[erikras]

First off, let me start by saying that I'm 33 years old and have never had back problems. I sit on the couch in any awkward position, slouch in my desk chair at work, walk all day, whatever. I've never had any back issues other than the occasional "man, I must have slept funny" when I first wake up. My RTL is the 10th vehicle I've owned. Most recently has been a '13 VW GTI, '11 Nissan Frontier, and an '06 Acura TSX that was my winter "beater" this past winter. I've never had a problem spending hours in any of my previous nine cars. Sure, some were more comfortable than others, but none of them ever caused me discomfort or pain.

My lower back gets sore and stiff after only 20 to 30 minutes in my Ridgeline. After 45 or 50 minutes I start to squirm and find myself trying to stretch. I've done everything I can think of to play with the seat adjustment. I've raised it as high as possible, lowered it all the way down, played with the tilt, reclined until I could barely reach the steering wheel, sat up like a little old lady, and played with the lumbar many times. Thinking it may be the stupidly high left food dead pedal, I've tried pulling my left leg in and keeping my knee bent more. For the past couple of weeks, I try the new settings for an entire commute to work to give it a chance. My commute varies from 35-50min depending on traffic.

I'm 5'9" and ~185 lbs so I'd say I'm pretty average. I usually tend to sit slightly more upright (seat back more vertical) than most people ever since being taught in a racing driving school the importance of being able to reach the top of the steering wheel without locking your elbows. But like I said, I've tried every other position too.

Tomorrow will mark one month since I took delivery. If I can't remedy this soon, I may actually start looking at trading the truck in. My fiance will probably shoot me for doing so, but I can't bear sitting in something this uncomfortable anymore. Especially when I spend upwards of two hours a day commuting and driving for work.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar with their G2 RL or any other vehicle? Any suggestions?

 

[erikras]

Do you go to a chiropractor? Maybe something else is going on. Can use a different car to rule out if this is a new issue?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Never been to a chiropractor in my life because I've never had a need for one.

I mentioned this to my retired mother this evening and she said I could borrow her '10 Impreza for a couple of days. I've driven it before and never had a problem so if the discomfort continues, I know it's not the car.

 

[erikras]

Do you have one of these???

Your wallet?

6'4" 250 something RL has been the only vehicle I can drive over 10 hours in.

LOL I was laughing before I even watched the video. Love that scene!

My bifold wallet is pretty darn thing.

 

[erikras]

Thank you for the overwhelming number of responses and advice!

A couple key points I want to address:

First, I don't think the suspension has anything to do with it. My last car was a 2013 VW GTI with 225/40R18's, Bilstein coilovers, solid urethane suspension bushings, and 28/24mm solid sway bars. I could drive the thing for hours with no issues. Keep in mind, this was just a month ago.

Second, I think the only car I've owned with softer seats was my '06 Acura TSX that I daily drove from Nov until April this past winter. I prefer a firmer seat cushion.

This morning I lifted the seat almost as high as it would go, moved it forward a bit, and reclined it slightly more than normal. I probably spent a total of about an hour and a half in the truck today and it seems to have helped some. I have a habbit of firmly planting my left foot on the dead pedal in whatever car I'm driving. Being that the Ridgeline has a higher dead pedal than any car I've owned, I'm thinking that may be part of my issue. With the seat adjusted the way it was today, it seems to help by keeping my left and right feet more even. I especially paid attention today to make sure I wasn't applying any real pressure to the dead pedal with my left foot. Tomorrow, I'm going to try reclining the seat a bit more. Unfortunately, I already have the telescoping steering wheel as far out as it goes so I'm not sure how much more I can recline the seat and still reach it comfortably.

I found a thread on here where G1 owners are calling their dead pedal the "plastic tower of pain." Fortunately for them, the PoS piece of plastic is removable in the G1. I looked at my truck tonight, and the dead pedal appears to be a thing plastic piece adhered to the carpet. I didn't pull off the plastic trim, but feeling behind the carpet, it doesn't feel like there's anything removable behind there. There appears to be sound insulation attached to the backside of the carpet.

I'll never understand why auto manufacturers put these stupid things in cars. I have always suspected it has to do with keeping drivers from "locking" their knees to prevent injury in crashes. That's just a guess.