Rear Headrest Removal - DIY How-To

[trez63]

I finally got my truck yesterday. LOTs more to come on that later. But for now, I thought I'd show you guys how you remove the rear headrest because it's not super easy and there is no mention of it in the manual. It looks easy enough but when you go to actually do it, it seems it's not gonna move at all.



And in case you're wondering why you'd remove the headrest. It's to install a front facing child seat.

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[thrill]

Is the headrest fastener on the other side the same? I can't see why they'd make the left and right fasteners different, so I'm wondering the the one on the vehicle's left is defective.

 

[trez63]

Is the headrest fastener on the other side the same? I can't see why they'd make the left and right fasteners different, so I'm wondering the the one on the vehicle's left is defective.

Same on both sides. It's meant to be hard to remove and you definitely need some sort of tool to push the right button in. The left can be done by hand. I'm guessing they don't want you to remove it for safety reasons. In fact, the child seat install instructions show that the headrest should stay in place. But yeah, I don't like it that way.

 

[No.92]

I finally got my truck yesterday. LOTs more to come on that later. But for now, I thought I'd show you guys how you remove the rear headrest because it's not super easy and there is no mention of it in the manual. It looks easy enough but when you go to actually do it, it seems it's not gonna move at all.



And in case you're wondering why you'd remove the headrest. It's to install a front facing child seat.

I believe the manual says to not remove the headrest unless service is doing it

 

[trez63]

I believe the manual says to not remove the headrest unless service is doing it

I searched the manual for the word "Headrest" and didn't get a single hit.
There was something about rear seats but that link didn't actually take me to anything referring to the rear seats strangely enough. Annnnd, there is no back button in that application which sucks.

 

[DaveA]

Glad to see that the vented piece behind the seats doesn't sit real flush on another truck. Guess they all sit like that...kinda wavy.

 

[crashmtb]

I searched the manual for the word "Headrest" and didn't get a single hit.
There was something about rear seats but that link didn't actually take me to anything referring to the rear seats strangely enough. Annnnd, there is no back button in that application which sucks.

The “should only be removed by service” is because rear hear restraints have to be a certain height except centre ones.
“Head restraint” seems to be what they’re called in the manual.

 

[astonius]

OP, it looks like that button shouldn't be so recessed. Might be a minor defect.

 

[SoCal Rob]

OP, it looks like that button shouldn't be so recessed. Might be a minor defect.

This all looks like what I’ve seen on every other car with similar headrests which we’ve purchased over the last 23 years: Volvos, Kia, Land Rovers, Ford, and VW. I just assumed that this setup was used by every manufacturer with removable dual-post headrests so adults could remove headrests only when they intended to. The second, harder-to-press-to-release latch keeps adults from accidentally removing a headrest when adjusting up and prevents kids from intentionally removing them.

On our Land Rover they face out rather than in but otherwise the exact same setup and I can use the seat belt buckle end to push in the one on the right.

 

[astonius]

This all looks like what I’ve seen on every other car with similar headrests which we’ve purchased over the last 23 years: Volvos, Kia, Land Rovers, Ford, and VW. I just assumed that this setup was used by every manufacturer with removable dual-post headrests so adults could remove headrests only when they intended to. The second, harder-to-press-to-release latch keeps adults from accidentally removing a headrest when adjusting up and prevents kids from intentionally removing them.

On our Land Rover they face out rather than in but otherwise the exact same setup and I can use the seat belt buckle end to push in the one on the right.

Ah, that's clever. From the manual illustration it looks like both buttons should be protruding.

 

[trez63]

OP, it looks like that button shouldn't be so recessed. Might be a minor defect.

No. It's not a defect. It's very clearly designed that way on both headrests. The two buttons are shaped differently.

 

[astonius]

No. It's not a defect. It's very clearly designed that way on both headrests. The two buttons are shaped differently.

Does the seatbelt trick mentioned by @SoCal Rob work?

 

[trez63]

This all looks like what I’ve seen on every other car with similar headrests which we’ve purchased over the last 23 years: Volvos, Kia, Land Rovers, Ford, and VW. I just assumed that this setup was used by every manufacturer with removable dual-post headrests so adults could remove headrests only when they intended to. The second, harder-to-press-to-release latch keeps adults from accidentally removing a headrest when adjusting up and prevents kids from intentionally removing them.

On our Land Rover they face out rather than in but otherwise the exact same setup and I can use the seat belt buckle end to push in the one on the right.

This is a cool idea. But on the RIVIAN it won't move AT ALL unless you press both sides. There is a single captive notch on each of the two metal posts. Once you get it out of that captive notch you can remove it completely.

 

[SoCal Rob]

This is a cool idea. But on the RIVIAN it won't move AT ALL unless you press both sides. There is a single captive notch on each of the two metal posts. Once you get it out of that captive notch you can remove it completely.

So you can’t move the headrest up from the fully lowered / touching. the top of the seat back position even a millimeter without depressing both of those catches?

 

[trez63]

So you can’t move the headrest up from the fully lowered / touching. the top of the seat back position even a millimeter without depressing both of those catches?

That is correct. Believe me. I put in a ton of force trying. That’s why I made the video to begin with. Having gone through a similar ordeal with my Gladiator I figured it would help someone else.

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