Removing Rear Headrest on 2011 Mustang
 

For anyone interested in removing one or both of the rear headrests from a 2011 Mustang, I have the procedure for you. Our toddler car seat did not fit that well in our back seat because the top of the toddler car seat angles towards the back, putting it in conflict with the head rest, and causing the car seat to lean forward a little more than it should. So I took the time to figure out how to remove it. So here it is:

Put the seat back down. Towards the bottom in the back, where the leather meets the fuzzy fabric, carefully pull the fabric away from the leather.

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images.../seat-back.jpg

It connects using a rubber interlocking trim. I don't have a picture of it up close, but I do have a picture of how the leather wrapped around the headrest interlocks, and the seat back fabric interlocks in pretty much the same way. Here is the example picture:

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...bric-latch.jpg

There is also a couple of velcro strips to pull apart. With the fabric fully separated at the bottom, sit the seat back up and lay yourself down so you can look up inside the front of the seat back. You may need a flash light. If you look up between the seat back and the foam cushion, you will see where the headrest posts go through a metal bracket (sorry, I didn't take a picture of this either). In the holes in the bracket where the posts go through is a plastic piece (one for each post). At the top of the plastic piece are little buttons. Push in on those buttons and it should release the headrest posts where you can pull out the headrest (much like a front headrest, but the buttons are beneath the seat back fabric and foam). Reattach the bottom of the seat fabric, and you are done!

I actually fully disassembled the rear headrest during my exploratory headrest removal operation. Here are the pics:

The headrest bar:

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...adrest-bar.jpg

Note the notch in the posts, as seen in the following picture. These are what hold the rear headrest in place. Pushing the buttons releases the catch on the notches.

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...-bar-notch.jpg

Here is the front of the headrest with the fabric removed:

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...drest-case.jpg

And a look inside the headrest:

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...e-internal.jpg

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...-internal2.jpg

And finally, a couple of pictures with the headrest removed. Note how the toddler carseat now fits quite nicely, including the 3rd top point which otherwise deforms the headrest a disturbing amount when the headrest is in place:

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...st-removed.jpg

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...o-headrest.jpg

http://www.distantvisions.net/Images...-headrest2.jpg

Excellent post.

Great to know this! Thanks!!!!

I may remove mine for visual purposes. Can you see any better without them? I'm between 6'2" and 6'5" (depending on my BAC) so the one '10 Mustang I sat in seemed like an awkward fit (I'm coming from a big station wagon and big trucks.) To see better through the back window I may remove the headrests. My 5yo son is the only one who will ever be shoehorned into the back and it'll be a long while before that headrest would do him any good anyway.

Great info, thank you. I also plan on removing the rear headrest for better visability.

How much do they weigh?

LQQK

Don't forget the headrests can flip forward. It looks a bit silly flipped forward, but it does get it out of your view, if that's your only concern.

One leather wrapped rear headrest weighs 2 lb 5 oz, according to our coffee scale.

Thought I would add a couple of illustrations for things I didn't take pictures of. See attachment. First is an illustration of the issues with our car seat that prompted me to remove the head rest. Second is an illustration of the bracket that the headrest posts slide into. Please note that there are 2 plastic pieces, one on each side, each with a button, but I only drew in one of them. The bracket has a plastic piece on each side. Each plastic piece has a button to press to release the posts. The button isn't really red, I just filled it in red for clarity.

A couple of additional notes. It might be possible to thread the 3rd LATCH point between the headrest and seatback for a better fit, but it would be difficult to do at best, and still wouldn't be a nice fit. Also, with a little prodding around, there is a slight chance you might figure out how to push the headrest buttons without having to reach up inside the seat behind the fabric and foam, but I doubt it.

On my 04 Mach 1 I changed my stock headrests (non upgrade package) to the cobra headrests and all I did was thread a hacksaw blade down the post and it releases the locks? Don't know if the newer ones work the same way but the post ends look identical. Might be less destructive for some to try? Hit the teeth with a hammer first :)

Good call. I forgot that little trick. Any firm, thin piece of material might work. Someone will have to try and it see how it goes. How easy it is to do will probably depend on how the latch is shaped. I didn't look at it that closely when I had it apart.

Great post. Thanks for the info. I wish it wasn't that hard to do!

My tint window guy that did the back window asked me to remove them. Told him they weren't removable ( yeah right). I didn't want him to break anything since i didn't know myself how to remove them. So there you go. Thx for the info.

I know this is an old thread but I tried this on my Job 2 Mustang, built in August. It looks like the posts of my rear head restraints are held in place with a clamp. I couldn't find/feel anything resembling a release button.

I spent some time on fordparts.com but couldn't find anything that would suggest the parts have changed. Their diagrams also didn't show anything resembling a button.

Is there any possibility that your car was assembed with a part from MY 2010?

The button is on the outboard side, right? The side nearest the window? I think I tried both sides, but I spent most of my time feeling around on the side you illustrate.

Thanks.

The 2010 and previous had no headrest ... this procedure worked for me when I removed mine:dunno:

Nuts. It's on the outboard side?

Does the button push downward or inward, toward the post?

I'll have to try again this weekend.

Both are on the right side post when you're facing rear. Push Inward....You have to do it largely by feel. It's a PITA but once you figure out the first one, the second is cake...

http://images56.fotki.com/v702/photo...Kate001-vi.jpg

LOL. I have nothing polite to say about your taunting picture. You don't even have car seats back there.

But thanks for the tip. The drawing specifies the passenger-side post.

It would be nice if someone made some aftermarket "mini" headrests to fill the space from the originals. Any entrepreneurs out there going to take up this project? ;)

Thank you so much for posting. I have the same issues with car seats.

Great write up and pics.

This thread has been so helpful! The Evenflo Maestro car seat fits a bit better now and I like the added rear visibility. Here's a photo before taking the second one out.
Attachment 82961