Rear Headrest blind spots

I removed my rear headrests for better visibility, but I still often have rear passengers. Has anyone tried other headrests, i.e. ones that have a hole in the middle like some Mercedes or Volvo do? This is what I was thinking of:

When nobody's sitting in the back (99% of the time) I just turn them to the side (only 1 tine in) . Others do that or remove them. Some other folks just fold down the rear seats.

The '13+ has slightly smaller rear head restraints but still block the rear view a fair amount.

I just fold the rear seats unless I have rear passengers.

I used to remove the headrests, but that was a bit of a pain. The roof isn't high enough to remove them with the seats up, and the front seats are too close to remove them with the seats down. So you had to hold the seat somewhere in the middle with a knee, while using your hands to remove the headrest. Same with putting them back in.

I rarely have back seat passengers, but keep the passenger's side headrest installed, and put the other one in only when needed. Around View eliminates the problem at least at low speeds.

garsh said:

I used to remove the headrests, but that was a bit of a pain. The roof isn't high enough to remove them with the seats up, and the front seats are too close to remove them with the seats down. So you had to hold the seat somewhere in the middle with a knee, while using your hands to remove the headrest. Same with putting them back in.

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I agree about the height problem but I don't need to use my knee. I just stand outside the car and tilt the rear seats forward enough to remove or turn the headrest. I just confirmed it on both sides. No knee needed.

Yeah, I just did it from the hatchback end. Moved them forward enough to pull them out. But I'm thinking I could likely find some headrests that match my interior like the pictured above. May even be able to find something in a wrecking yard if I can find one with the right bar width and spread.

Being that I don't do rear seat passengers I pulled the headrests out and tip the seat backs down and also pulled the passenger front headrest and tilt the back down to lessen the passenger side pillar blind spot.

groingo said:

Being that I don't do rear seat passengers I pulled the headrests out and tip the seat backs down and also pulled the passenger front headrest and tilt the back down to lessen the passenger side pillar blind spot.

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At that point, you might as well remove all the passenger seats completely to save the weight and increase your mileage.

That is what I normally do but I read about a problem when removing the passenger front and the airbag system plus is was only a minor weight saving of maybe 40 pounds.

groingo said:

That is what I normally do but I read about a problem when removing the passenger front and the airbag system plus is was only a minor weight saving of maybe 40 pounds.

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40lb? I removed the rear seats on my 330ci, and they were like 10lbs. And those were leather. Are you sure they weigh that much? When I found how light the rear seats were in the 330ci, I was like, his is not worth the weight savings and put them back. My spare was heavier. I can see, maybe because the leaf has folding seats. My 330ci didn’t fold down.

I’d fold down the seats on the Leaf to make the blind spots better, but I like the idea no one can see into the trunk. I don’t want to bother folding down and up every time I park.

Supersleeper said:

40lb? I removed the rear seats on my 330ci, and they were like 10lbs. And those were leather. Are you sure they weigh that much? When I found how light the rear seats were in the 330ci, I was like, his is not worth the weight savings and put them back. My spare was heavier. I can see, maybe because the leaf has folding seats. My 330ci didn’t fold down.

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Another reason the Leaf's back seat is heavy is because the center seating position's shoulder belt anchors into the seat itself. So it needs to be sturdy enough to handle the forces generated by an adult seated there pulling against that belt during a crash. On some hatchback/SUV cars (Toyota Prius C for example) the center shoulder belt anchors into the roof structure of the car rather than the seat.

Supersleeper said:

But I'm thinking I could likely find some headrests that match my interior like the pictured above. May even be able to find something in a wrecking yard if I can find one with the right bar width and spread.

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Supersleeper, following up on this search, did you find different compatible headrests that provided openings as pictured in the start of this thread? If yes, where? I am interested in a similar headrest option.

aid said:

Supersleeper, following up on this search, did you find different compatible headrests that provided openings as pictured in the start of this thread? If yes, where? I am interested in a similar headrest option.

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Negative, though I hadn't looked too terribly hard. I've just removed them for now. At the moment I'm more focused on the sun in the morning peaking it's way in between the rear view mirror and the passenger sun visor. It's really awful. I need a solution for it.

Supersleeper said:

aid said:

Supersleeper, following up on this search, did you find different compatible headrests that provided openings as pictured in the start of this thread? If yes, where? I am interested in a similar headrest option.

Click to expand...

Negative, though I hadn't looked too terribly hard. I've just removed them for now. At the moment I'm more focused on the sun in the morning peaking it's way in between the rear view mirror and the passenger sun visor. It's really awful. I need a solution for it.

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Try this; it worked wonders on my Prius:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=visormates+%2B+leaf&i=merchant-items&me=A1ZX9I33TN0XZH&dc&qid=1538184804&ref=a9_sc_1

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=107873#p107873


This has been discussed several times. My solution has worked well over the years.