cincy8

Can you confirm what was modified? The pictures of the one MY14 didn't look any different. I thought that whole conversation was unconfirmed.

fabbrisd1

The 2014 headrest is a bit "softer" in upholstery/cushion - and also also offers a bit of "flex" at the bottom/lower end head for shorter heads... the 2013 headrest feels like a fixed block.

My personal comment.

South Ocean1

Wow - this is really a troubling thread.

My 2014 GL with Power Easy-Entry should be arriving at my dealer any day now for pick-up, and I am truly worried after reading these posts. I have not had the opportunity to have the kids sit in the back of a new GL with power easy entry yet (we all sat in one without power easy entry before I ordered and that was fine) so I don't know what they will think. You expect in a vehicle designed for families that your kids will be comfortable just sitting in the second row (and third row to a lesser extent). Who would ever expect that the design of the headrest (something that should be as straight forward for auto makers to get right as putting wheels and tires on a car) could make it uncomfortable or even unsafe for kids (or shorter adults) sitting in the back.

I have a couple of questions for current owners of GLs with the power easy entry. Do the headrests only have two settings, i.e., all the way down and all the way up? Or can you position them anywhere along the slide from the bottom to the top? It would seem to help if you could position them part way up or down.

Do you think the middle seat head rest, which is smaller and likely less intrusive, could be swapped out for the two outer headrests and still remain "clipped in"? I read the posts about dealers being able to unclip the headrests so they can be removed but I would be worried from a safety perspective that they could come flying off/out in an accident . . . I know the non-power easy entry headrests will not fit the power easy entry seats so that is not an option.

Does anyone on the board have kids who have not had an issue sitting in the second row of a power easy entry seat without a car seat (i.e., just a booster or no car seat at all)?

Has anyone made any further progress with MBUSA about this issue? Several have contacted MBUSA but the trail seems to fall off.

Fabbrisd1, are you just perceiving a difference in the 2014 MY headrests or is that a verified difference????

Yikes - this really stinks. I have actually already given our second car away to other family members who live out of state anticipating a pick-up of the GL this week or next. And I appreciate that it is worse for those who already have their GL and are troubled by the second row headrests.

Thanks in advance?

Kind regards

63girl

I did not think the 2014 was acceptable so I deleted the power easy entry on my order apparently just in time. The headrests are up or down - all or none. I had all 4 of my kids in the car and the only one that it did not bother was my 6 year old who was not in a booster (as he should be). I did call MBUSA and got one follow up phone call from a "Robert". He was supposed to call me back with some followup questions regarding swapping out headrests, etc but did not. He did inform me that MB does not have a TSB or authorize the "clips" being removed - it was not tested that way. I agree with you and have said all along that this is a bad design. Call MBUSA and let them know. They know it is a problem as the feature is now an option that was standard on the GL63 about a month ago - at least they are listening. Not sure what they will do to fix it though and how long that will take. I was not willing to gamble.

wamochi

the headrest design in general is so strange as it is. i have never seen anything like it. when you have them in the full up position like we do (we have two car seats installed), it looks so dumb from the back to have these near foot long silver poles slid all the way up! and then when they are down, the damn things sit on the seat back of the 2nd row bench which makes ZERO sense.

i don't know what MB can't be "normal" and just do the same headrest design as other car makers and just have them sitting on the top of the bench flush with the seat back. the way lexus does it, they have a recessed area that is "missing" from the seat back on certain models to allow the headrest to sit in that little recess, but again, still flush with the seatback and then adjustable for taller passengers.

i really don't get it!!!!!!!! in the GL, it just LOOKS stupid , not to mention the total lack of functionality for children. all i wanted to do was remove my headrests as soon as i got it home, but NOPE, you aren't allowed to do that either!

wamochi

to expand on the up/down headrest issue, i don't know for certain but i feel that the uncomfortable angle on the headrest up is a lessened when the 2nd row bench is tilted back as far as it goes. in other words, the more upright the bench is, the worse it looks/feels. so give that a shot and try a few different bench tilt positions and see how your kids feel.

again, i don't know how that is possible given the fixed headrest design, but that was just my observation. when we have the car seats in the 2nd row, the only way that it seemed ok was to have the bench tilted back. any other position the headrest seemed to be pushing up against the side protection wings too much.

i also don't think the middle headrest would work. it's a different size and shape, not sure how it could fit properly.

Ntuck

When we brought this attention to our dealer, they were not aware of the problem. The dealership wants to make things right, so they had their service department look at it. One of the head corporate guys from MB in the service department happened to be at our dealership that day. They brought it to his attention and he was aware. They told us they would fix and replace with the manual headrest so that they lay flat. They did want us to know that if we pressed the button for the EZ entry and didn't put the headrest down on the replacement, and it messes up the seats, that it's not their fault. I'm fine with that option. I just want the headrest to go flat for my 6 year old in a booster seat.

South Ocean1

NTuck, Wamochi and 63girl:

Thanks so much for your comments. I am really going to have to sit all three kids in the second row when the GL arrives and see what they think. I am now sure how that is going to go . . . but want to get it over with. You know, when you are about to pick up a new car, you really want to enjoy the excitement of it all - not fret about whether it is going to work for you or not.

NTuck, I thought from other comments (Fabbrisd1) that the manual head rests won't fit the power easy entry seats - something about the rods not the same. It sounds like your dealer can change that out for you . . . when are you going to have that done?

Fabbrisd1: Any thoughts from the inside . . .

Ntuck

[QUOTE=South Ocean1;5748964]NTuck, Wamochi and 63girl:

NTuck, I thought from other comments (Fabbrisd1) that the manual head rests won't fit the power easy entry seats - something about the rods not the same. It sounds like your dealer can change that out for you . . . when are you going to have that done?

I'm not sure if they will fit or not. I did notice when I was talking to the dealer that the 3rd row rods are thinner than the powered 2nd row. That might be what you are talking about and the case. I am on vacation right now but will hopefully have some answers by next week when I return. Got the car 2 days before we left for vacation because it came in early and pointed it out to them, so that when we return they will hopefully fix.

Ntuck

I TOTALLY agree with you. You took the words right out of my mouth on everything you said above. They are the dumbest things I've ever seen in a car. They make NO sense at all and only to be able to position them 2 ways. It's hardly worth it to keep them down because anyone sitting there must raise them up or it will smack into their backs, including children in backless boosters. I wish they would install the GLK headrests because those make sense. It's coming from the same company, so you would think they could do something simple. It also is a blind spot issue with how high those things go even if you have people who are shorter than the headrest. They are a complete mess and MB definitely failed on that one. I think the car is amazing, and absolutely love it...except those darn headrests.

Mbenz260e

Thanks for the info and please let us know how it turns out, I really want to get mine converted...

South Ocean1

Just to close the loop on my earlier question, we picked up our new GL on Saturday and I am very relieved to say that the second row headrest is not a problem for our kids. Whew!! That said, I can certainly see how it could be for kids and shorter adults, particularly with the second row seat in the most upright position. With the seats reclined somewhat, it has been fine. I don't know whether Fabbrisd1 is correct about the MY14 headrests being a little softer or having more give, but there is some play at the bottom which helps. However, I completely agree that it would be much better if they swiveled back so that they are flush with the seats like those without the power easy entry feature - or even better if they had several different height adjustments up and down rather than just two (all the way up and all the way down).

Ntuck and others, I really hope you get a good solution to your headrest issue as that is a BIG DEAL if your kids are not comfortable. I also hope MB proactively incorporates a fix for all who have an issue.

Ntuck

Glad they worked out for you South Ocean1. I'm supposed to be getting my car back tonight after fixing the headrests. They told me that they will remove the clips which I guess mostly everyone else is doing. Hope that solves our problem! Definitely a silly design of a headrest. All the other headrests in the other MB vehicles seem normal. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" but anyway.

cordoor

I am new to the GL and am considering one. Can you explain a bit more about what it means to "remove the clips" and how this solves the problem. Does "removing the clips" allow the bottom of the head rest to set back against the rails so that the face of it is flush with the face of the seat?

I would be satisfied with this kind of solution knowing that I need to simply hold the head rest forward when pushing the button if this solves the problem.

Ntuck

Hi, from what I've heard, the clips in the headrest that make the mechanical stuff work to auto lower the headrest will be removed. Without them you manually push the little button to lower the headrest. You must do this before you push the button for the EZ entry or else it will crash into the front seat and could damage the headrest I guess. Supposedly after this is fixed, then the headrest will sit flush with the seat again and not cause issues to passengers with their heads...especially little kids. I will say though, my husband is 6'3 and when he sat back there to test it out, he said the headrest hit him in the top of his back with it all the way up. The Manager also sat in the back to test it out and said it was uncomfortable to him as well. (pre having the clips removed...getting it back in a few hours from the dealership)

cordoor

Please do report the result. Pictures would be helpful too. I would like to work this out with my dealer before finalizing a purchase to be sure it is taken care of and is a legit solution.

b.west1

Removing the clips only does 2 things -- 1) disables the automatic lowering of the headrest via the power button; and 2) allow you to completely remove the headrest from the seat. The headrests still raise and lower manually without any problem, but they do not swivel at all -- they still stick out and are just as uncomfortable (and dangerous for certain size people). I had the clips removed to be able to remove the headrests so my kids could even sit in the seat.

cordoor

This is great information and exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you!

What I probably need to do at this point is take a few of my "middle-aged" kids down to the dealership and see if they are able to move the seat if the seat doesn't have the power option (since we would only get the vehicle without the power option at this point based on the information you guys have shared).

LoseWeightAskMe

I too would like to thank b.west1 for the informative post. Answer is to the point and very precise.
This thread is the reason I removed Eazy Entry from my order.

Ntuck

Cordoor, hopefully these pictures upload...but got it back today and they just took out the pins. You can manually pull it up so it is flush with the seat, or all the way down. I pulled the headrest forward a bit so you can see sort of what it looked like before the pins were taken out. It jutted forward a bit which was the problem with my son sitting back there. Some people have said that they can remove the headrest after the pins are removed but I couldn't get mine to come out.

I am much happier now that the headrest sits flush with the seat and my son is comfortable.

cordoor

So it looks like the result is the opposite of what b.west1 said. Is it true that after removing the pins, you were able to move the headrest into the position shown in the first picture where the bottom of the head rest is tilted back nearly against the bars? If that is the case, then the result achieved by removing the pins is ideal.

b.west1

Looks like there are 2 potential fixes -- my dealer removed the clips on the pole of the headrest, allowing me to remove the headrest from the seat. The headrest itself still does not swivel. It looks like another dealer removed pins inside the headrest which allows them to swivel but not be removed. Next thing for me then is to go after the pins so my headrests will sit flush with the back of the seat when/if I install the headrests again.

cordoor

Yes. So removing the pins is what I'll need to ask my dealership about prior to purchasing. Thanks!

Ntuck

Yes, that is correct. I was able to move the headrest in the first picture. I am also able to move it out so it does swivel, however I cannot remove the headrest entirely unless I am not pulling hard enough. This is what the actual receipt says, "Remove stop pins to allow headrest to fold back when raised. Saved old pins and put in glovebox for future reinstall. Note if pins are lost they are not available as separate parts."

Hope that helps!

CaptFett

Just got a 14 GL 350. I took the headrest off the 40% side myself. A bit of a task, but doable.