Headrest removal?

[Thymeclock]

I need help with a petty annoyance. I'd like to remove the headrest from one of the rear seats on my 2009 hatchback. No one ever sits in that seat and the headrest partially blocks rear view when the seat isn't folded down.

I consulted the online factory manual. It says:

Head Restraint

Removal Procedure

1. Press the head restraint adjust button and remove the head restraint from the seatback.

Yeah, right! Pressing the button will allow you to raise and lower the headrest, but not remove it. I scrutinized it, yanked on it, swore at it, etc.. It won't come off.

On the Jap cars I have, you simply press the button and remove the headrest. But not with this Aveo. Chevy seems to have an obsession with making headrests non-removable. I had the same problem with my '88 Chevy Caprice. On that car it required a special tool to do it and it was a PITA.

[one_man_jam]

hmm interesting. i remember i was able to pull mine out just fine. i wanted to see if they match up with the front seat headrests....they don't i have an 07 though so i don't know if thats the case

[Thymeclock]

This is a real sneaky one...

First, try examining the headrests on front seats, because you won't otherwise see what is involved with the rear headrests.

OK, so you press the button and raise the headrest, but it still won't release because of the internal lock pin mechanism. On the other plastic anchor (the one without the push button) there is a very tiny window on the front of it. You will need to insert a fine instrument in that aperture to press back the lock pin that selects and holds the headrest in position. This requires three hands: one to press the button, one to release the pin by using a fine tool in that slot, and one to pull up on the headrest at the same time. It was designed by a three-handed fiend.

The reason why I could not see this access slot on the rear seats is due to the headrest being differently shaped - it curves very radically in its front. Even when it is fully extended the headrest itself blocks the view you might have of the release slot; the slot is more apparent on the front seat headrests which do not curve around and obscure it.

[Daox]

I wonder what the reasoning is for this. Headrest thieves on the rampage?

[Thymeclock]

I wonder what the reasoning is for this. Headrest thieves on the rampage?

As I mentioned, my '88 Caprice required a special tool for removing the headrests. I only learned about the tool Chevy had for it after I made an improvised one myself, to do the task. It's the kind of thing you never forget. At the time I too wondered why they made it virtually impossible to remove.

After a decade of frivolous lawsuits, it's probably a matter of legal protection. Americans have become sue-happy. Virtually all overprotective safety warnings and design features are generated to protect the manufacturer from lawsuit. As an example, the owners manual for my '89 car was simple, informative, and straightforward. My owner's manual for a '99 (same make and model car) was three times the size and chock full of relentless safety warnings and cartoonish illustrations, many of which are just simple common sense.

If a consumer were to remove the headrest and suffer whiplash (or a more serious injury) he might try to sue the manufacturer for not having been protected against his own carelessness. (Most of these cases never get to court - the manufacturer throws money at the plaintiff in a settlement because it's easier than risking litigation and possibly having a sympathetic jury award an undeserved but astronomical award.)

If you can't remove the headrest, there's one less potential lawsuit stemming from it.