It's possible that lumbar support was added on the 07's or 08's...someone else would have to chime in on that.

 

The hybrid fully funds your Roth IRA every year. Figure all that tax-free retirement income into the equation, and you'll see what a great choice you made.

 

No doubt that it's the smart choice. But I would rather spend the extra money and enjoy driving...there are less painful ways for me to save money.

In the end, I'll be keeping the hybrid for awhile longer. I owe more than it is worth at this point, so trading it in would be a dumb move. If gas prices get higher, and the resale on the Hybrid gets better, I'll trade it in for an S2000 or Miata. Something fun.

 

The seats are uncomfortable for me on trips over an hour.

This is due to the seat padding IMO.

There is no adjustable lumbar in '07s or '08s.

 

Thanks! That is mildly discouraging though. My back is certainly a fan of lumbar support when I'm on all day trips.
Are the seats the same in all Civics?

 

Well, you can get leather in the new EX-L. It might have different padding or overall comfort. I'm sure you could do an expensive swap.

Let me recommend something else though.

I have taken several cars to a local automotive seat upholsterer. They are like ergonomic wrench monkeys (with all respect). They showed me how to remove the back of the seat and insert padding for lumbar. If I had a longer commute or was planning on a super-long road trip I might go back and have them put more padding in the bottom cushion. I'm sure they get work all the time about poor OEM seat padding.

Try the yellow pages -- that's where I found my guys. And while they are tearing the seat apart you might consider having heated seats installed. I had this done on one of our HCHII's and it's a very nice feature.

Also to note, if you do pop off the rear of the seat to put in more cushion, you will probably break a couple clips. This is no big deal as that is SOP for the techs -- they just replace the clips every time they go in there. I didn't replace my clips and just left the seat back on in a "looser" way. No big deal.

Hope that helps. Good Luck!

 

Cool! Thanks!

 

I forgot who asked but I just changed the oil on my 07 and it took exactly 3.5 qts. including filter change. This has got to be one of the worst cars ever to change oil. The plastic panel on the car underside is held on by nine pry out fasteners, which is ok. The problem is it's so long that holding it up and lining up the holes to replace the fasteners is a bugger. The little fasteners are fragile and easy to break, although I didn't snap any in two.

 

I'm curious as to whether you have the carpool sticker on your vehicle. We purchased our '06 the day after Thanksgiving in 2005 and have nearly 40K on it as well. Most of my clients are in Silicon Valley and I find the benefit of the carpool sticker to be priceless. I save about an hour each way (I'm in Sacramento). In addition, since I'm reimbursed for my mileage, these trips are slowly paying for the car. Basically, I gross $100 on each trip.

 

I didn't get the HOV sticker for two reasons. I hate stickers, and I don't drive during normal commute hours. So, it wouldn't have done me any good.