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3rd Row Seat Headrests

Johnny D

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Ford Explorer
2015 Ford Explorer. The 3rd row headrests fold up/down. Right now they are folded down (spring loaded to "down" position). When you fold them up, they do not latch and don't stay up. We bought it 2nd hand, first time we used them.
Basically cannot use 3rd row until we figure out how to lock headrests in 'up' position. ANYONE ??? THANKS!
 



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2015 Ford Explorer. The 3rd row headrests fold up/down. Right now they are folded down (spring loaded to "down" position). When you fold them up, they do not latch and don't stay up. We bought it 2nd hand, first time we used them.
Basically cannot use 3rd row until we figure out how to lock headrests in 'up' position. ANYONE ??? THANKS!

There is an issue with yours then because they all lock in up position. I find them annoying when people use the 3rd row, exit the vehicle, and then leave the giant headrests in the up position.

I think you need a dealership visit.
 






2015 Ford Explorer. The 3rd row headrests fold up/down. Right now they are folded down (spring loaded to "down" position). When you fold them up, they do not latch and don't stay up. We bought it 2nd hand, first time we used them.
Basically cannot use 3rd row until we figure out how to lock headrests in 'up' position. ANYONE ??? THANKS!
Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
As Sgt1411 posted, you should take it to the dealer since you are likely still under the factory warranty. What I find curious is that neither headrest will stay up. I wonder if the previous owner did something to them?

Peter
 






2015 Ford Explorer. The 3rd row headrests fold up/down. Right now they are folded down (spring loaded to "down" position). When you fold them up, they do not latch and don't stay up. We bought it 2nd hand, first time we used them.
Basically cannot use 3rd row until we figure out how to lock headrests in 'up' position. ANYONE ??? THANKS!

Do you have a limited with the power fold 3rd row?

If so, if the seat backs aren't all the way back the headrests won't lock.
 






3rd Row Headrests

No, this is a manual 3rd row. The head-rests fold down, and can manually be moved up when seats are in use. They should lock into place. I can understand one side possibly malfunctioning, but not both.
Thanks for replying.
 






Thank you all for your posts. It's Dealer time I guess!
 






Did you ever find a fix for this or just dealer took care of it? Details if any?
Granted this was posted 2 years ago, and this is my first post, but bumping the thread for any info!
 






Thank you all for your posts. It's Dealer time I guess!
3rd Row Headrests

No, this is a manual 3rd row. The head-rests fold down, and can manually be moved up when seats are in use. They should lock into place. I can understand one side possibly malfunctioning, but not both.
Thanks for replying.

We had exact same issue with our 2013 XLT. Purchased used and about a week after purchase we needed to use back row seating. Would not stay up. Both were broken. Got lucky and dealer we purchased vehicle from actually replaced both of them free of charge. I found them new on a couple Ford online parts web pages. Not cheap. A couple hundred dollars each. It was a Chrysler dealer that we purchased vehicle from. The manager at dealer felt it was a safety issue and said they would pay. Felt maybe prior owner forced headrests down, breaking tabs on each headrest that locked them up. I figured with cost of headrest and labor to install it saved us about $750. Car was out of warranty.

crrobbins
 






Today I found out the mrs, not sure how, forced the 3rd row headrest down on our new 2017 explorer. I took a peek behind the backing of the seats and a nice little metal tab dropped out. Ugh.
At this point, people say oh warranty it and take to dealer. Ummm, yeah that doesn't sit well with me.
What does others think? I've got the ability/know how to replace Mech parts in it, but the units alone I haven't been able to track down. Could get the dealer to order the parts in for me but would that bump my warranty of other functions of the seats if I diy?
 






Did you ever find a fix for this or just dealer took care of it? Details if any?
Granted this was posted 2 years ago, and this is my first post, but bumping the thread for any info!
Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
FYI, Johnny D hasn't been active here since November 15, 2015.

Peter
 






Similar issue when we were looking for our 2017 Explorer Sport. This happened on the first two Sports we looked at.
When you hit the power fold option, one of the headrests would not auto drop down.
If you tapped the headrest ever so gently it would drop but not automatically.
The service tech looked at it and said there are two pieces within the seat that lock and auto release the seatback. They replaced it on one of the vehicles. When we came back the next day it worked every time.
 






Today I found out the mrs, not sure how, forced the 3rd row headrest down on our new 2017 explorer. I took a peek behind the backing of the seats and a nice little metal tab dropped out. Ugh.
At this point, people say oh warranty it and take to dealer. Ummm, yeah that doesn't sit well with me.
What does others think? I've got the ability/know how to replace Mech parts in it, but the units alone I haven't been able to track down. Could get the dealer to order the parts in for me but would that bump my warranty of other functions of the seats if I diy?
I was able to locate the headrests on several online Ford dealer parts stores. But that was for a 2013 XLT. 2017 may not be as readily available yet. They were over $200 each. Didn't look like a real difficult job. Ours is a manual fold down. We used a couple pillows to make the ride more comfortable, but seatbelts were a little difficult. Good luck with yours.
crrobbins
 












Awesome, ty Peter. Looks like that's the go-to site for this place. That's cool to have an active parts dealer helping out the forums.

So I decided to tackle removing one side to see what I find. It's fairly simple process(realitively) to remove the headrest.
First step is to remove the back cushion. No tools needed for this step. It has an upholstery plastic interlocking channel at the base, and a smaller one on top between the bars of the headrest. Some Velcro holding it snug around the bottom back too. Then it's just a careful pulling and maneuvering the foam/leather around the skeleton of the seat. The headrest fits through the hole on the top.
Once off, it's 2-T25 torx bolts and 2-1/2" nuts and it's off.
 






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