Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (seat frames, recliners, heated seats and seat tracks).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Honda Accord owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The trunk release mechanisms of my Honda Accord EXL coupe failed, both manual cable and electrical trunk release. My trunk does NOT open and when I need to access my spare tire in the trunk - I will NOT be able to. A real danger since I live in Canyon Country and often phone reception is poor. The only Honda Model that does NOT have any external nor internal emergency trunk release option. There is no "Valet" button, no decklid access, no external hidden key lock nothing that can release my trunk so I can gain access to my spare tire. Federal Law 49CFR571.401 mandates an emergency internal trunk release. In this Honda Model the ONLY way to get into the trunk from inside is by unlocking and pulling down back seats to access the trunk. BUT the ONLY way to unlock back seats is by pulling a cable that unlocks them which is INSIDE THE TRUNK! …
I bought the 2012 Honda Accord in dec 2011 for my wife. The car overall has performed well with no major problems. My wife has complained about uncomfortable seats since we bought it. I too noticed it when I drove for distances over 30 minutes. Last year, 2014, I finally bought my wife a new car and the Honda became my hand me down. I have been miserable in this car. The seat design causes pain in my legs, especially my left leg. It also causes me lower back pain. No amount of seat adjustment relieves the pain so I avoid driving it long distances. After driving home on my last day of work (I'm now temporarily out on doctors orders), the seat was especially uncomfortable to me. I had to go to urgent care that evening. Eventually I found out I had two herniated disks. My trips to the doctor and physical therapy are now miserable with this car but fine in my wife's car. …
The driver seat in my 2012 Honda Accord is so uncomfortable that I now have to seek medical attention for my neck shoulder lower back and leg pain. I bought the car used a couple of years ago and try to take it back 2 days later but I cannot afford to buy another car I owned a Saturn for 16 years and never had a problem like this I was sitting on 3 inches of foam rubber for my back and the bottom of the seat but the pain still persists. Now I sit on pillows and that is no longer helping but I also put my left foot on the seat or up on the dashboard to relieve my lower back. I know it is the car as I have used other people's cars and while I still get pain it is not as severe as when I am in my Honda for at least 20 minutes. Driving to see family 75 miles away I have to take two breaks. …
I purchased this Honda Accord as a certified used vehicle from a Honda dealer about 2 months ago. I haven't driven the vehicle very much, consequently the problem didn't become very apparent until yesterday. The lumbar support causes severe back pain. I tried adjusting the lumbar but even at the lowest available setting the thing simply rams into your lower back. This problem isn't noticeable during a test drive of 5-10 minutes. It becomes very apparent after about 30-40 minutes. I've been out of the vehicle for 18 hours and still have discomfort in the area where the lumbar support contacts my back. This May cause permanent injury! Hopefully, Honda will rectify this obvious problem for the numerous unfortunate purchasers of this expensive vehicle!
Drivers seat is not right . It is causing me back neck and leg pains . Found myself adjusting it while driving in a 55 mls expressway and almost got involved in an accident . This has been happening quite often and now I try to move around or adjust the seat when its safe to do so. I think that Honda American corp., and you people should look into this asap and have this problem recalled and fix. Thank you .
The front seating is so uncomfortable that is causes back and neck pain, and I fear if the car was involved in an accident the head rest, which is pointed so far forward as to cause neck pain if the person uses the seat in a straighter position. The lumbar support causes me back pain because I cannot adjust it out. It hits me in a bad place in the back and causes back pain. I am an average height male (5'11").
The foam covering the metal frame on the driver's back rest has either shifted or is so thin that is has worn through and that allows direct contact between the driver's back and the metal frame. In the event of a crash, I feel that the direct contact of the metal seat frame will result in injury or increased injury to the driver.
The front driver and front passenger seats are uncomfortable to a point where it affects my driving ability. When I drove for two hours I needed to adjust my self in my seat multiple times causing me to not focus on the road. After the two hour drive I had bad lower back pain.
The seats and head rests has been poorly designed. It looks that these has been designed for men having a height of more than 6 feet. I have a standard height of 5'-9'. When I rest my head to the head rest, it touches only less than one cm to the head rest. I can not lower down the height of head rest because the back of the seat is too high. There is a big gap between neck and head rest. I have made a rough sketch of this situation but I don't know how to send it to you. The most dangerous aspect of this design is that if a speedy car or truck hits my car in the back, my head will stop with head rest and body will stop with back of seat but neck, having no support backward, will bent and May be broken and ultimately May cause of death. I faxed it in details to Honda customer service, torrance, ca90501 on 12/3/12 with sketch and faxed three times every week. …
My main issue with this vehicle is the seating, specifically the drivers seat. I can honestly say its the worst seating I've ever experienced in a vehicle. This is very surprising, especially since im talking about a 2012 Honda Accord! While the seat is relatively comfortable in short trips, any longer trips (greater than 30 minutes) plays havoc on my body. Im a male of average height (5 foot 10 inches) and weight (170 lbs) a long trip in this vehicle causes soreness in my lower back, neck and numbness in my legs. I have tried to make several adjustments to this seat to alleviate the problem but have had no success. My wife also has similar issues with the seating and the effect on her body. In defense of Honda, I have not brought this issue to their attention. …
Seat complaints in other Accord years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat problems on the 2012 Honda Accord?
NHTSA has 64 complaints about the seats of the 2012 Honda Accord, 17% of the model year's 373 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › head restraint (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Honda Accord seat problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seats recall for the 2012 Honda Accord, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Honda Accord seat problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 0 miles, and 83% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 13 injuries to seats problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.