thedonn007

I always drive my the rear headrest off. I keep them in the storage compartment above the spare tire. I dont see how you could get fined for not having the attached to the rear seat as long as there are not rear passengers. I am not sure if getting a headrest with a hole in it will solve your problem either. Maybe we should take a poll and see how many people drive without their rear headrest?

GRUMPEE

Tom, THNX for the info, I'll try this out.

Snoopy

DEC2955...

I'm not a lawyer, but I am former law enforcement, and what you mentioned sounded kind of strange....could it be a rumor?

You know, as a suggestion, I would take the car to a State Police Post and ask about removing the head rests and if it would be a violation of anything. And, what is the State Statue that it is a violation of.

I quickly checked the Kansas State Traffic Code and couldn't find anything to prevent it.....was not mentioned in safety equipment, or in "regular" working equipment.....it DOES mention seat belts, airbags, etc. but I did not find any "opening" that could be interpeted for any other equipment.

Also, the statues regarding seat belts, etc. state that alterations to Federally approved safety equipment is not permitted (except in noted examples). Head rests are not Federally approved, to my knowledge, but if you alter the headrests, you may be in violation (catch 22).

Maybe your head rest alteration is not needed.

DEC2955

Did stop a local state trooper and he stated that there was no state law but.. a local traffic officer stated that the headrests are under federal crash laws that it why you can not purchase a car with out headrests any more... and he states he has issued summons to 'led foot - hot roders' that he has stopped for other traffic violations (speeding.. etc) for not having approved headrests installed... and stated if he stopped us for a traffic violation, he would issue us a summons and he stated it would cost me the same as driving w/o seat belts on..... And it is my understanding that federal safety required headrests since the '70's??

--David

Snoopy

O'k he is B******ting you or the story is not straight. A local officer cannot issue you a ticket for a federal violation IF the STATE does not have a law that prohibits that violation. Otherwords....what law is he writing the summons over....a federal law....he has to prosecute in a federal court...yeah right. No state law...no violation. I would talk with his superiors in that jurisdiction....in a nice way....and request confirmation. Remember to ask questions.

IMHO, this is another case of a "John Wayne" cop.

Snoopy

Also, my wife brought this up (which really makes me proud that she thought of it).

Is your HHR classified as a car or truck in your state?

Truck = almost no trucks, with a back seat, have headrests in the rear. And, those that had headrests on the front were newer trucks. Also noticed, no SUV's or Vans had rear headrests.

Car = almost no cars have headrests in the rear seat...some have "molded" seats that rise a little higher than normal but, not as high as a headrest.

After she mentioned this, we were driving around for about and hour. In that time we checked every vehicle we passed or encountered. All confirmed the above statement. We might have missed something, but the point is that headrests, at least in the rear seat, are not Federally regulated.

Just trying to help and I'll stop here.


Edit....afterward, did find SOME trucks, SUV's and vans with headrests......but if headrests are federally mandated, ALL would require headrests.

SoCalHHR

There are release buttons located on one side of the base of the headrest post holders.

Press the button in and the headrests will slide up.

You will need to press the button in again to remove them completely.

Hope it helps,

Lee3333

I posted this same topic when I first joined in December. I also spoke with my local upholstry shop and they said the same thing-mucho bucks. I keep my drivers side off since that is where my kids booster seat is. But, even the passanger side blocks a little-and I am not really short-5'9".

I would LOVE to get the open type of headrest!!!

nfboy

I saw a Saturn Ion with them the other day and tons of impalas. One of these days I'm going to ask someone if I can try theirs for fit. I really like them and think they would be nice on the HHR.