Hey folks, First post since like 6 years ago when i almost pulled trigger on 06 tsx (ended up leasing an A4 for 2 years instead).

Anyways, i have a 4runner with 207k miles on it that runs great and still looks almost new. But i'm cross shopping the wagon with the MINI countryman. And after test driving both, as much as i was hoping the MINI would rise to the top, the tsx wagon looks like the one i'll be getting. Cant think of anything major i don't like about it

My questions--

1. How is the Seat Heater (especially the lower back more than the seat cushion)
I drive from AZ to CA a couple times a month and really need that warmth on the lower back.

2. Does the lumbar bother you guys?
Even on the straight up setting it seems to protrude a bit much

3. The visor?
Wish this thing had an extension for when the sun comes through the side...which it does for all 500 miles on my trips from az to ca.
Anyone figured out a mod/extension that blocks the entire window?

Thanks for any input and anything else i should be aware of that you didn't think of during test drive only to find out later.

 

i have a sedan, but the stuff you mentioned is pretty much identical i believe. i think that the seat warmers are good, and actually border too hot sometimes. the lumbar doesn't bug me and i have 3 cracked vertebrae, though many people do say it protrudes. my windows are all tinted except the windshield, and that helps me more than enough with the east coast sun, i'll assume its a bit stronger by you though

 

The east coast has sun?

 

only on sundays... get it? see what i did there? hahahaha

 

Thanks for that. Anyone else feel otherwise? Definitely getting windows tinted. Probably 20 all around. Still trying to figure out a visor extension.

Hey also are the seats still comfortable after 5-6 hours in vehicle?

 

i drove 15 hours with only 2-3 breaks last june from NY to TN. i was fine =)

 

Heated seats on AZ to CA? You mean Arizona to Cali? I would want cooled seats. I'm in the mid-west where it gets cold in the winter and I could easily do without heated seats. I think they are way overrated.
Some people have issue with the seats being too firm. My parents, in there 70's, think the seats are great. I thought they might have issues after reading comments here. I find them very comfortable as well but haven't done any long trips in it yet.

 

Uh, yeah. I noticed. Very funny.

 

Those would be nice too...but the heat is for lower back on longer trips. It really helps. Would love it if a car in this price range offered the seat cushion and back heaters that can be turned on separate. But that won't happen. I'm even wondering if theres a mod that can be done to keep the seat cusion off with the heating element on. That would be ideal.

 

I previously did not have any opinion on heated seats. It was just something I never experienced, coming from a Camry. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it gets really cold only a small part of the year, but I was really glad to have the heated seats when it did.

Here's a little tidbit regarding the headrest: make sure that the middle of the headrest is about top-of-ear level. It took me 3 years to learn this and it's much more comfortable. Both my wife and I used to complain that it seemed like our heads were being pushed forward, and it was because we didn't RTFM. Plus, it seemed weird to have our headrests so high.

Coming from a Camry and my wife's Accord, we also did find it odd that the visors didn't extend. After 4 model years Acura still hasn't "fixed" it, so I'm guessing they don't see it as broken, unfortunately.

Regardless of the issues, I think you'll be very happy with the TSX. I know I am. Good luck and enjoy.

 

Thanks for tip. That was bugging me too on the Test Drive

 

Yeah, you have to sit 'differently' in the newer Acura seats to be comfortable. Give it a few tries, I was initially annoyed but now find it pleasant on long drives.

 

I love the seat heater especially on chilly nights. It fires up quick when set to high. I have no issues with the visor or the lumbar support. I don't commute very far but I've taken the car on a couple 400 mile trips, no problems with seating.

All in all, a very smooth ride on fwys and very athletic/responsive on the surface streets and windy roads. The car-like handling with SUV-ish cargo capacity are huge assets. Too bad some folks in the U.S. are so hard up on SUVs and worried about losing their "man cards" to driving a "Tourer" (I don't call it a wagon).

 

So I'm lovig the seat heaters and found a very effective cheapo fix for visor. Just went to autoparts store and bought a $6.00 Bell visor cd storage thing. Then when its sunny i just slide that bad boy over a few inches blocking out entire window across.

 

genius

 

I finally discovered that today. I started sitting slightly sideways and now it's a lot better. At first I hated the seats. They still aren't the best in the world, but all is okay now.

However, that hard plastic basketball lumbar 'support' is pretty ridiculous, imho. Honda needs the fix that.

 

I'm going to check to see if my Mclarren comes w/ a spare.....I'll be back ummmm kkaaayy

 

So you sit facing the drivers side window now?

 

I don't notice any pressure in the lumbar region unless I adjust the lever as far as it goes.

Seat heat is fine and seems to go up higher than my previous Outback.

Tim

 

I haven't tried the seat heater (probably never well, never gets cold here.) But the lumbar doesn't appear to be the inflatable type and it's pretty stiff. I pretty much stopped using it altogether and so it's all okay now.

Before I bought the car, most all the reviews (MT, C&D, Edmunds, etc..) did mention the protruding lumbar and complained about it as a "Honda issue" in general. One reviewer had the car for a long term test and said something about feeling like you're pregnant because it sticks into the back so severely (something along those lines.)

I've oly had the car for a couple of weeks, so of course my 'comfort' has a lot to do with getting used to the differences from my previous daily driver. But it would be nice if it was the inflatable type of lumbar device and if it also went up and down in the seat instead of just straight out.

Overall, I like the car. Like any product, there are things that could be improved. It does have the potential to be a perfect wagon. It's pretty good and falls short in only a few areas (as already noted by reviewers.)

 

There is a lumbar adjustment paddle between the seat and center console armrest. I went a few weeks before I found it.

 

Um, yes there is a lumbar adjustment lever. I'm not sure what your point is..... (?)

Anyway, I'm not the only one complaining about the seats. Do a Google search. And do a search here on Acurazine.

A couple examples of many: "multiple editors agreed the seats had far too much lumbar support, even with the lumbar dialed all the way back."

"It seems like the lumbar support in many Japanese cars is too high and too hard. Hondas seem to be the worse."

And here's from the Edmund's Inside Line review: "The seat, however, sucks. Scratch that -- the part that sucks is that damned sitting-in-a-pregnant-lady's-lap aspect that comes courtesy of the stupid, stupid balloony "lumbar' lump that's right in the middle of your back. Why this lump continues to exist in Honda products remains a seating mystery overshadowed only by the Corvette's flaccid thrones."

Coming directly from a car with much better seats, part of it for me will be just trying to get used to it. I'm sure that I will over time (at least I hope so.) But in the meantime, the difference is readily apparent compared to all the current and past cars I've had.

 

Oddly enough, while I came from a car with far greater lumbar adjustment (the BMW sport seat) and the S6 prior to that, I don't find the lumbar objectionable. I guess it all has to do with body design - the driver's. I'm still trying to find the perfect seating position and I could use another inch or two of fore/aft adjustment but I've found the seat acceptable even for longer distances.

 

Lumbar in my previous Acuras was lower and less pronounced. The 1st gen RL basically had the ideal seats for me, 2nd gen RL nearly as good.

I could be wrong but my guess is Acura and others are 'forced' into these seat designs to make people sit up straighter due to the head rest designs