Honda Car Forum

The driver's seat moves/shifts sideways when cornering. The dealership says it is normal for a 4 year old car. I can see a Kia or Chevrolet dealership saying this, but Acura? Is this for real?

I have a 2005 Acura TSX with only 55,000 kms (34,000 mi) on it. I am 6'1" tall and 180 lbs. As I said the car has only 55,000 kms on it, which is very little. I was hit by a mini van on the driver's side wheel and rear quarter panel while making a left-hand turn (The minivan driver was driving the wrong direction and clocked me from behind after I started my turn.) The minivan that hit me was travelling at city speeds ~50 kms/hr (~30 mph) and the damage was surprisingly little on my car. The rear door was slightly bent, the wheel was scratched up and the quarter panel was bashed in less than 2 inches. I think the wheel took most of the impact because it was quite a jolt and loud bang.

My seat never shifted or moved before the accident, but started doing this immediately following the accident (i.e. driving to the body shop). If I turn right, not from a stop, the seat shifts slightly to the right and stops with a slight thud. The next time I turn left it shifts left and so on. It does not move when I turn from a stop, but always on a highway on-ramp for example, or making a turn in second gear.

The dealership/body shop say that the accident damage was not enough to damage my seat. They say the 'play' in my seat is noticable, but normal for a 4 year-old car. For some reason they deny that it is 'wear & tear', only that it is 'normal' for a car with electric seats that is 4 years old. I don't get the difference.

Again, although 4 years old, the car has very low mileage. No movement before the accident -- movement after the accident.

Because my Acura dealership says the movement is normal, my insurance company won't fix it and now I'm stuck with a driver's seat the shifts disconcertingly while driving.

I am 46 and have driven many cars, some much older and with high mileage and have NEVER had a seat that moved. I don't expect the seat in my Acura to move for any reason. I cannot get my head around that the movement wasn't caused by the accident. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm thinking I might have to get rid of the car because the movement bothers me when I drive and makes me feel unsafe, even though the dealership says there is no safety issue.

What do you think? Does anyone else have an Acura/Honda with a seat that moves during cornering? What should I do? What can I do next?

Any help or experience would be much appreciated.

Scott
Toronto, Ontario, Canada