car, and I am not sure if it is me or the car. The only thing I know is that I did not have some of these issues with any other car I had before. I also drive different cars from work and never experienced any of the problems I am about to describe.

So the main issue for me is the driving position and seat comfort. For reference, I am skinny, 1.82m height and weight about 76kg with long legs and a shorter torso. For some reason, I just can't find a position that I don't feel pain in my lower back, outside thighs, butt chicks, and left knee. I find the seat cushion too hard. It feels like I am sitting on a hard surface, especially so on the left side. Maybe it has something to do with the ventilated seats? The seat also feels strangely narrow for such a big car. I feel like my left thigh is sitting on top of the seat bolster which seems too high. That creates a terrible pressure point, which makes me want to move my left leg constantly. It does not help the fact that the footrest is on a strange angle/position and is not big enough for my foot. Besides being narrow, the seat is also too far from the left armrest to allow for keeping the hand on the wheel while resting the arm. Moving on, the lumbar support feels strange for some reason and seems to "deflate" after some time. Not sure if that is really happening or not, but I find myself having to adjust it constantly. As I mentioned, I have long legs, and that means I need to push the seat almost to the back, but when I do that, the steering wheel gets too far to reach comfortably. The depth range of movement of the steering wheel is abysmal, and for that reason, I can never find a proper seat adjustment. I have to choose between sitting closer and having my knees bent too much to the point of causing pain or sitting farther back and having to reach for the steering wheel with my arms almost fully extended, which after some time, can cause fatigue. Still, on the topic of the steering wheel, does anybody else feel like it is too hard? The palm of my hands gets sore after some time driving. Because of all that, I can never feel comfortable when driving the car, and that is really disappointing. I feel like I have to keep moving to relieve pressure points and pain across my body. It just doesn't feel right. And before anyone say it, I did a test drive the car before I bought it, but in the short time that I drove it, I was too busy having fun with the powerful engine and did not notice the seat comfort.

Other smaller issues and complaints I have:
- Android Auto and Google Maps cannot start navigation and always gives an error message. You can find more about it, searching on Google.
he Bluetooth connection is a bit unreliable, but I am not sure if it is the car or my Pixel 3 XL. I just know that sometimes I have to turn off the car, right after having turned it on, because the phone does not connect. I think the problem is the car because I tried rebooting the phone, and that does not fix the problem. Only turning the car off and on again fixes it.

• The ventilated seat is a hit or miss. Sometimes I feel like it is doing something, and other times is just making noise. Waiting for the ac to cool down the cabin before turning it on, definitely makes a difference and I couldn't figure out if the seat ventilation turns on when you turn the car on remotely.
• The cup holders are too big and do not keep taller bottles and cups securely in place.
• This one does not bother me too much but I did notice panel gaps outside that are too wide for my taste. My front doors do not align flush with the back doors. The front hood also does not align properly. But like I said, these things don't bother me as much but they are noticeable.
• Now, this next one maybe somebody could test and let me know. When using the lane keep assist, the system does not handle curves to the right as well as it does to the left. I had a 2017 Civic before that had the same behaviour. I am not sure if there is a reason for that or if it needs calibration but it is something that I noticed.
• The armrest padding could be better. It seems the trend with this car is that every surface that you touch is hard.
• The subwoofer rattles. It was a known issue with the Civic and it is with this car. I tried a few things but can't get rid of it completely so I end up avoiding some songs. But overall I don't find the system that bad. It could definitely be better if the subwoofer was placed somewhere else.
• The automatic gearbox is not the smoothest. People say it gets better the more you drive it so let's see. But you can definitely feel it from second to third or the other way around in some situations. It does not happen all the time though.
• The infotainment crashes from time to time. It can be annoying if you are using navigation. The screen turns black and the system reboots. I tried checking for updates over the air but didn't find any.
• No sensor in the back doors is a bit of a hassle.
• No mirror adjustment memory linked with the seats.
• No height adjustment for the passenger seat.
• It is hard to keep the phone in the right place when using the wireless charger. The surface area is too wide but the actual spot where it charges is way narrower and there is nothing to keep it in place. The phone can also get very hot and stop charging.
• The car has too much power to be front-wheel drive only. It is easy to spin the front tires under stronger acceleration. An all-wheel-drive system

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Bobcat00 said:

I got a 2019 Accord EX-L sedan a few weeks ago. I think it has the same seats as the Touring model, but without the ventilation feature. I find the seat bottom is very hard, like sitting on a metal bleacher seat. It hurts my hip bone! If I put the seat bottom all the way down and to the back, I can slouch and it doesn't hurt as much. But that's not an ideal driving position.

The ventilation system runs the fan too slow to maintain a comfortable temperature. The 'auto' system in my old 2012 Accord was better.

There's a rattle from under the dashboard, coming from a rectangular plastic box directly under the steering wheel. What is that box?

The voice commands don't work with my USB drive. But I haven't had the system reset itself.

Other than that, I'm happy with the car, and I look for excuses to go drive places. Already took it to Montreal, Barnegat Lighthouse, and High Point State Park.

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jwtarbaj said:

I have 2 EX-Ls, one with each engine. I've eliminated the Touring specific items.

• Never had any issue with the cupholders, super tall water bottles? Sure they are top heavy only a much smaller opening that fits the tall bottle snug would work. Try using the ones in the door forward of the pocket.
• Panel gaps haven't been an issue for me, the rubber strip above the windshield has been on both cars though.
• Which armrest, door or center? I just drove to my second 300 mile road trip Saturday. I felt no discomfort in any way. I am a big guy too, about 6' and 3 bills.
• Never had any rattle unless I try to max the bass on a real heavy bass song. The whole sound system is a negative IMO
• I experienced some rough shifting when really new. It has smoothed out a lot. Some downshifts in Sport mode are still firm but that is part of Sport mode. I love how the 10 spd works personally.
• Info system in my car has been nearly flawless, not so much in my wife's. Reboots on it's own, assuming it crashed, freezing, never booting at start up sometimes.
• Sensors in the back door???
• I'm grateful having the seats but side mirrors would be icing on the cake indeed.
• Never understood Japanese cars not having this on ANY car ever I've owned!
• Never too much power. Better & wider tires would likely help. A vicous or helical diff would do the job to quell it also.

• Ha try Detroit roads!
• I never use more than med setting. Wife uses the high all the time. If I get in her car it "cooks" my A$$, they work just fine and should continue to.
• I thought they had the same Sensing systems? How are they different? I'd expect them to work the same.
• I rarely use it but it has worked well when I have.
• I like the wheel. The base LX/EX wheel is awful without the leather though.
• Never had an issue, you get out and the gas door is right there to open, how are you not opening it in time?
• I tire of being flashed as if I have my brights on....
• First comment my son had was the back seat is enormous.
• Like a luxury car.
• Same experience there.
• Honda ergonomics
• First car I had with the feature so IDK

Click to expand...

• Maybe I need smaller water bottles! Mine does not fit on the ones in the door.
• My issue is with the left side armrest. It seems too far to reach comfortably.
• Honda reserves the door handle sensor to open and close the back passenger doors to the Acura models.

• I've been to Detroit before but haven't noticed the streets/traffic being that bad! I was there for a short time, though.
• About honda sensing, the ACC function on my civic was not great. It got scary a few times in stop and go traffic. The car would accelerate hard and get very close to one in front of me, and then the collision mitigation system would start beeping. It just didn't feel natural. My wife hated it. Our heads kept being thrown forward and backward. Maybe there was something wrong with it, but I never asked the dealer to look at it. I just know that the accord feels much more natural.
• Sometimes when I stop for gas, I get out of the car and reach for my wallet before opening the gas door, and by the time I do, it is locked because of the walk away to lock function. That is not a big deal, though.

Cr0 said:

I played a bass heavy song the other day in my touring and there was rattle in the back. It’s sad that Honda cheaps out on the sound systems.

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grumpypolecat said:

I find that the door armrest is too far away to allow my arm to reach the wheel comfortably as well. I really have to reach and it is only comfortable for a minute or two. I don't like the square cupholder design, but have not had any issues with my cups or bottles.

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2018TwoPointOh said:

I have the same phone, and Android Auto works flawlessly. Sorry to hear yours is having issues -- I'm wondering if there's a software update out there for your phone or car that hasn't been applied.

You also mentioned that the phone doesn't stay in place when wirelessly charging. My 2018 has a raised plastic piece on either side of the wireless charger that is just a bit wider than the phone and holds it in place without issue. Did they get rid of that for 2019?

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johnbell2 said:

new 2019 HAH Touring owner here... per OP's description, I'm slightly taller and clock in at 109 kg / 240 lb... comfort either in jeans or shorts hasn't been an issue, elbows and knees end up where I want them and it's a comfortable lean whichever way I slouch in the car... I test drove this car enough to know whether or not I would be comfortable in it, I have plans for long trips and if I wasn't comfortable it would have been 'no sale'... granted, I don't mind a firmer seat so like most of this it's just personal preference...

what really sold me was how comfortable my wife was sitting in the back seat... she tends to get car sick if not sitting in the front and reported back it was the best riding car she'd ever sat in for back seat duty... that was a huge plus and told me all I needed to know about ride / handling...

I've had bottles / cans in the cup holder already, they are a little loose but nothing rattles which is nice... nothing spills which is nicer still

The factory radio... meh, lots of eye candy but not the best sounding in the world... I came from a Pontiac G8 which had a factory Blaupunkt head unit and twin subs so it was gonna be a tough act to follow... one trick to make it better and have the sound feel a little more 'full', adjust the fader to about two notches towards the rear seats... the front tweeter setup is really tin sounding and that helps knock down a lot of that... do that and scoop your mids and you're 'good enough' for daily duty... overall, the interior acoustics of the car could use some serious work, the speakers are probably set up more for noise cancellation than actually providing good cabin sound imho... oh well, trade offs are trade offs and I can live with it...

I fully understand where the OP is coming from, like anything else it helps to really wrestle out what's important to you in a couple test drives before making the commitment... I'm pretty happy with mine, I tend to hold my cars for 10 years plus and I'm certain that the good Lord willing I'll do that with this one as well...

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Spied4US said:

Stocovick: Unfortunately, I haven't got a ready answer to the issue you are having with the seat in your Accord. I, too, am tall, and unfortunately for us both, there's no inexpensive or quick fix that will meaningfully change the seating position in your car -- i.e., the relationship between the seat and the steering wheel. Your only possible solution lies, perhaps, in your having the seat reupholstered to your specifications. (That possibility, btw, is not an idea I'm pulling out of a hat. It's been done by several 991.2 (Porsche) owners, many of whom didn't like the "fit" of their 14-way & 18-way seats.) Even is this possible, however, it may be so expensive as to be impractical. Also, at some point re-working the upholstery may result in your changing the relationship of how you fit in the seat to such an extent that you will not longer be seated within the "profile" of the airbag. The airbag sensor may actually indicate that, and if so, you'd be wise not to ignore the warning.

I'll defer to others WRT the electronics and infotainment issues you mention.

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HondaBre said:

OP: remember - this is NOT your car. You are driving long term rental. In less than 3 years you can try different brand, (like 2021 Sonata) and compare.
What bothers me a lot reading all these posts is unstable media center. I would not like NAVI to 'reboots' itself when it is needed the most.I hope all other tech features work as expected (ACC, back-up sensor, etc.).

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CHS Touring said:

I have a 2018 Touring 2.0 and a few comments

1) While I also have longer legs and a shorter torso forcing me to put the seat all the way back,I don’t have the same issues you expressed. The seats are very comfortable for me and my arm rests comfortably on the door and armrest and the steering wheel adjusts back to my reach. I am heavier than you but obviously body frames are different person to person so perhaps it’s a bad fit for your size? It may be difficult for a car manufacturer to meet the specs for every single type of person who may drive the car.
2) subwoofer is problematic. I too have a loud bass rattle not yet addressed by myself or brought to the dealers attention. Overall audio quality is not good compared to other cars I have owned.
3) Ventilated seats vary greatly by manufacturer but most all of them are not great. I live in the southern US and they don’t make much of a difference unless my car is parked in a garage and I turn them on before leaving. I then can feel cooler air circulating but they don’t cool seats down when the interior is over 100 degrees. I had this same issue on my Audi and Chevrolet in the past.
4) Agree that power and front wheel drive is a tough match if you are a lead foot especially when turning from a stop. I think rear wheel drive would offset this a bit but introduce other challenges. All wheel drive would mitigate this but add complexity and cost.

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johnbell2 said:

@stocovick I think the seats bite into you because they're pretty firm and you're thin / lean in build... so, I can see that being uncomfortable... you may have the dealer check the overall condition of the seat, if it feels like the lumbar support isn't holding up over time and/or the seat cushion material isn't getting the job done, it may just be a bad seat... it's not common but it does happen, they're mass manufactured pieces after all...

I looked at the CX-5, the Camry, the Avalon, the RAV4, Chevy Colorado, GMC Terrain, you name it... at the end of the day I had no desire to pay the CUV/SUV/truck premium and, frankly, I like sedans... plus I anticipated the need for efficient commuting coupled with range for long trips and the HAH features were the only ones that intersected with what I wanted... the price was right too imho... no regrets here, I hope I end up driving the wheels off of it

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Andrew O said:

I just recently drove 10hrs with v.brief stops, I don't find current seats in my 2.0 Sport much different from previous generations and I owned every Accord since 79, I am 5'-8" w.long legs and slim built, no issue for me

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HondaBre said:

Sonata 2020 has everything and MORE. You should wait few more months...

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Bobcat00 said:

Translation: We have bony asses! Not enough padding in our butts!

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Bobcat00 said:

Just took a closer look. I'm pretty sure it's the knee airbag. When the box starts to rattle, I can pull it toward me just a fraction of an inch and the rattle stops.

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