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I've owned two gen 7 ES cars and don't understand the complaints about the seats. First was a 2013 Lux and now I have a 2019 UL with the thigh extender that I have never used. I'm 5'10" and weigh 170#. I find the seats comfortable after adjusting them to my comfort. Is it that some are overweight or much taller?
For sure some people are overweight. Pretty common in this society --- I'm 5' 8" and 145 lbs. and the stiff seat bolsters press into my thighs - That's my only complaint on the seats..... A guy like the one below could not possibly fit between the seat bolsters. He would be sitting on top of them and squishing them down. He probably would find the seats very comfortable. The seat is only about 12 inches across between the Bolsters.
Quick notes: It's worth a periodic repeat for newer owners/posters that there are three distinct ES seats: base/Premium (NuLuxe, no thigh extender), F Sport, (NuLuxe, bigger side bolsters), and Luxury/Ultra Luxury (semi-aniline leather, thigh support extender). Different people have shared different opinions about each. Overall, some feel the UL seats are too thinly padded and allow a cross-brace to be felt through the padding, and some feel the F Sport bolsters are too constricting.
As to this particular complaint, "the seats felt very comfortable, as the irritation does not start bothering me for a few weeks of the constant pressure on the thighs" suggests to me that this problem could benefit from some experimentation with seat adjustment. The pressure on the thighs can be changed by adjusting the thigh extender to have the forward part of the thigh support some of your weight. In addition, you can adjust the angle of the whole bottom cushion as well as the height, which definitely can change which part of your thighs is the most weight-bearing. You might even benefit from changing these positions occasionally as you drive.
Just curious what you mean by the F sport seats having bigger side bolsters. The sides of your butt, or lower back? I’ve seen both the base and F sport, and to me, the bolsters at the butt and lower back look identical. The only difference I can tell is the obvious addition of the upper back bolsters to the F sport seats.
I have a 2020 UL that I bought used, and I’ve been driving it for a little over a year now. During that time I’ve adjusted the seat countless times trying to find a comfortable position, but I could never fully get rid of the discomfort in my left thigh.
Recently I noticed that if I keep my left foot off the footrest and just place it on the floor mat, it actually feels a lot better. So now I’m starting to think the footrest might be positioned a bit awkwardly, because whenever I use it my left leg feels like it’s under pressure.
Recently I noticed that if I keep my left foot off the footrest and just place it on the floor mat, it actually feels a lot better. So now I’m starting to think the footrest might be positioned a bit awkwardly, because whenever I use it my left leg feels like it’s under pressure.
I've had a similar experience. It's especially easy to do when using the adaptive cruise, causing you to use both feet less in routine driving. I think the problem is that the left-foot dead pedal isn't the same distance away as the pedals, throwing the driving into an asymmetrical driving position. I've even wondered if the problem would be relieved by adding an aftermarket dead-pedal extension an inch or two thick, but that's a potential safety hazard since it could block the pedals if it ever detached. It's a surprising miss by the engineers, considering the care they took to line up other aspects of the driving position like the armrest heights.
On long, highway trips with cruise control, where would you put your right foot? I know "they" say to use the dead pedal for your left foot (for bracing), but logically, if it is that important, why isn't there also a place for the right foot when in cruise mode? If you adhere rigidly to having your left foot/leg always in a fixed position (dead pedal), it's no wonder you find the seats uncomfortable. Move around a bit, change positions, shuffle your feet, don't let parts of your body "go numb".
I have a 2020 UL that I bought used, and I’ve been driving it for a little over a year now. During that time I’ve adjusted the seat countless times trying to find a comfortable position, but I could never fully get rid of the discomfort in my left thigh.
Recently I noticed that if I keep my left foot off the footrest and just place it on the floor mat, it actually feels a lot better. So now I’m starting to think the footrest might be positioned a bit awkwardly, because whenever I use it my left leg feels like it’s under pressure.
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Exactly ! --- That's what I've been doing ever since I got the car. And it does alleviate the pain on both lower thighs, because when my left leg is off the seat, there is more room for my right leg. So, now the pain is only where my *** touches the seat. Which is the Upper thigh and Hips. Which is the worst, because that is where the seat is the narrowest and exerts the most pressure. I even tried to move my *** towards the front of the seat, but that is not that feasible, as I'm slouching so bad it's an uncomfortable position. But still, just look at what we're talking about for a $55K Luxury Sedan. This is not even a topic for Honda Civics!
Last edited by Cut-Throat; Mar 16, 2026 at 10:43 AM.
I've had a similar experience. It's especially easy to do when using the adaptive cruise, causing you to use both feet less in routine driving. I think the problem is that the left-foot dead pedal isn't the same distance away as the pedals, throwing the driving into an asymmetrical driving position. I've even wondered if the problem would be relieved by adding an aftermarket dead-pedal extension an inch or two thick, but that's a potential safety hazard since it could block the pedals if it ever detached. It's a surprising miss by the engineers, considering the care they took to line up other aspects of the driving position like the armrest heights.
I also noticed that the footrest sits farther back than the gas and brake pedals, which makes my body feel slightly unbalanced from left to right. I think that imbalance indirectly causes the discomfort in my left thigh.
I’ve driven other cars and never had this issue. With this ES, I’ve actually had to change my driving posture — now I keep my left foot on the floor mat instead of the footrest, with my knee lightly resting against the door, and that feels much more comfortable for me.
With this ES, I’ve actually had to change my driving posture — now I keep my left foot on the floor mat instead of the footrest, with my knee lightly resting against the door, and that feels much more comfortable for me.
Just curious what you mean by the F sport seats having bigger side bolsters. The sides of your butt, or lower back? I’ve seen both the base and F sport, and to me, the bolsters at the butt and lower back look identical. The only difference I can tell is the obvious addition of the upper back bolsters to the F sport seats.
You took the words out of my mouth. I haven't taken my current ES on a road trip, but I drove my 2022 F Sport for 3 hours once. Although the seats weren't uncomfortable on regular trips, I did experience stiff lower back discomfort on this trip.
Ironically, I took my 2026 Civic with cloth seats on the same trip a couple of weeks ago and I felt the exact same getting out of the car from the trip as I did when I first sat in. No discomfort at all. I’m just under 5’9” and am 175 lbs.
This image is from the LS430 forum and shows left and right as different support on frame for seat and may be same type design for the ES seats. I finally found a sweet spot in adjustments for my LS430 UL where it would not cause pain in right leg on trips. My ES is significantly better but still have to have it adjusted to a sweet spot. Strange that the LS430 is much bigger seat and more comfortable but the ES caused less problems on trip. My 2008 Tundra with bench cloth seats causes no problems and very comfortable.
