Front passenger head rest, seems to be luxury model, is stuck in the front most position. The button that brings it back on the side doesn't work. Anyone know how to bring it back, or even open it for manual relocation? Have compared to driver that works fine, and can't see what's wrong from the outside.

It's the kind that has a laugh inside i think, no electronics involved that I can tell.

 

Hey! I have this exact same issue on my wife's GL550 and does anyone have an idea to fix it? I was happy to see this thread but bothered to see it empty.

 

The video shows a headrest that seems to be stuck only on one of the slide rails.

Either the lock button isn’t disengaging the stuck rail, or soda/ice cream/sticky stuff could have gotten there. Try proving with a long skinny tool like a wood or metal skewer or similar.

I would keep working at it. If you are experienced with trim panel removal you could try removing the hard plastic panel to get access to the slides.

 

I could not for the life of me figure out how to remove the plastic. Do you know where the latches for the plastic are @chassis ?

Thanks,

Jo

 

WIS doesn't seem to have a procedure for this, and EPC suggests the head restraint is a complete assembly, not available as individual components. It would be interesting to know if you took it to the dealer and they told you the solution is a new head restraint.

If the above is the case, I would look for a way to remove the bezel surrounding the button controlling the head restraint fore-aft movement. If you can get the bezel off, the button will likely come out, and maybe you can see inside or pry something free with a long thin screwdriver. Think of wide flat trim lever tools to remove the button bezel, prying gently and firmly on both sides of the bezel with two trim levers.

Item 470 in the diagram.

 

@CerBErusM113 @chassis had a talk to my local mechanic, and he reckoned you had to remove the headrest completely (by taking the seat back cover off etc). Seemingly this is the same as the x164. WIll see if I get around to it over summer...

Jo

 

Yes it seems that way from WIS and EPC. You can replace the whole assembly or try to pull it apart with trim wedge tools before ordering the new assembly.

 

Realizing that I am resurrecting an old thread (Google search brought me here) but I wonder if anybody has solved this short of replacing the entire assembly.

 

Solution to Fix the Stuck Headrest

I've had this issue with the stuck passenger headrest for 3+ years since I bought the vehicle (2nd Owner). I've searched many times on google and the forum for a solution but have read various conclusions (Cannot be adjusted, the button is for aesthetic and not functional or that it needed to be replaced).

I attempted this fix and was able to resolve.

Plastic Shell Removal
- Raise the headrest up.
- Sit in the middle seat and pull the plastic shell from the bottom towards you.
- There are 7 clips holding the plastic shell: 2 on the bottom, 2 on the left, 2 on the right and 1 on the top. (See picture for reference of a few clips)
- The bottom and side clips will unclip by pulling.
- The top clip is a bit hard to get to and you will need a long screwdriver or trim tool to push up on the clip to unclip. I ended up breaking mine as the clearance is very small to work in (Note that this did not affect the plastic shell from re-attaching), see picture for reference
- With the shell off, keep it to the bottom and you can proceed to the fix.







Check Functionality of Side Button
- Press the side button and confirm the white tab moves down when pressed and returns up when you let go. (See picture for reference)
- You will see the white tab pushes down on a catch where the headrest moves forward and back.





Fixing The Issue
- On the 2 sides, you will see the black plastic part with the adjustment teeth, there are tabs that should be sitting on the back side to metal frame to stop the all the way forward position. (I didn't take the picture of my situation but reference the picture to see the 2 tabs circled)
- In my case, those 2 tabs (I would refer to them as stops) were past the metal frame and this prevented the headrest from moving back.
- Using 2 screwdrivers, gently pry the 2 sides in so that the tabs can be on the back side of the metal. (See picture below with the 2 tabs circled, this is how it should look)
- Tested with the side button and the headrest moves forward and back with ease.






Clip the plastic shell back together and you are good to go.

See attached pictures for reference as well.

 

Thanks for the instructions and photos. Looks like another thread about the same thing is circulating right now as well.
I’m going to give this a try over the weekend.

Edit/follow up: Problem is fixed but I could not get the top tab off without breaking it even after trying a screwdriver long enough to reach it.

 

Same issue that I had as well, tried getting that clip to release for a good 20 mins but ended up having it break.

Glad you got yours fixed.

 

Does anyone know if this is a relevant approach as well? https://www.mersag.com/cmer-3874.html

Jo

 

I think that is the procedure to reset the headrest after the restraint has been activated due to collision (or the vehicle thinking there was a collision).

 

appreciate the initiative. I have been living with this for 3 years, fixed now thanks

 

Finally fixed mine as well...

Here is what it looked like as broken:




And found this little Easter egg in my attempt to not break the top latch


​

 

¡Hecho en México!