Rear seat headrests

[fkrull]

The rear seat headrests interfere with my rear window visibility. I would like to lower them all the way down to the top of the seat or remove them completely. I can't do either, and neither could the sales rep at the dealership. I'm referring to the left and right rear seats, not the middle one, since it sits all the way down on the seat. Anyone else have this problem or know a solution? Thanks!

 

[JupiterRed]

I haven't look at them yet as they don't bother me. I'll take a look today and see if I can help out.

 

[JeffRay]

They look similar to the ones in my E500W. I assume you tried pushing the tab in and lifting up. Hard for one person to do but it worked for the wagon to remove both so car seats could be secure in place. Going to try later today and post if successful.

 

[rdavis0521]

According to the manual, you should be able to adjust the head restraint by pushing in the tab at the bottom of one of the posts. I'm not near my vehicle at the moment to be able to test.

There is also a foot-note in the manual that the restraints can be removed, except for the electrically controlled ones.

Ray

 

[fkrull]

I have tried everything the manual says. The headrests each only go down to a fixed point about 3" above the seats. There is no way they will sit flush on the seats. As far as taking them out, they just go up to a certain point and then will go no further.
I have a feeling it's the way they were designed, for some strange reason.

 

[rdavis0521]

You might try contacting the dealer? The manual seemed to indicate that it might require a technician to remove the headrest.

I know this might seem silly, but you could fold the seats forward/down? At least as a temporary solution.

 

[tedkidd]

I removed them from my sportwagen, required prying a locking pin out. I think you need a small flathead screwdriver and a flashlight.

 

[fkrull]

I removed them from my sportwagen, required prying a locking pin out. I think you need a small flathead screwdriver and a flashlight.

I will try your idea if the dealer can't help.
I'm beginning to get used to the headrests and can certainly live with them attached.
Thank you all for the suggestions!

 

[wtzouris]

It would be great to get them out when the seats are folded down and you are hauling stuff around. This locking pin you speak of-- was that on this car?

 

[sendler2112]

The rear seat headrests seem to be a major flaw. They don't go down all the way and they don't come out. Which means that you can't fold the seats down with the front seats in any kind of normal position.

 

[BCKator]

Sendler:
I agree. This will be in my "suggestions for MB" post.
The read headrests on some other MB cars fold down out of view when not in use.
In the B, I can't raise or lower the rear seats without first moving the corresponding front seats forward.
I'm only 5'7" so its not like I have the front seats way back.
Once the rear seat backs are lowered, if I return the front seats to their normal position, I start binding on the rear headrests which isn't good.
This is very annoying.
This wouldn't be an issue if the rear headrests either
went all the way down
or
folded forward out of the way
or
or could be completely removed without the use of tools.

 

[wtzouris]

Yes exactly can we suggest this to Mercedes in the other part of this forum? I have a 2014 B-Class ED and would love to be able to either completely lower and/or completely remove the two taller rear side headrests.

 

[RicR2]

The solution is to have The Mercedes Dealer remove the rear headrest pin.

After I told the salesman that I would only buy my B-Class if the rear headrests could be removed, he determined that the B-Class has removable rear headrests in several countries but not in the USA, because in the USA there is a locking pin. Remove the pin and the headrests can be removed. On delivery I did remove both rear headrests.

 

[wtzouris]

You just hit them hard and they do down. I had to strike them 3-4 times on each headrest with a fist and I mean very hard--- ( I needed help from a very strong family member ) it works and they sit flush. It's been 2 months. I guess it forces the headrest past the locking pin. I was not going to go to the dealer. A number of owners have done this and it works. You can still raise the headrests afterwards but i haven't bothered to ever put them up again. Some people have said once you pound on them they are even removeable! The first time I tried alone I couldn't do it. Get a super strong dude with big arms and tilt the seat forward for the most momentum/ best angle.

 

[renault19]

You just hit them hard and they do down. I had to strike them 3-4 times on each headrest with a fist and I mean very hard--- ( I needed help from a very strong family member ) it works and they sit flush. It's been 2 months. I guess it forces the headrest past the locking pin. I was not going to go to the dealer. A number of owners have done this and it works. You can still raise the headrests afterwards but i haven't bothered to ever put them up again. Some people have said once you pound on them they are even removeable! The first time I tried alone I couldn't do it. Get a super strong dude with big arms and tilt the seat forward for the most momentum/ best angle.

Does the hitting / pounding technique also work for rear seat headrests in 2015 models? I've tried this using a hammer with a rubber head, hitting hard. No luck. Searched for the locking pin and if the pin location is accessible.

One option is to pull both headrests in their upper most position almost touching the car's interior ceiling. I found the upper position gives more viewing clearance when looking at the rear view mirror than when the headrests are in their lowered position.

 

[camaroguy]

I recently picked up a 2015 and was playing with the rear headrests today. The lock that holds them from going down appears to be on the opposite post from the one that locks it into the various positions. I had it in the all the way up position, held the release lever and pushed it all the way down.

I didn't press super hard, but I think the fact that there was some mass behind the movement, made it go past this secondary lock and go all the way down. When I lifted it again to make sure all the other functions were still in tact, I heard something fall inside there. Maybe it was this pin? The pin must be pretty weak, I didn't push it down very hard, but I had used the full travel of the headrest when pushing it down.

The visibility is a bit better out the rear window with these down. Even putting them all the way up, you still get distracted by the posts in view.

 

[JeffRay]

CG, I tried it today but I must not be applying enough mass. Raise the headrest, hold the button and press down with body weight? I tried slamming it down to no effect. Any advice welcome.

 

[camaroguy]

I didn't use anything close to body weight. I can't get "above" the seat back with it in the up position. I literally just pushed it down from the top most spot with my hand while still standing outside the back of the vehicle. I may have had my hand over the left post, as that is the one that stops it.

 

[wtzouris]

I agree it is very hard to bang them down but it does work. I had a very strong family member use his fist as a hammer (not recommended) and he did each rear headrest in about 3 blows) (I was unable to do it myself -- maybe I was being too careful?) Mine have been flush with the top of the rear seat bench for over 6 months.

 

[JeffRay]

Got mine down on Friday while I was topping up at a charging station. I must be a weakling as it took me about 30 tries to get each down. The best position is from the rear hatch vs. the seat itself in order to put more force downward. Yeah. Thanks CG and WTZ.