I deleted my power entry. The seats are a freakin pain. With that said my 4 kids ages 6-14 can all get the seat down if the headrests are down far enough or the front seat is forward enough. My 6 year old can not get the headrest in the right position to "launch" the seat down - the others can. The major problem is getting the seat back up which all of them can do but it takes a while. Remember that even with the power entry you do have to put the seat back up....

Long and short. I do not have to help them but if you had all younger kids you may. When its just me and the 6 year old, he is alone and just sits in the 2nd row anyway. When we have all been together, it is sometimes easier to leave one of the third row seats down and enter from the trunk - that apparently is very exciting for them. I would just consider how many times you are going to need that third row.

 

Thanks great feedback...certainly food for thought...going to investigate this all further before I drop $75-80 on a car...looking at Audi Q7 and BMW x5 as well..I know they are smaller, but I need piece of mind...of course, taking my 2 boys (ages 14, 12) and 1 girl (1) with me! thx

 

It certainly does seem like a bit of effort, but my 6 year old girl can get it back in place. It is kind of funny with her body slamming the seat to get it back in place, but she enjoys doing it. My 9 year old can get it back in place pretty easily.

Also, I have tried to see if I could get to the pins, but haven't had any luck. I can see where the headrest cover attaches, but can't get that apart as I'm a bit afraid to use too much force. Mostly this is because it doesn't really bother my kids. If the seat is reclined the way they want it the headrest doesn't really seem to be a problem. Of course, if it would act like the manual one and recess back to the level of the seat that would be even better.

 

I thought the same thing the first time we looked at the vehicle and went away from the dealer thinking we were going with the Minivan for a few more years. But we went back to the dealer with all the kids (5) and tried it out. After pinching the 8 year old in front of a fast flipping seat, we managed to get everyone in and working. I have a 9 year old girl that sits in the rear right seat and operates the single folder on the second row. She figured it out and gets it with no help all the time now. It has not been an issue. She even does the thing where you hold the button for a few seconds on top while holding on to the back of the seat and once you hear the motor cycle can adjust the seat back so it is not in its most upright position. Its been about three months of daily use with all sits filled, no issues. Surprisingly. Get the Weathertech floor mats for all three rows. They work great for kids in and out.

 

Did our first "road trip" from Miami to Orlando last week. My kids are 7 and 10 and were really not too pleased with the headrest positions, up or down! I've never seen a headrest that only had two (2) positions, but then again some cars are permanently fixed, for better or for worse.

I'll have to sit in the back and see what works, but clearly any adult will require the headrest in the full up position. Anything else is just torture to the neck.

 

i bought a 2014 gL 450 last week. When my car seat wouldn't fit I took it back to the dealer. They didn't know of the issue, but discovered MB removed it from the standard P1 package and now have it as a separate option selection. If you select it it's your problem. The dealer agreed it was not safe and decided to resolve the isse. They were in the process of removing the clips so the headrests can be removed. Granted this makes the headrest manual and semi negates the power option, but safety is the priority for my family. When the shop was working on this I was in the showroom with a mid 20's service advisor. He started looking around at hadrests and the said I will be right back. The next thing I knew he pulls both headrests from a ML 350 and they slide into the slots of my 450 with power folding seats. The non power 450,s don't fit, but the ML,s do. They look great, they are OEM and MB should do this for anyone that has this isse. You get to pay $450 for an option that makes your 80,000 car unsafe and then beg to have MB make it right.

 

Can you post some pictures of the "new" headrests. Does that mean each time you need to fold down the second row, you need t manually lower the headrest?

 

Just got a '14 gl450 with the EZ entry middle row and now have issues with the headrests. Anyone have the TSB number or title as my dealer in Raleigh claims this is the first ever instance of this issue and am getting the feeling the stone wall is going up. Also would consider driving the car to a cooperating dealer if folks that have had this issue resolved with theirs. Thanks in advance

 

Algtrd....do you have the tsb number? Getting significant push back from dealer. They claim that is the first ever instace of this.

 

Thanks for sharing! Still haven't gotten a solution for mine. Car seats are working out OK, and adults so far no major issues, but figure I will need to make an adjustments when boosters come along...

 

Remove the head rests and replace with ML of same yr. Dealer can remove rear clamps in 30 minutes. Then you will have units that would and function as they should. Did mine two weeks ago and it's perfect. Nice work MB!

 

It may have been mentioned earlier in the thread, but is MB paying for the ML headrests going in to your GL? Or did you have to pay for them?

 

The down position is really only for storing it so the seats can be folded down. It's not a position to use while anyone is sitting in the car. 4 family members, all current heights & builds Sat in the back seat with the headrest up & everyone was very comfy! I'd love to be chauffeured around in a GL550 like mine!!

 

Funny you say that, so do I! My wife wasn't comfortable around the small London streets at first, heck forget it when we drive to Italy ....But otherwise I let my 11 year old sit in the front and I'll be happily chauffeured in the back...Or even third row...

 

An update to a posting I did in June 2013 - my husband and I had cancelled our 2014 GL order because of the 2nd row headrest issue. Our sales rep called yesterday to inform us that Mercedes has fixed the headrest issue and emailed us the attached picture of the GL on the show floor. We have not called back yet to ask if this is with or without the power entry option. He indicated Mercedes was calling 23 clients who had concerned or had previously cancelled their their order due to the issue.

 

that doesn't look like a "fix" to me. looks the same as the non-power easy entry headrests. they swivel back when you pull them all the way up, so the headrest is more flush with the seat back.

you can tell it's not power easy entry because it lacks the button on the top of the seat.

 

So this "new" headrest is going to replace the old?

 

To clarify - there are two headrest on the 14 GL - the standard headrest - and the 2nd headrest used for the EZ-Entry feature.

Hahn's - the headrest pictured from your salesman is the "standard" headrest witout EZ Entry - if that seat had added EZ Entry - then there would be a large square button on the top of the seat.

There has been a "minor" change to the headrest for EZ Entry from 13 to 14 - the upside down "L" shaped EZ Entry headrest is a touch slimmer, and has m=a bit more "flex" - however the basic design is the same.

There have not been "24 canceled orders" over the headrest - that part is sales dept nonsense.

The passenger "fitting' is different between standard and EZ Entry - and child seat fitting can be different too.

On EZ Entry - the system has to be able to pull the headrests down - so that as the seat is raised it will clear the front seats - and also clear the rear entertainment system if installed - this means the standard headrest can't be used - and the reason the fixed shape headrest is used in EZ Entry. At the same time, the EZ Entry headrest has to meet Fed crash test standards, and not break, so that I am told is the reason the 2nd row headrest for EZ Entry is substantial/think.

When the EZ Entry feature was introduced in the X166 in 2013 - at that time there was no clear information at launch from MB on the redesigned EZ Entry headrest - so on the 1st new GL's this was a unknown/new issue

Now that we are over 1 1/2 yrs into the X166 - on this $400 option - the problem has been the lack of correct information - or unclear information - from specific salespeople at specific dealers.

Hahn's in this situation your salesperson is at fault for knot knowing, or not being clear with you.

As long as you have clear information - you can make the best choice for your application.

Keep the beat !

 

So, there are no changes being made?? My concern is that my children (7 & 10) are both uncomfortable in the second row. The head restraint is perfect for me, offering support just right but at their shorter height, it's pushing their heads forward. My father-in-law, who's a bit shorter than me, is also uncomfortable. Thank you for all your informative updates, Fab. Much appreciated!

 

I had initially gotten the clips removed from the seat, not optimal but given the age of kids better then nothing. After the other member posted in detail how to remove the pins inside the headrest I send that post to my service manager at the MB dealership and left the headrests with them. Finally the figured it out and today I got them back, and voila all of my issues have resolved!!!! I have also gotten them to put the clips back on so I can use it with the EZ entry system.
Attached you will find 2 pics, one shows the position of the headrest how it is normally, the 2nd pic shows how it sits flush with the backrest like it does with the manual 2nd row entry. Finally my $85.000 car can be used like it was intended. Minor inconvenience is that when pressing the entry system button I just have to swivel it back to the original position (once pulled forward it stays there and doesn't swivel back) so it can retract, I can live with that.
Anyone with that same issue, stay persistent and show the relevant posts to your MB service manager, it can be done if they are willing to put some effort into it. My service manager is awesome, they didn't charge me a thing for all my requests.

 

Perfect! I'm so glad there'd a solution to this irritating problem. I'm taking mine in to have mine adjusted. The kids will be so happy! Thank you

 

On what page can I find the post to show my dealer how to remove the pins so the headrest can tilt back flush with the seat? Thank you in advance.

 

See my post #152.

 

We just took delivery of our 2014 GL450 w/"easy" second row exit last week (our 3rd GL) and I was dismayed at how awful the 2nd row headrests are. My kids in boosters would probably wind up with broken necks if we actually got into an accident because the headrests stick out and just hit the tops of their heads without supporting their lower/head neck region.

I found this forum and by following the directions in post 152 (and a little self discovery while operating on them) removed the pins in both 2nd row seats and now the headrests lie flat with the seat. I told my wife that she just needs to tilt the headrests forward before pushing the easy exit button.

So thank you gents (and ladies perhaps) the info here was very helpful.

 

Do you have DIY detailed write up?