Head rests

Well i am 5 8 and i rest my head on the headrest while driving, i fing them awesome with all the options i have in the power seats.
And coming from someone who has been rear ended while i was sitting still, they work exceptionally well! He was doing 100 Km per hour
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It's good if you have the power seat.....

For those with power seats, dont just adjust the back of the seat. Tilt the entire seat back just a bit till your head is about an inch away from the headrest. I'm 5'6"

Honestly I have never had a problem with this. But it seems like the only time it would be a problem is if you hold your neck all the way back into the seat. Or if your seat is straight upright.

mikiec said:

OK,

Camera died so no pics.

Let me try to describe the problem for me...

I sit upright in the car. If I try to keep my head straight up and down, I run into the headrest and it forces me to lean my head forward placing a strain on my neck. If I recline the seat slightly then it is better. However, as stated, I do not sit this way. If I realy recline the seat then no problem, except I am now in an abnormal and unsafe, for me, position.

I want the headrest there for safety. I do not want it to cause me to be unsafe in the car.

So now maybe another question. Does a headrest/restraint from a 2004 fit into the holes for the 05?

I think it's time for a trip to the dealer.

Mike

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What angle do you sit at? 75*? Even at a 90* angle my head has no problem with the headrest and I have a 2005 Mustang that was quite early in the build dates. I'm 6'0" tall with zero issues no matter where I set it unless I have a helmet on.

Need A Solution

Looking through the previous posts, I don't seem to be alone. Several people are not happy with these headrests. I do not have power seats.

Surely, someone has found and aftermarket headrest that doesn't come so far forward.

hedgehogrgc said:

Well i am 5 8 and i rest my head on the headrest while driving, i fing them awesome with all the options i have in the power seats.
And coming from someone who has been rear ended while i was sitting still, they work exceptionally well! He was doing 100 Km per hour
View attachment 389450

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He was doing 100km per hour and that's all the damage to the car. That doesn't sound right. I would expect much more extensive damage.

well thats what the police report said and he drove me into the far lane on the highway that i was about to pull onto. I am guessing that( i know cause i have replayed it a few times in my head) once he made contact my foot came off the brake and sorta let me roll with him.

I agree

skitahoe said:

I recently bought a 2007. This car is going to be sold unless I can get the headrests bent back some. Everytime I hit a bump I get hit in the back of the head. Leaning the seat back so my head doesn't hit the headrest is not comfortable on my back. Moving the headrest up and down does not help.

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I have had my 2007 GT Conv for 3 weeks and so far the only thing I can find wrong is the head restraint. You can reverse them but then they are a bit too far away to give perfect protection. Perhaps only hope is aftermarket or ones from another car.
Very poor design from ford.
Peter

turn the headrest around and get a pillow

first: i've never figured out why people go out of their way to bash people on these threads, especially when it's obvious that the person with the problem isn't looking for criticism. empathy, yes; critcism, no.

second: i found a guy to create new headrests for me. rich santana does hot rod interiors in california. he's installing BMW posts on my headrests so they move forward/backward and up/down. While he works on mine, he sent me his from the same car. But here's the juicy bit: i put the driver one in backwards and bought a squishy neck pillow at Target that has a strap that snaps around the posts!!!! It's fantastic. No more head and back pain after one hour of driving on a 6 hour trip. The girlfriend has no problems with her seat just the way it is. Different body shape I guess, but no matter.

So, the conclusion is, in the meantime at least, try pulling out the headrest, turning it around, and getting a pillow of some sort that goes on your neck. You're still protected from whiplash and you can be much more comfortable.

Sorry, I don't have any pics. I'll have to get some if people want them.

mobydickdog said:

Yep, on my wifes first test drive that is the first thing she commented on was the headrest. And I agree. They are angled to far forward. Nothing a heating torch won't take care of and bend them where they should be located in the first place.

I guess Ford has taken notice and that is why they have changed them on the 2006 Mustang.

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I have an 05 gt convert. and have never noticed anything remotely like what you are saying. I'd have to see it to believe it.

Under normal driving conditions, the headrests don't really bother me other than blocking my rear view whenever backing the car up between spaces in a parking lot in which I find as very annoying especially when having to remove the headrest every time It becomes necessary to back the car up...

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rolled up on a new mustang and just shook my head at the way the person behind the wheel was positioned. All I could see through the back glass was a drivers seat back, couldn’t even see daylight over the top of the seat.

No wonder you're uncomfortable with your chin in your chest... sitting all jacked up on the steering column with your fingers in the defrost outlets.

Here's an idea... find a buddy your build and weight and have them sit in the drivers seat while you sit in the passenger... I'll guess you are looking up at them and not across at them. Get your seat out of the air and your head off the headliner.


5'11 and no issue with the headrest what.so.ever.

I don't understand why people say that the headrest is a poor design just because it isn't perfect for THEM. With this kind of ego your head is obviously too big for any headrest. Don't you realize that no headrest is perfect for everyone? Just about every car I have ever been in has a headrest that is useless to me because they are too far away from my head. My Mustang headrest however is about an inch away which is perfect if I am ever in an accident. I guess this means that every headrest in every car ever built should be the same as this one then.

Sorry wasn't meaning to be rude, but this post kind of just wrote itself

MikeysOTP said:

I don't understand why people say that the headrest is a poor design just because it isn't perfect for THEM. With this kind of ego your head is obviously too big for any headrest. Don't you realize that no headrest is perfect for everyone? Just about every car I have ever been in has a headrest that is useless to me because they are too far away from my head. My Mustang headrest however is about an inch away which is perfect if I am ever in an accident. I guess this means that every headrest in every car ever built should be the same as this one then.

Sorry wasn't meaning to be rude, but this post kind of just wrote itself

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Turn the headrest around or something. Or just get rid of the car if it really bothers you that much.

hey, here's an idea: let's go out of our way to be rude, snide, caustic jerks when we could spend our time doing something useful like being a rude, snide, caustic jerk on SOMEBODY ELSE'S thread!!! man, i'm just full of great ideas. jeez people, go elsewhere if you don't have the problem. do you HONESTLY have nothing better to do than go around picking arguments with people who are simply looking for an answer to a problem?

I am neither trying to pick an argument with anyone or trying to ruin this thread, I was just trying to make a point. There are a lot of comments in this thread about "poor design" "dropping the ball" "GTO headrests being right and Mustang being wrong." I was only trying to say that quite a few people love them the way they are. If Levis only made one size jeans then I am guessing they wouldn't fit everyone. Obviously it is not always possible to custom fit a vehicle for each driver. With that said, good luck on finding an alternative headrest and or seat. I hate to see people unhappy with what I think is an incredibly awesome car because of something that shouldn't be an issue but unfortunately is for some. Later.

96vert said:

headrest position is ok for me normally, but it is WAY too far forward with a helmet on...

I took mine to the track this past weekend, and it was pretty uncomfortable. Had to rake the seat back so that my arms were too extended for my head to be comfortable. Even the instructor mentioned it.

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I can definitely see where driving with a helmet will be annoying. Some options:

1. remove the leather/cloth/vinyl cover over the headrest & carve out some of the foam. I'd guess that while it feels like your chin is in your chest, removing/carving just 1/2" of the foam would be a huge help. The cover will now likely be loose; either have it trimmed/re-sewn, or leave as is. Less foam, harder headrest, not ideal.

2. I would be suprised if every Ford headrest width is different; it seems like something they would keep consistent just to keep thing simple. Start checking out other cars head rests to see if they have a different angle from the posts. you probably can't order headrests separately from Ford, but maybe ebay/craigslist.

Tom

my biggest suggestion for the headrest is to try different seat adjustments. with 8 way seats, there is a ton of adjustment. for a while, i struggled to find a perfect position for my seat so i could fully depress the clutch pedal, and reach 3rd gear during spirited driving. after a little trial and error, i still have a comfortable seat position, and i can reach the pedal and shifter easily.

i am positive that with a little fine tuning, the headrests wont be an issues any longer.