Anyone else find the headrests intrusive?

[Left Field]

Same problem. Pulled the headrests today and bent the rods about 15 degrees, moving the top of the headrest aft about 1-1/2".

The rods need to be bent within the headrest rather than the external portion of the rod or they won't work well in the height adjuster.

Items used:
Towel
Four clamps
A couple short lengths of 2x4 and/or 4x4
A 2-3' long piece of 1/2" iron water pipe
Angle measurement tool (cell phone)
Something immovable (I used the frame of a trailer)

The headrest cover was un-clipped and opened on the underside to allow access to the rods up inside the headrest, then wrapped in a towel to protect it.

The pipe was slipped over the rod and pressed up into the foam to ensure the bend was above the external portion of the rod, then used as leverage to bend the rods. At the end I compared the bend angles visually and by measurement to make sure they matched.

Bend fixture and a before/after picture.

Much more comfortable.

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[Bullwinkle]

Feels a bit silly for my first post, but I guess I need to start somewhere. The front headrests in the JLUR seem to be angled toward the front to such a degree that it is causing my wife some back/neck pain. I looked at them (probably for the first time) and see that they are far from straight up and down (with respect to the seatback) or tilted slightly forward. They are really fwd.

I checked the manual to see if there was a way to adjust the headrest angle but it is fixed in this position.

I understand the purpose of the headrest to prevent serious head/neck injury via whiplash, but it seems a bit too far IMO...

Anyone else notice this or have a family member bring this up, or is this just me. Anyone have a solution in mind? I thought about maybe checking out a headrest from a JK to see if it fits and if so, maybe having it done in black leather w/ red stitching to match the seats...

I'm sure alot of you will laugh this one off, but at least I didn't call it a car...

my first mod was taking them out

 

[roaniecowpony]

I flipped mine around as soon as I got home from the dealer...3 years ago. I wear a cowboy hat when hunting sometimes. My Jeep and truck both are set up to allow some room for a cowboy hat. Flipped around is an easy solution. I'm no crash dummy expert, but the flipped headrest still provides protection, albeit there is probably some added exposure. As for insurance, I think it's highly unlikely anyone will even look at the vehicle, let alone the position of the headrests, post crash.

 

[Old Dogger]

This has been a issue for some, also in the JK's. I think that ones posture, plays a part in it. Those of us that stand straight, like one should, is affected by it more. Some like myself, that normally have a neck that angles forward some what when walking, then the angle of the headrest, is pretty much a non-issue.

 

[Il Commandante]

I'm 6'1" as well, and the headrests were uncomfortable.

Same problem. Pulled the headrests today and bent the rods about 15 degrees, moving the top of the headrest aft about 1-1/2".

The rods need to be bent within the headrest rather than the external portion of the rod or they won't work well in the height adjuster.

Items used:
Towel
Four clamps
A couple short lengths of 2x4 and/or 4x4
A 2-3' long piece of 1/2" iron water pipe
Angle measurement tool (cell phone)
Something immovable (I used the frame of a trailer)

The headrest cover was un-clipped and opened on the underside to allow access to the rods up inside the headrest, then wrapped in a towel to protect it.

The pipe was slipped over the rod and pressed up into the foam to ensure the bend was above the external portion of the rod, then used as leverage to bend the rods. At the end I compared the bend angles visually and by measurement to make sure they matched.

Bend fixture and a before/after picture.

Much more comfortable.

Thank you for sharing, Left Field! I followed this method, except that I used a table instead of a trailer, and I ended up with 16 deg. bend
Much more comfortable now. I can rest my head on it, if I wish, or sit upright undisturbed. And the perfect angle when tilting the seat all the way back for a break.

 

[mdkautzman]

I'm 6'1" as well, and the headrests were uncomfortable.



Thank you for sharing, Left Field! I followed this method, except that I used a table instead of a trailer, and I ended up with 16 deg. bend
Much more comfortable now. I can rest my head on it, if I wish, or sit upright undisturbed. And the perfect angle when tilting the seat all the way back for a break.

How did you secure them to the table and what method to bend? Are they hard to bend?

 

[lowmpg]

why can't the headrests operate the same way the Grand Cherokee does.......

 

[Headbarcode]

Personally, I don't find them intrusive until I'm down to the last few gulps of coffee.

Also, this thread title makes me think of the score of other drivers that I see flying around with their head leaned back and peering out of the bottom of their mostly closed eyes. I'd like to put a sheet of thumbtacks on their headrests.

 

[Il Commandante]

How did you secure them to the table and what method to bend? Are they hard to bend?

I laid them on a solid work bench, the forward side facing down, wrapped in a towel for surface protection. Then I placed a 4“x3“ piece of wood on the upper part and clamped it down with screw clamps. Then opened the cover and slid a steel pipe of 15mm inner diameter over one rod, all the way up to the foam. And simply bent the rod, step by step. Checked the angle by measuring both rods with the angle app in my phone until there was 15 deg difference. Then bent the second rod until they were parallel again.
Quite exactly as #Left Field pointed out in his post.

 

[Il Commandante]

Personally, I don't find them intrusive until I'm down to the last few gulps of coffee.

Also, this thread title makes me think of the score of other drivers that I see flying around with their head leaned back and peering out of the bottom of their mostly closed eyes. I'd like to put a sheet of thumbtacks on their headrests.

If there were thumbtacks on my headrest, I would bend it at least 5 deg. more!

 

[cosmokenney]

I laid them on a solid work bench, the forward side facing down, wrapped in a towel for surface protection. Then I placed a 4“x3“ piece of wood on the upper part and clamped it down with screw clamps. Then opened the cover and slid a steel pipe of 15mm inner diameter over one rod, all the way up to the foam. And simply bent the rod, step by step. Checked the angle by measuring both rods with the angle app in my phone until there was 15 deg difference. Then bent the second rod until they were parallel again.
Quite exactly as #Left Field pointed out in his post.

Approximately how far in from the base of the foam did you insert the rod? And did you just make the one bend, or are you saying you made several to curve the portion of the rod in the foam?

 

[Il Commandante]

Approximately how far in from the base of the foam did you insert the rod? And did you just make the one bend, or are you saying you made several to curve the portion of the rod in the foam?

I used a tube with an inner diameter only slighty larger than the rod’s outer diameter. After opening the clip on the bottom of the headrest, I pushed the tube up until it touched the foam, but not any further. I bent the rod on one point only, but in several small steps to check the angle in between.
More than one radius would have made it difficult to keep both rods parallel.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

It’s a lot easier to pull them out them put them in backwards.

 

[cosmokenney]

I used a tube with an inner diameter only slighty larger than the rod’s outer diameter. After opening the clip on the bottom of the headrest, I pushed the tube up until it touched the foam, but not any further. I bent the rod on one point only, but in several small steps to check the angle in between.
More than one radius would have made it difficult to keep both rods parallel.

Got it. Thanks!

 

[cosmokenney]

I used a tube with an inner diameter only slighty larger than the rod’s outer diameter. After opening the clip on the bottom of the headrest, I pushed the tube up until it touched the foam, but not any further. I bent the rod on one point only, but in several small steps to check the angle in between.
More than one radius would have made it difficult to keep both rods parallel.

I did this yesterday and already like it a lot more than turning my headrests around. Was a little hard to clamp it in a way that it didn't slip out when really torqueing on the bars. But I got it done. The phone angle app was key.

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