I got an 2004 TSX with a bit over 88k on the odometer. The drivers seat is starting to shift more often and feels like it is shifting further then before. You guys think this may still be covered since it would seem to me that it's quite a safety issue eventually.
If it's not covered, and gets bad enough, by replacing the seats with aftermarket ones with no airbags, would that disable the entire airbag system or just the seats?

 

maybe just replace the seat rails and motors. the whole seat is not broken so why replace it. I don't know about the air bag thing though. good luck.

 

Interesting. I started to notice mine getting worse recently as well.

 

This is my 2nd TSX and both had the "shifting seat". Was this ever a recall item? Seems so widespread that Acura would do something about it.

 

Actually on the phone with my guy from Radley Acura service. No dice. He said he can't find anything about it in his system. He also said that any "problem" that the SRS sees, none of the airbags will deploy.

As far as replacing the seat goes, if it's cheaper to buy a whole new seat then it is to replace those parts, I'd rather do that, I don't particularly (sp?) care for leather so switching to a set of reclinable race seats would be perfect for me but since I lose all the air bags in the car, it's not a good decision. Hmm, maybe a caged streetable TSX???

 

I had this problem in my 04 as well.
I actually had the rails replaced TWICE by Acura (both times under warranty).
Occasionally, I still feel a tiny shift (but not as bad as it was before).

 

Didn't someone post a thread showing how to fix this yourself?

 

^^ yes. I reall it was in the last 2 weeks or so. They even drew a diagram.

 

It took some hunting, but I found it: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41317

 

Awesome, thanks.

 

Nice, i wonder i couldn't find that. oh well, anyways, occdoc, what did you tell them to have it replaced? i called and they said they've never heard of this problem and said they'd charge me to look at it and then for the parts which, at my cost will be over $400 easy

 

I dropped it off and told them what the problem was. They test drove it and noticed the shifting, so they replaced the rails and frame.

Then about 9 months later it started happening again. I broight it in and told them it was happening again. They called me and said they drove it and did not notice any shifting. So I went to pick up my car and spoke to the service manager. I actually had him drive my car while I was in the passenger seat and told him to make a sudden sharp turn and he admitted to feeling the shift when he did that. He was very nice about it and they replaced the whole frame and rails again. He said he's never seen that problem before, but said he would keep an eye out for more of these same complaints.

Both times my car was still under warranty.

I'm in the Pittsburgh area (took it to Baierl Acura in Wexford, PA)

Good Luck

 

It's an engineering problem, not a problem due to a defective part. ELSpool's fix, using a welder or JB Weld or something like that, will most likely fix the problem and save you the hassle of dealing with a dealer.

I had my seat base replaced about 1.5 years ago and the problem came back within a few months. I intend to apply ELSpool's fix in the coming months once the snow clears and I have the time to do it as well.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread..but my seat rails were replaced twice as well! And now my seat is beginning to shift slightly forward yet again. What a complete disappointment. has anyone tried the diy fix without using jbweld and the like? Can you comment on how easy it is to do?

 

Hey Jottle,

I still haven't fixed my seat, although the JB Weld for Metal is still in my garage, unopened. It's only a few bucks for a tube of it, so it couldn't hurt to try. Again, I'll do it "this spring", but right now it's damn cold outside and also very slippery.

 

I never got mine fixed either. Really should have done that under warranty. It's annoying me sometimes now.

 

Pix in the DIY repair thread are not working

 

Do you guys get any noise with the seat movement you are describing? I don't feel my seat actually moving but I hear a click sound when I brake or accelerate which sounds like it's coming from the seat somewhere.

 

)If it's not moving now, it's getting ready to. I've had the "moving" seat fixed once in my 05 (about 2 years ago) and it's been moving again for a while. I tried to get my dealer to repair it again (I had a 100K mile extended warranty), but this time they "couldn't make the seat move". I shouldn't have let it go, but I did (at 113K miles now so it's too late). This is evidently a not uncommon problem, but my 07 that will be 3 years old in April with almost 80K miles hasn't suffered the same fate. It's obviously a supplier issue and I'm really surprised that Honda didn't address it earlier on. They must have been (or be) sitting on a ton of seat rails/tracks.

And if anyone from Honda is reading this...... this one issue is enough for me to seriously consider NOT buying another Honda product. It's a fairly well know problem and pretty aggravating. I should think good will would have been (or be) enough to offer a fix to anyone who has the problem, at least for 5 years out.

 

It's sad to hear. My seat only shifts forward and backwards, so I doubt the DIY will help. I honestly think replacing the rails only delays the shifting for another 10k miles. It seems that replacing the actual seat base or the frame that the seat base sits on (the part that attaches to the floor of the car) may be the ultimate fix. The saddest thing for me is that my driver's seat shifts forwards and backwards, and my passenger seat slightly rattles and is loose from side to side. It sounds, looks, and feels cheap. I can't believe these were made in Japan. Having the rails replaced twice and having the problem resurface a third time is just so inconceivably aggravating.

 

I'm pretty sure my seat just moves forward and backward, and your passenger seat problems are the first I've heard of them. Too bad. I honestly don't know what was replaced when the seat was fixed the first time (and don't care; it just aggravates the s**t out of me that the thing has gone bad again). I share your disappointment with the whole issue. It really is a sore spot on an otherwise great car.

 

The shifting seats have been an issue almost immediately since the car came out. I have the same problem in mine and have had it since '04. Dealer looked at it and told me they could find nothing wrong. Luckily in my case the problem has not gotten any worse, just the same. I only have the problem when the seat is in one specific position, almost all the way down and almost all the way back. Unfortunately that also seems to be the best position for me to drive in. I can feel the thunk and a very slight movement in the seat on accelleration or stopping. Highly annoying indeed.

 

Interesting. That's the position I drive in too (I'm 6' plus and long in the body, so the seat is all the way down and pretty much all the way back). I can't imagine driving in much of a different position to cure the problem, but I'll have to try moving the seat around to see if that helps (out of curiousity).

 

I'm lucky that I still have 2 years on my CPO warranty, but I'm not looking forward to having the dealer keep replacing parts that only temporarily fix the issue. Every damn time those techs take anything out of my car, they scratch the cheap plastic trim around the footwells and I have to go about getting them replaced under warranty over and over again.

 

My 04 seats have been shifting for a while as well. It doesn't always do it so its hard to replicate but I know I will be bringing it in to the dealer sometime during my warranty period.