[Riversurge24]

Are the front row headrests able to be adjusted? I noticed that on the passenger side the head rest leans forward so it can be kind of awkward.

Thanks!

 

[Dshearin]

You can adjust it up and down.

 

[Riversurge24]

Yeah I know up and down but wasn’t sure about the angle. The passenger head rest looks like it is tilted forward.

 

[Dshearin]

Nope, no other adjustments

 

[dgstellar]

Are the front row headrests able to be adjusted? I noticed that on the passenger side the head rest leans forward so it can be kind of awkward.

Thanks!

Hi: You can remove the headrest and turn it around. Pull up on it and push in the release on the side of one of the supports. It feels much better that way and many cars are designed this way. For safety reasons, the headrest is close to your head but it is uncomfortable the way it pushes your head forward.

 

[Szeb]

The headrest can't move as the seats were designed that way. The seats were designed by an orthopedic surgeon and most people use the headrest for comfort but the headrests in all volvos were designed for safety so will not allow you to move them like you're asking.

 

[Watson58]

Yeah I know up and down but wasn’t sure about the angle. The passenger head rest looks like it is tilted forward.

That is actually a good design. In many cars, when you sit, there is a large gap between your head and the headrest. In a rear-collusion, your head would snap back and unless held properly, a neck injury (or a broken neck) is a very real threat. This design is for your safety, enjoy it.

 

[Seriously?]

Well, I just picked up my new XC40 yesterday which I bought at a dealer 500 miles away and so I had a long drive. I quickly found the head rest to be so far forward that I could not get comfortable. After about 200 miles my neck discomfort became maddening. I stopped over and over trying to find a solution. the only solution is to lean the seat so far back that that you are nearly lounging. This is a seriously poor design. If I hold my body in its normal strait posture and lean into the seat my head makes contact with the head rest first, ugh, and there's still an inch or more gap at my mid smolders. I will find a fix for this or get rid of this car. It's a shame as I absolutely love everything else about this car.

 

[David1]

If the headrest is hitting your head then you are not sitting properly. If you are sitting to high and the backrest to upright and you are close to the steering wheel the headrest will be against your head. If you are sitting properly the headrest will not touch you.

 

[marsx4]

Volvo’s seat are the best if you have an accident. of course mean the best maybe for some owners need more comfortable. There is no manufacture do the best on everything. This is about the seats so we all have different body shape, weight, positions. Try to find the right position and maybe get some volvo accessories to find the right spot for you comfort.
Best Wishes.

 

[Seriously?]

Marsx4,

Not all humans are configured the same.

The headrest can't move as the seats were designed that way. The seats were designed by an orthopedic surgeon and most people use the headrest for comfort but the headrests in all volvos were designed for safety so will not allow you to move them like you're asking.

I'd like to talk to that Orthopedic Surgeon. I have alway had a pronounced erect posture. The only way I can have even a portion of my back make contact with the seat my head is pushed forward. In order to look strait ahed I have to lean the seat back a bit. This position is fine for about 20 minutes but by 30 minutes I'm so uncomfortable I cannot stand it. I just had a friend drive my car and when he sits in it there is nearly 2 inches between his head and the rest. My friend and my wife both confirmed that I am not crazy and that my neck is clearly bent when sitting in the seat normally. Not all cars are like this. I have absolutely no problem my my Tesla Model S; in fact I have an inch space with this seat. Maybe Tesla's Orthopedic Surgeon and Volvo's should have a talk.

 

[Seriously?]

If the headrest is hitting your head then you are not sitting properly. If you are sitting to high and the backrest to upright and you are close to the steering wheel the headrest will be against your head. If you are sitting properly the headrest will not touch you.

Properly? I have had exceptional posture my entire life. That's actually the difficulty. After comparing with my best friend and my wife I clearly fit in the seat very differently than they do and the headrest clearly pushes my head forward at any angle. I did expect to be challenged on how I sit. Please don't take this as a harsh response, none is intended. But, please I'm 56, have owned numerous Volvos and countless cars, this is the first car in which I have ever confronted this problem.

Now that I have been researching this problem, I found that Mercedes not only is aware of the problems of fixed position head rests and also the problem of a gap there being a risk and have consequently made a rest that moves forward in a rear end collision. I have also found numerous hack on web searches. Regardless, the particular shape of my spine, my posture and the shape of my head contribute to a NEED for a head rest that is different from the one in this new XC40 which I love in every other way.

 

[Szeb]

Marsx4,

Not all humans are configured the same.


I'd like to talk to that Orthopedic Surgeon. I have alway had a pronounced erect posture. The only way I can have even a portion of my back make contact with the seat my head is pushed forward. In order to look strait ahed I have to lean the seat back a bit. This position is fine for about 20 minutes but by 30 minutes I'm so uncomfortable I cannot stand it. I just had a friend drive my car and when he sits in it there is nearly 2 inches between his head and the rest. My friend and my wife both confirmed that I am not crazy and that my neck is clearly bent when sitting in the seat normally. Not all cars are like this. I have absolutely no problem my my Tesla Model S; in fact I have an inch space with this seat. Maybe Tesla's Orthopedic Surgeon and Volvo's should have a talk.

What year is your model S? Depends because if it's late 2019 then it will have retrofit Model 3 seats in the car. anything earlier will have Model S seats that were designed for the car. We had many people test the Volvo seats and never had complaints as how you are describing it.

 

[Seriously?]

My Model S is a 2016 with the one piece seat. The two piece Model 3 seat is apparently has the same problem as my XC40. There are already Youtube videos about how to augment the headrest to move it back a little. I’ve been in several Honda Accords with this problem too.

 

[Szeb]

My Model S is a 2016 with the one piece seat. The two piece Model 3 seat is apparently has the same problem as my XC40. There are already Youtube videos about how to augment the headrest to move it back a little. I’ve been in several Honda Accords with this problem too.

Not blaming your posture just trying to figure it out.. but is your back falling back into the seat or are you just sitting straight up? been speaking with design team and also management and trying to understand.

 

[Seriously?]

No mater how I try and sit in the seat my neck has to be bent slightly forward for even the middle of my back to be against the seat.

Say I start with the seat in a somewhat reclined position, then sit in the seat in a natural erect position and raise the back of the seat forward, the first part of the seat to make contact with my body is the headrest. If the lumbar support is set in a pronounced position this will also make contact, but nothing in between. As you can imagine in this situation the only way to lay back is to let my neck bend.

I've now had enough people sit in the seat to see that there is a fair bit of variance as to the natural distance between the head rest and one's head. I'm guessing the middle average was chosen and I'm somewhere on the side of the spectrum not fully considered in the planning stage.

I have to say I am considering finding a headrest from a salvage and trying to augment it and see how that plays out. For now my short commute is not a pain but any traveling is off the table without resolving this problem.

 

[apue300]

I have the same problem with various cars and need to get it right for my next one - looking at the xc40.

My understanding is that since around 2011 the US car safety body recognised that the average American had dreadful head-forward posture and therefore car headrests had to compensate for this by having this forward tilt. in the head rest, otherwise there was indeed a dangerous gap. And what goes in the US market drives the rest of the world. (Head-forward posture being endemic in the West it seems.)

So if you can get comfortable in these types of cars you probably have bad posture, and if you have good posture you probably won't be able to get comfortable. I have a Citroen C4 Picasso with exactly the same issue.

Very few if any cars have these adjustable in any way. The best I heard was to have the seat reclined back - but the whole situation is crazy.

 

[Jezza]

My mom had a Mercedes with headrests that popped forward in the event of a rear end collision. She was hit once and it actually worked. Allowed the headrest to be further back while adding safety. Newer models dropped that feature. Wonder why.