Middle Seat Headrests--When?

[mrlynn]

My daughter and SIL are thinking of buying a used Expy-sized SUV. She says they will not buy one like my 2013 Expedition, because it has no headrests for the middle seats (in the 2nd and 3rd rows). For her it's a safety issue.

Looks like the new 2018 models do--some kind of small fold-down headrests.

Does anyone know what the first year was when those appeared?

/Mr Lynn

 

[coolzzy]

My 17 doesn't have them in the middle seats, only on the outboard seats. How tall are the kids that will be sitting in the middle that this is a concern for? It will drastically reduce rear visibility which is why they are not there in the first place.

 

[mrlynn]

My 17 doesn't have them in the middle seats, only on the outboard seats. How tall are the kids that will be sitting in the middle that this is a concern for? It will drastically reduce rear visibility which is why they are not there in the first place.

Adults sometimes use the middle seats, too. We have grandkids ranging from 1 to 9. Sometimes Grammy sits between two kids. My daughter has three boys 7-9, so they can spread out (unless third row is down for carrying stuff).

/Mr Lynn

 

[Adieu]

Seat people tall enough to benefit from em in the 6 seats that have them


Also, there's literally no bigger interior on the market, so she and sil are SOL

 

[Flexpedition]

A headrest can easily be adapted to the second row center if the buyer was serious about buying and/or if the seller was serious about selling. Any decent upholstery shop can tear down the backrest, modify its steel frame tubing, reshape the foam, and build a new cover.

If they can make an unequivocal decision on interior color and material, they could even find a used sliding center seat and have it modified before they make their Expedition purchase. A used Expedition headrest and its OEM plastic guides would ensure a factory look.

Plenty of Excursion owners have added Ford headrests to their 3rd row, which came factory equipped with none.

 

[Adieu]

I think the taller middle seat hump functiions as a headrest for shorter folk (at 6'2" and with short legs/large torso, Im a bit too big for it to have much effect)



For anyone under 5'8", a headrest there would be moot.... and, really, how often do you have more than 6 (!) 200+ lb grown men in the truck??? Also, from a legal standpoint that might be moot, since sticklers to the rules will follow the ~1500lb max occupant+cargo weight, which makes 8 XL adults in the vehicle a foul anyway --- although really you can get away with double that

 

[mrlynn]

Actually, it looks like the 2018 head-humps aren't extendable, either, though from the photos on the Ford website it looks like they might be. Oh well.

/Mr Lynn

 

[aporthole]

The 2018 center seat head restraints adjust up and down and are also removable. 2018 is the first year Expedition with true center seat head restraints. Kids/teens/adults should have vehicle head support to the tops of their ears for optimal whiplash protection.

The older Expeditions didn’t have them in the center (just the slightly raised bumps) due to being cheap/lazy. Some vehicle manufacturers (side-eye at you Chevy/GM) will claim they don’t have them in the center due to visibility concerns but that is total BS as there are plenty of cars that have center head restraints that are completely flush with the seat back when fully lowered. It is 100% a cost cutting decision. The same is true regarding the 2017 and older Expeditions only having one child seat LATCH tether in the 3rd row. The 2018 finally added tether anchors for all 2nd/3rd row seats.

The Honda Pilot has had adjustable head restraints and child seat tether anchors for all 6 2nd row seats since it debuted in 2003.

I’m a child passenger safety technician with 3 kids so this subject is really important to me. We are planning to get a 2018 or 2019 Expedition toward the end of the year. I would never even consider a 2017 or older due to the lack of center head restraints and limited 3rd row car seat placement options as I won’t use a forward-facing seat without the top tether.

 

[aporthole]

If the 2018 Expedition is too spendy for them and they want alternative vehicle options with head restraints for all seats, they could go with a mid-size 3rd row SUV like the VW Atlas or Honda Pilot. If they need a higher towing capacity, the F-150 has had center head restraints since the 2011 model year.

I have a 2011 Honda Pilot that has been great for us up until now but we are wanting more room in the 3rd row and behind the 3rd row. We have 2 friends that have recently bough VW Atlases an fun they are very roomy. Until the Atlas hit the market this year, the Pilot was basically the long time best-pick for kids/car seats/safety. The Atlas now tops the Pilot in my opinion.

 

[mrlynn]

aporthole, thanks for your informed report. Our 2013 Expedition also lacks child-seat brackets in the rear row, which is very annoying when we have to fit in seats for our son's family (five kids ages 1-9).

Do you know whether the Toyota Sequoias have head rests on all seats in all 3 rows? They don't make an SUV as long as my Expy XL, but it is truck-based and could better tow their travel trailer than the mid-sized SUVs can.

/Mr Lynn