bzjam

I've got a 2012 e-350 and when you scoot the seat back or forward the headrests go up. I asked Mercedes about this and they said its because the car thinks that since you are scooting the seat back then the person would be taller and so it automatically makes the headrest go up. So why does it go up when you scoot the seat forward? Is this the same for all mercedes?

CEB

You asked Mercedes or the dealer? The dealer is probably clueless.

Are you sure that you're not accidentaly pressing that button? There is no mention of that in the manual and - while the up when going back males sense - the going up when going forward is illogical - ergo not German.

Methinks that you either have a defective switch or you're touching both buttons.

ImInPA

Mine does this too. Not sure if other models do this as well. An interesting feature.

ghstudio

yes, my 2011 e350 does the same thing.....it's one of those mystery Mercedes features...

Mr Snappy

Mine does the same thing, it's incredibly annoying since I always have both headrests as low as they will go.

I curious, I am 6'1" and the lowest position is right for me....how many 7'6" people buy these cars in order to justify the ridiculous top position?

BM2BZ

my 2010 e550 does the same thing and i think it's kind of like the seat belt "feature" in bmw. the seat goes more toward the back, the seat belt goes higher by the shoulder.

K-A

All Benzes have done this for a long time. I think this one's a pointless over-engineering issue, as it's more of an annoyance to me.

I'm 6'4 and keep the headrest as high as possible though, anyway, not necessarily for comfort but because it's the safest place to have it for me, in the case of a hopefully-never-gonna-happen rear ended situation.

Live Oak

This is an interesting subject . . . and it points out some things we maybe ought to think more about. Especially for people like me who hate those dorky head rests up so high on those silly pillars, making the interior look so uncool.

Recently, somebody I know, a woman 68 years old, driving a Lincoln Towncar, hit a patch of black ice at speed on a 2 lane highway. Her car did a 180 on the ice, crossed into the oncoming lane, and plowed, ~rear-first~, into the front of a Toyota Tundra (think Ford F-150). She was killed instantly. (The Tundra driver was OK.)

Now, assuming her seatbelt was on, and air bags worked as designed, considering the dynamics of the crash, I can think of only one thing that would kill somebody in a heavy car crashing like that --- her head and neck may have been ~above~ the lowered headrest. That would snap the neck instantly.

I don't know if that's how it happened -- can't see the medical and police reports. But it sure seems like the kind of thing that those rising head rests are all about.

OTOH, if for some strange engineering reason they move too high, then the head could pop under the head rests --- just as deadly?

K-A

That's why I keep mine all the way up. However, again, I'm 6'4, so even all the way up, the top of the headrest is right at about the top of my head, maybe even lower.
However, M-B does have NECKPRO, where the headrests pop up in the case of a rear accident. So I guess you could be more liberal with how you position it.

Live Oak

Actually, don't the head rests pop forward in an accident??

K-A

Actually, yeah they do, but I thought they might have popped upward too? That would be counterintuitive though, now that I think about it, because if you already have it raised to a perfect-safe level, then it popping up more could make it dangerous.

Mbenz260e

I always wondered why it seemed the headrest creeps up. I typically keep it in the lowest position at 5'10 but will evaluate more closely...

I do notice in the past, maybe not so much in modern day, that the Benzs and Volvos always had larfer headrestraints which even in the lowest level seem they would be effective for average height. Lincolns and Cadillacs not so much...

El Cid

Mine does the same thing, which is OK.
But, they do not go back down when you move seat forward, so I have to reach over and press the button to drop them.
BTW, lots of cars have the feature now where headrest goes forward in case of a collision. Think it is called active headrestraints.

Live Oak

Of course, Mercedes has never been known to do anything counterintuitive.

PHML

It goes up regardless if you are moving the seats forward or backwards. I think MB Engineering dept missed something.

CEB

True. That makes little sense.

WEBSRFR

I find this feature *SO* annoying. Sometimes I just want to move the seat forward or back... Does not mean I'm growing tall at the same time

WEBSRFR

PS: Wish our headrests were designed like that of the Volvo S80, which I also own. Those are the most comfortable headrests I've ever had in a car. What I especially like is how it is angled and curved so it naturally and automatically fits taller people and it provides support for the lower portion of the head where it meets my neck, No matter how I position the MB seats I can't get support in that region.

ImInPA

The seats in the S80 are very comfortable too.

BM2BZ

i agree. volvo is very comfortable. i kind of remember saab's headrests are very nice as well.

K-A

Was just being discomforted by this very thing tonight on my 3.5 hour drive. Volvo's headrests are supreme.

osunick

On my W211 the headrests used to move down when the seat moved forward, but somehow this stopped happening. I thought it was an encoder issue but memory works perfectly so the seat knows its position. So I think something is actually wrong if your headrest only moves up. If you're a 5' tall person, having the headrest over your head doesn't do you a bit of good.