I filed a formal complaint with Honda at 1-800-999-1009 and insisted that they give me a case number and follow up with me on my complaint. I also notified them that I filed a complaint with NTHSA. NTHSA complaint can be filed on their web site and it takes less than 5 minutes. My point to them is that headrest directly damages my health and without headrest it is unsafe to drive.

 

unfortunately for those who feel immediate severe pain in their necks, shoulders and backs, decision is that simple: either guaranteed daily torture and impact to your health or some remote probability of the accident.

 

Cars and seats are designed for normal people. I am normal: 180 lbs, five foot ten, 1.6 kids ( 3 actually). AND there is nothing wrong with the headrests. 21000 km. and zero compalints, one weas a 1200km. drive - zero problems - as an extreme sports athlete past 30 years I have had many neck and bavk injuries and zero complaints - the seats are one of my 2009 fit lx best features...

 

I was rear-ended a few months back, and even with a head restraint it jacked my neck up.

I can't believe some of you guys are completely removing them haha

 

goboates, I don't think I am abnormal: 5'2" and 129 lbs, maybe on a shorter side but close to average female. Again, my point is that I am not new to Honda, drove Accord, Civic and CRV for 18 years and I never had this problem. I tried Nissan Versa and loved it, but decided to stick to my beloved Honda brand for extra $2500 and I am now paying steep price. If you google up "honda head rest complaints", you will find multiple forums where people are complaining about the severe neck pain. If Honda has not learned how to recognize that people should be able to adjust their seats per their body configuration, they should post parameters for those who should not be buying their cars. Most of those complaining are clear that the problem starts revealing itself after some time, so people don't catch it in test driving. Literally forcing people into a hardly rational decision to remove head rest - that should be Honda's responsibility, not ours. In CA, I can't return the car back to the dealer the minute I crossed the gate of the dealership - I am stuck.

Again, nowhere Honda had a poster that their car is for normal people - meaning 5'10' and 180 lbs, as per your definition of normal.

 

It's so funny how some of you know exactly how I should sit in a car without ever having seen me. FWIW, I'm 5'8", 150 lbs and a fairly active 58, with good posture. I don't care whether you call it a "head rest" or a "head restraint", my problem is simple: when I hold my head in a normal posture on my shoulders, my head hits the "head whatever" when my shoulders are still a good two inches from the seatback. My only solution is to either bear having my head forced into my chest, causing continual discomfort, or recline the seat and sit upright, so my back doesn't touch the seat, which is how I have ended up driving the car (sort of how I sit on the Harley). This is probably ALSO dangerous in the event of an accident.

To be fair, poor seat design is nothing unique to the Fit. I was, however, expecting better from Honda, a brand which usually earns such high marks from nearly everybody.

Maybe I should stop being so active, and work harder at developing the typical round shouldered, cave chested, pot bellied physique that car manufacturers seem to be designing around these days.

 

Uncle Gary - this is exactly my situation. By sticking head restraint (let's be politically correct here) out, Honda forces the driver to stay away from the seat, creating unnatural curve or creating a threat of much bigger range of motion during the accident or sharp stop due to the gap between the back and the seat. Beats me why they are doing it this way. I am looking for a memory foam cushion which will basically extend the seat forward filling the gap between the seat and my back. How would that impact the activeness of head rest - I have no idea but my back and neck need support so I could lean on something while driving. I also saw a post - someone found Honda Accord 2007 head rest matching Fit and paid $99 to replace.

 

I wish I could move it forward - if I could lock it in the "active restraint" position, it would feel awesome. It feels too far away from the back of my head.

Now, limited rearward travel and the cushions that are about as long as a yellow light at a camera-enforced intersection? Yeah, that's a pain. The seat bottoms should extend beyond mid thigh. Time to start my own bitch about the seat thread I suppose.

 

Well congrats- took ya long enough to figure out the solution. The closer you are to grim death, the more comfy you'll be.



The darn 'header' is just right for me- oh lucky me I am. I've never even moved it. When I picked my Fit up at the dealer the HR was raised up, a bit high I might add, but it's perfect. My back rests in the seat and my head rests on the header. How you ask? Well, because I'm a typical round shouldered, cave chested, pot bellied guy, of course!

Actually...not.

Dan

 

I would assume everyone is adjusting the seatback to a very upright position. Also the 'headrests' should be well above the back of the head - apparently when one's car is rear-ended the neck will elongate. If the restraint is low the neck wrapping around the top could result in some neck injury.

Note: An average female is 5'6" and 135 lbs. Short and tall should try before you buy. My first wife was 5'0" - she was short and had trouble fitting in.

 

This is the thread that won't die. The Fit has the first headrest since I've been driving cars with headrests (1970) that is "perfect" for me. I'm almost exactly the same height and weight as Uncle Gary, but obviously, different people have different shaped bodies (and heads, feet, etc.) Motorcycle helmets come in different profiles (oblong, round) for different heads, and a helmet that feels wonderful for one person may be pure torture for another. Neither helmet is a defective design. If it doesn't fit, don't buy it. This is what test drives are for; if you can't be bothered to do due diligence before spending more than $15,000, shame on you. It's not Honda's fault.

 

I'm 6'1~ish and the headrests drive me nuts..

When I saw this thread I thought, "Thank goodness somebody found a solution!!!"

I was thinking of shaving the foam down or something. I have to put it all the way down or it makes my head tilt down when the seats are in an upright position.. not good.

I have owned many vehicles and the headrest design of the fit is poor for my height unless I put the seat in gangsta' mode.

 

Me, my father, and girlfriend drove the fit for 20+ miles each on a test drive yesterday....and none of us even knew it was there. All have various heights too. Weird.

 

The head rest is fine, but the rest of the seat isn't.

 

If you feel immediate severe pain, why did you buy a Fit??? Buy a different car. People make decisions that have consequences. Stop whining.

 

Was the Fit a gift, or did you buy it? If you bought it, did you take a test drive first? If the headrests were so uncomfortable, why did you still buy the car?

I'm completely unable to understand the behavior of people who knowingly spend a significant amount of money for something that doesn't suit them. I am not questioning that the Fit headrests are too far forward for some people (just as they are perfectly place for many more, and not forward enough for a few), only perplexed that, knowing this, they still went ahead with the purchase.

 

I have found that seating position is crucial in the FIT. Simplest solution is in what KiSS has stated above, a slight recline position. Play with the steering wheel position and fore/aft position to get it 'right'.

SCCA drivers have understood the importance of seating position and driving control for years. Feet need to comfortably reach the pedals and do their job [stand on the firewall]. Hands need to be comfortable on the wheel at 10 and 2 elbows slightly bent. Right hand needs to comfortably reach the shifter without shifting the seating position [leaning]. Driver is firmly strapped to the seat. Notice it's all about comfort...

All we can do is slide the seat fore/aft, incline and move the steering wheel up/down-in/out. Not too shabby for a car like the FIT.

My daughter has a spinal fusion - sclerosis. When she first rode in the FIT she reacted the same as others in this thread. With that slight recline of the seat she found them very comfortable.

In other words - find a way to live with it. Driver comfort is a direct result of being relaxed in the proper position. As I've learned the FIT is a very flexible car - the sweet spot exists - we will all fit in the FIT.

In fact, a while back, some one on this forum had a thread about wanting memory seats so he could easily dial it in. Now I understand the need for that.

 

Sometimes these things aren't immediately apparent. Sometimes they don't seem that irritating until after the first long drive. Other than GM, I haven't heard of many 24-hour test drives. And comfort isn't the only reason people buy - I'm pretty long legged, and have found that GM W-bodies and Epsilon platforms have an incredible amount of legroom, and the interiors fit me better. I don't want a W-body or Epsilon-based car, but they fit me better than most Hondas.

 

Old Thread, but needed to chime in:

My thing isn't with the headrests, the lumber or lower "active restraint" part is way to aggressive for me. I feel like I'm bending backward a little. I'll try a little more recline but i'm looking into modifying my seats with more/less cushioning to lessen the severity of the lumbar on my lower back...

Selden - your comments about people "whining" are just not helpful. Has there never been something that you didn't notice at first, but noticed later after you had it a while that bugged you? Give a little grace brotha.

 

move the seat bottom ahead one notch and lower the back one notch. This will make a noticeable difference. Adjust the steering wheel accordingly.