I know that another thread exists... but I figured that I would start fresh.

problem: a car equipped with the "easy entry" system has an issue where the second row head rest sits forward making it extremely uncomfortable for shorter people and especially kids. In addition, it makes putting car seats in a major problem also.

Mercedes has equipped these cars with a locked position so that when the easy entry is engaged.. the head rest will flop down over the seat and not interfere with the front seat as it folds forward. A car equipped with a manual folding seat comes with head rests that tilt all the way back instead of stopping. So when the user folds the seat.. it is a manual operation to drop the head rest before folding.

2 solutions have come to light here on the forum.
1. is to replace the head rest with the manual version. This looks to be about $900 for the headrests and labor. (the auto head rests have to be accessed internal of the seat to be released as they do not come out of the top like the manual version does)
In my case.. my dealer gave me new headrests at no charge.
I elected to not install them as once installed.. they are completely manual (meaning you have to press the release to drop them down before hitting the easy entry button) so that negates the whole point of the easy entry system... and makes it unusable for my 6 year old when she is in the back needing to get out.

2. the better solution in my mind is to remove the pin that keeps the existing head rest from folding back. (now the head rest will drop down automatically as before..but with a caveat... the head rest needs to be pushed a bit forward so that it will plop down over the seat.) most of the time it seems to go all the way down on it's own without the push.. but not always..

So here is how to do it with pictures.




the hardest part is pulling the leather down from below.. I used a pair of needle nosed pliars from the side.. be careful as you can pull the leather from the plastic retainer. You have two of them that but up against each other.

once I had both retainers pulled down.. I was able to peel back the leather over the top of the head rest to about 2/3rds on the front. from the back you will see a little silver pin that needs to be tapped out going to the front of the car.




I took my headrest all the way off.. you really don't need to do that. Here is the pin that needs to be pushed out or pulled from the front.







in this last pic... you can see the difference from before and after as I haven't done the other one yet.

I hope this helps.. it took me about 20 minutes for the fix... if you have any questions PM me.

Best,

cyclrder

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Following up....

In the current configuration (pin removed):

When you press the easy entry button... The seat will fold forward and also pull the headrest down. You need to flip the headrest forward so that it will clear the top of the seat and drop down. (The purpose of the pin was to keep the head rest forward so that this would be unnecessary.) (incidentally, if the head rest hadn't been sitting back all the way, the pulling down action of the seat will push the headrest forward anyway.... Just not always.)

If you swap to the manual headrests (the other solution to this issue) ... You will have to always manually press the little release button and push the headrest down prior to folding the seat forward...(requiring both hands always)

With the "pin out" solution... You can still operate the seat with one hand and just a little fuss.


Hope this helps.

 

Sooooo..........what happens to the occupants if you are rear ended?

 

the headrest will work exactly as designed from MB.. the tilted back headrest now matches exactly the way a "manual' version would except that the Manual version has a spring pulling it back.

I didn't want to remove the headrests all together as you are more likely to get rear ended in these days of texting drivers than anything else.

 

Excellent write up. I wish this was available 2 weeks ago before I had taken my car in to get the headrest replaced.

Just a quick correction, with the manual headrest and ez entry, when you press the button for the power fold, it actually triggers the headrests to fall down. You don't need to press the little release button for the headrest and push it down.

The only disadvantage is sometimes it doesnt fall all the way so you have to push it down slightly and pull the headrest out forward to it falls nicely in place.

 

Ahhhhh.... That was the exact reason I opted for keeping my headrests... I didn't think the manual head rest replacement would "pull down" since it didn't appear to attach to the that part of the mechanism... Also the replacement headrests actually have a spring pull back on them that I felt would impede the downward motion....(maybe the dealer pulled the spring out?)

 

Perhaps. It's definitely not as smooth as the original headrests, but gets the job done.

 

Great writeup and thanks for the photos. I am still using them the way they came, but will play it by ear as the kids get older.

 

Hi. So while my dealer won't remove the pin (liability issue), they are offering to help me out with a manual headrest fix.

Is the pin fix preferable to the manual headrest fix? How has it worked out for you guys now you've had it for a while?

Thanks.

 

I've had it for about 6 months with the new headrest. Overall its much better than before, however the self-dropping headrest with the automatic seats were more convenient when access the 3rd row (often times people forget to drop the headrest when pressing the button).

So I would assume removing the pin would be a better alternative. However, there is another member who replaced the headrest with headrests design from the front, I think that works the best

 

Thanks! I don't remember seeing that front headrest solution when I was searching. You don't happen to remember the person's username or anything?

My dealer just told me that if they swap the headrests to a manual headrest, then you have to actually remove the manual headrest to then be able to flip the seats forward. That is incorrect - right?

 

If you replace the easy entry headrests with manual headrests you or your kids are going to have to push the bottom of the headrest forward beyond the seatback and then manually push the headrest down.

A better option is to print off the instructions for removing the headrest pin that cyclrder and others have posted and take your GL to a car audio/accessory shop and have them remove the pin. A good shop is used to working with upholstery and will know how the headrest leather/mbtex is fastened. It cost me about $75 and it was done while I waited. It took about 45 minutes. Then, whoever sits in the third row will just have to push the headrest bottom forward and push the button. The headrest will retract on its own and the seat will roll forward. If you've had the GL equipped with the manual seats, your kids will already be used to pushing the headrest bottom forward.

 

I have the passenger rear seat head rest with the pin removed... I haven't removed the pin from the seat behind the driver as my little boy is still in a clek car seat... And I'm being lazy.

We have been using the 3rd row a lot and about 80% of the time people hit the easy entry button before I have a chance to tell them to push the bottom of the headrest forward...it usually pulls the headrest down and when it hasn't..it hasn't bound itself up or jammed yet. So I'm happy with it.

I will say when we are adult only in the car without car seats... People hate the fact that the driver side rear headrest does not angle down like the one with the pin removed.

I highly recommend pulling the pin! If you would like a pair of brand new black Napa leather manual headrests... $250 will take them and they retail for $900.

 

Here it is: https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ml#post6314768

No you don't have to remove the headrest to fold the seats forward. My dealer had connected the power release button to the button for the headrest so all i have to do is when I press the power release button, push the headrest down at the same time (not sure if this is as designed).

 

Alright - thanks so much everyone for your help with this.

Dealer won't do the pin removal but will get the replacement headrests, so will likely take them up on that.

Now, I couldn't help myself, so I went and pulled the pin out of one of the headrests so I could see if I liked the changed operation. Only took 15 minutes (thanks for the pictures above)!

In the spirit of giving back to this thread, one thing I noted was that even if the headrest does not retract, there is enough clearance for the seat to fully fold. Seat in front moves forward enough and there is enough space to the floor with the headrest fully extended.

In other words, no need to sweat it if the headrest remains up when it folds. But very easy to just flip it forward a bit so it does.

Thanks again!

 

Do the headrest flop in and out...or will they stay in or out?

 

Can you post a photo of the manual headrests? Do they look the same? Do they still click into place on the metal post?

 

With the pins removed, the headrests don't flop around at all. They just stay where you put them.

 

Thanks for this info! Very helpful!!

 

 

These hold the headrest in place firmly and are barely noticeable. Easily slides out of place to retract seat.

 

Hello,

I know this is an old thread but I’m trying to switch the rear headrests on a 2019 GLS that has the power easy entry option to manual headrests. In your thread, you mention that you had your headrests replaced. Have talked to several MB dealers and none seem to know how to replace the headrests that come w power easy entry option to the manual headrests. Would appreciate any advice. Thank you all in advance.

 

i'm sure it'd be easier if dealer would replace it for you for free. but removing that pin isn't that difficult either. it takes right tool and lots of hammering but i got it done and it's same as having manual headrest. just take time to follow instruction above.

 

Thanks for your reply. The dealers I’m speaking to are unfamiliar with how to replace the headrests (say they can’t physically remove headrests that come w power easy entry as they’re not removable). The pin fix sounds good but I’d be very interested to learn about how people have replaced the headrests. Is there a way to remove the power easy entry headrests? Do the manual headrests then just slide into same track or is there some other adjustment/replacement required with the seat or tracks themselves?