I've had my new RDX for only a couple of weeks now and absolutely love it. But I am still trying to find the perfect seating position. It seems that no matter what I do, my arms are just a little bit too overstreched all the time if I hold the steering wheel in the 10 and 2 o'clock position and they get fatigued quickly. In my previous cars I would just keep my left hand on top of the steering wheel, and that would do it. But I can't comfortably do this in the RDX. I mean I can, but I don't get the feel that I have a good control of the car in case I need to react. And with a car like this, I want to be an involved driver and not just sit back and barely reach the steering wheel.

I dunno - maybe I am just too picky.

I would appreciate if anyone could share on this subject.

Thanks in advance!

 

Did you know that the steeing wheel tilts and telescopes. Try pulling the steering wheel out towards you for more comfort. You may also want to try raising the seat height a little bit. Good luck

 

yes, i do of course. i've done both - pulled it out as much as i can and brought the seat up higher. i guess it is more of a question of hand placement - 10 and 2 or 3 and 9?

 

With modern air bags, the 9-3 hand position is safer. I've heard that police departments have been training their officers to drive with a lower hand position (like 8-4) just because of the air bag issue.

 

this is true, drivers ed classes as well...with 10 and 2 a lot of ppl are getting broken wrists when the airbag deploys. 9 and 3 is the new thing...hehe good luck finding that "right" spot! i wish i had memory seats cause when i find it and someone moves the seat its a pain to get that perfect spot again...

 

johnny99 beat me 2 it! I never drive 10-2 anymore, nor have I since seats tilt front/back/ back tilts. I learned to hold in the 8-4 positions, or the 9-3 is ok sometimes. Just learn to adjust & you'll get a lot more comfy in the seats!

 

How tall are you anyway? I cant picture someone pulling the wheel up ,tilting it and seat forward still having outstretched arms

 

If the wheel tilted down more then maybe I could find that sweet spot.

 

I've noticed the same problem with the wheel. I'd like to keep it pushed in a bit, but my arms are stretched to far. If I telescope out all the way it is better, but the wheel feels bigger to me... more like I am driving a bus. Pushing it in has more of a go-cart feel, but it hurts after a bit.

The other problem is the 3 spoke design. I think we are meant to hold it where the bulges are at 10 and 2, but that is too high and uncomfortable for me. Also, it is hard to use the paddles with my little fingers. So I drop down and hook my thumbs on the spokes, which becomes uncomfortable after a while. The leather stitching also irritates my skin when I hold the wheel in this position.

I came from an Integra with a 4 spoke wheel and loved it. it gave me more options for holding the wheel. So far I'm not a fan of the 3 spoke, but I think that is the direction most cars have gone, unfortunately.

 

Funny, I've noticed the exact same problem with me and my new RDX. I could potentially tilt the wheel lower but then the top half would be completely blocking the top half of the speedometer, which I don't want, either. If I find something that works, I'll let you know

BTW, how tall are you? I'm 6'6" and I'm forced to sit fairly far away from the wheel so my knees/shins don't hit the dash.

 

Creativeguy and JGard - you guys are right on!

That is my issue - especially with wanting to tilt the steering wheel lower and lower, but then it blocks the top part of my speedometer. I too want to hold the steering wheel at the bulges at 10 and 2 for ultimate control, but my arms get tired quickly. So that is why I posed the question here.

From what I observe during the daily commute, it looks that most cars have their steering wheels up high like that. Moreover, many have the wheel tilted away from the driver at some odd angles. RDX is not that bad in this respect, but its wheel too tilts away from you, so that in addition to reaching up high to grasp it at 10 and 2, you also have to rotate your wrists to hold it. I don't know what is the design reason for that.

I wish my steering wheel was just almost parallel to the dashboard - without the away tilt. But I have only seen it in old GM cars.

Another thing that irritated me initially was the low hanging dash design - I have to watch my knee space when trying to adjust the seating position. I actually think the dash is dangerously low - God forbid in case of a frontal collision my knee will hit that thing hard.

PS And no - I am no a particularly tall guy - I am 5'9".

 

Same problem for me. Not a fan of the 3-spoke design. My old car, a 2001 Pathfinder (beast!) had a 4-spoke wheel and much lower driver's window sill, which meant I could rest my left elbow right on the window edge and hold the wheel comfortably at 9. I find the windows on the RDX are a little too high that if I tried to rest my elbow on it (instead of the armrest on the door) my arm would go numb!

Still though, I prefer the 4-spoke design because it lets me hold the wheel at 9 and 3, whereas 9 and 3 seem to be blocked by the spokes on the RDX. As well, for long straight highway stretches, I'm a big fan of one hand at 6, resting on my lap. Can't do it with 3 spokes! I tend to do a strange 7:30 and 2:15 thing now though, which seems to work out fine with no arm fatigue.

 

I had a similar problem on the test drive. To not have to extend my arms, even with the wheel pulled out all the way, I had to raise the seat so that the wheel was closer to my lap. But then I couldn't see the speedometer.

So I tried lowering the seat all the way and lowering the wheel. But the wheel doesn't go low enough!

I think if the wheel went down another little bit, I could get comfortable with the seat in its lowest position.

Maybe it's a short person thing. I'm 5'8".