This week someone told me that there is a class action suit against MB because of unwarranted activation of the active headrests in certain MB models. First off, I had no idea our W212's had active headrests. Second, in close to 4 years on this board, I have zero recall of ever reading of any issue of a problem with our headrests (doesn't mean it's not been mentioned, just I haven't seen it).

Has anyone ever had any issues with their headrests? Curious-

thanks-

 

Never heard of it. Do your headrests not have "NECK PRO" printed on the base? Mine do.

 

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Mercedes-Benz NECK-PRO Lawsuit Filed as Class Action

Mercedes class action lawsuit alleges active head restraints deploy when they shouldn't.

By David A. Wood, CarComplaints.comPosted in News
September 6, 2019 — A Mercedes-Benz NECK-PRO lawsuit alleges the active head restraints deploy without warning and without external impacts to the vehicles.

According to the lawsuit, the Mercedes active head restraint is designed to spring forward if a vehicle is hit from behind, quickly pushing the headrest forward to catch an occupant's head and prevent whiplash injuries.

The NECK-PRO restraint will allegedly strike the back of the head of an occupant at a time when the occupant isn't expecting the jolt. The lawsuit also alleges it causes serious bodily harm to the head and neck and distract a driver to the point of causing a crash.

The plaintiffs blame the problem on a cheap plastic bracket that is used for the triggering mechanism, holding a spring-loaded release in place until a sensor indicates a rear-end crash. Mercedes allegedly took the cheap way out with the plastic bracket which cracks and breaks down under the constant pressure of the springs.

The headrest is made with a forward-facing padded surface mounted to a plastic carriage that is loaded by pre-tensioned springs when stowed in the headrest prior to deployment. The carriage is secured in the stowed position by a pin-and-hook latch assembly with the pin secured in a nest in the carriage.

The latch is then linked to the Mercedes electronic computer control unit. The lawsuit says in a rear-end collision, the signal triggers the "pin-and-hook latch to release the pin allowing the carriage to be forced forward by the springs, rapidly deploying the face of the headrest forward."

The device fully deploys in .027 seconds with the face of the headrest sent forward by 40 millimeters and upwards by 30 millimeters to meet the head as it travels backwards.

The lawsuit alleges there are hundreds of thousands of Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with the allegedly defective NECK-PRO active head restraints at risk of deploying without warning.

The eight plaintiffs who filed the class action lawsuit claim they wouldn't have purchased their vehicles, or would have not paid as much for them, if they would have known about the NECK-PRO head restraint defects. However, none of the plaintiffs say how much less they would have paid for the vehicles.

Mercedes allegedly should have known the active head restraints were defective but concealed that knowledge from the public while advertising the safety of the vehicles.

In addition to filing suit against Mercedes, the plaintiffs also sued Grammer, the maker of the headrests and active head restraints.

The proposed class action lawsuit includes all current and former owners and lessees of Mercedes vehicles equipped with NECK-PRO active head restraints.

The Mercedes-Benz NECK-PRO class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida - Lewis, et al., v. Mercedes-Benz USA, et al.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, Gilligan, Gooding, Franjola & Batsel, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, and Santiago Burger.

 

I was driving with my wife today when the drivers side headrest just deployed out of nowhere. Struck me in the back of the head, it’s no joke it comes out with some serious force.

 

Yes, in 2016 E400 cabriolet. My wife hit the breaks hard and both front headrests deployed (Jan 2020) - gave her a concussion and almost caused a wreck because she was disoriented. A collision did NOT occur but the headrest deployed with massive force to the base of the skull.

Anyone know how to disable this feature?

MB said to bring the car in and they would look at disabling the feature. We dropped the car off at the dealer for 2+ weeks so they could download the telemetry and then they told her they would not disable it.

 

I wouldn't think they could disable it - but why bother? This is a mechanical, not electrical, failure. The clip breaks and deploys the headrests.

 

[QUOTE=bk000;8133329]Yes, in 2016 E400 cabriolet. My wife hit the breaks hard and both front headrests deployed (Jan 2020) - gave her a concussion and almost caused a wreck because she was disoriented. A collision did NOT occur but the headrest deployed with massive force to the base of the skull.

Anyone know how to disable this feature?

MB said to bring the car in and they would look at disabling the feature. We dropped the car off at the dealer for 2+ weeks so they could download the telemetry and then they told her they would not disable it.[/QUOTE

our issues ended up being a fuse. They changed it for no cost.

 

A fuse caused the deployment? Did they explain how that might happen, and why it would only be one side? You might have been misled.

 

Not good news to hear. They kept our vehicle for about 2 days. The only issue they found was the fuse. Their explanation was “this only happens in rear end collusions”

 

That's the idea, but clearly a cheap plastic part is failing. Maybe your issue was electrical but the class action involves a mechanical failure.

 

Yes! A few days ago I felt like my headrest was bent forward and tried adjusting it only to turn around and find that it had split apart! I wasn’t even aware that it was an active headrest and so wasn’t expecting it at all. I am only glad it deployed when I wasn’t in the car. I can only imagine if I were driving with my 6yo in the car, what could have happened.