Active headrest restraint

Allaned

Allaned

Joined
Apr 25, 2023
Messages
137
Yesterday my son's 2015 Grand Cherokee got popped in the tailgate area by a young man driving an old hearse. The hatch is sure bent in. Son and passenger not hurt. But the Jeep did something of which both of us were unaware: The front, padded halves of the head rests popped forward for better whiplash protection. Impressed me. (Of course the young one who hit him is uninsured: that chaps my britches).
 
These vehicles were made during the Chrysler/Mercedes era. I've noticed that a lot of Mercedes features were incorporated into Chrysler products during that time. For example, the Chrysler Crossfire was a rebranded Mercedes SL.

Anyway Mercedes has had this feature since 2014 and possibly before that. They called it "Presafe" on a Mercedes, it would do that, plus tighten up the seatbelts, and even slam on the brakes for you if it detected an accident, probably using the cameras which were part of the automatic wiper system.
Rear impacts were also detected "somehow"!

I had all three happen once when driving 70 mph on I4 (Florida) when a mattress fell off a truck in front of me!

Mercedes gets a lot of bad press, but they are in reality a very good car with very top notch safety features.

Oh, yeah. I forgot that Mercedes included a special tool in those days to reset those headrests. Be sure to see if that is needed before driving that car again.
I hope your Son is alright!
 
Cool! I love auto safety tech!
My ancient Volvo will automatically adjust the seat back in a rear collision. They call it "anti-submarine" feature. Along with headrests that are shaped towards the head.
 
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JohnnyG said:
These vehicles were made during the Chrysler/Mercedes era. I've noticed that a lot of Mercedes features were incorporated into Chrysler products during that time. For example, the Chrysler Crossfire was a rebranded Mercedes SL.

Anyway Mercedes has had this feature since 2014 and possibly before that. They called it "Presafe" on a Mercedes, it would do that, plus tighten up the seatbelts, and even slam on the brakes for you if it detected an accident, probably using the cameras which were part of the automatic wiper system.
Rear impacts were also detected "somehow"!

I had all three happen once when driving 70 mph on I4 (Florida) when a mattress fell off a truck in front of me!

Mercedes gets a lot of bad press, but they are in reality a very good car with very top notch safety features.

Oh, yeah. I forgot that Mercedes included a special tool in those days to reset those headrests. Be sure to see if that is needed before driving that car again.
I hope your Son is alright!
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Actually, his Grand Cherokee was made by Fiat/Chrysler. My 2007 Grand Cherokee says it was built by Daimler/Chrysler (Mercedes). Maybe Fiat/Chrysler kept some of those Mercedes features for the Grand Cherokees. Anyway, I was impressed.
 
Allaned said:
Actually, his Grand Cherokee was made by Fiat/Chrysler. My 2007 Grand Cherokee says it was built by Daimler/Chrysler (Mercedes). Maybe Fiat/Chrysler kept some of those Mercedes features for the Grand Cherokees. Anyway, I was impressed.
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Manufactured? Yes. But the WK2 platform is/was a joint Chrysler/Mercedes platform introduced around 2010 and shared with the previous gen Grand Cherokee and Durango (current). It was co-developed with the Mercedes ML platform (later called GLE).
 
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My truck doesn’t have those, but my 2011 Durango (same platform as your sons 2015) did. I can’t remember if the van doesn’t or not 🤔
 
JohnnyG said:
These vehicles were made during the Chrysler/Mercedes era. I've noticed that a lot of Mercedes features were incorporated into Chrysler products during that time. For example, the Chrysler Crossfire was a rebranded Mercedes SL.

Anyway Mercedes has had this feature since 2014 and possibly before that. They called it "Presafe" on a Mercedes, it would do that, plus tighten up the seatbelts, and even slam on the brakes for you if it detected an accident, probably using the cameras which were part of the automatic wiper system.
Rear impacts were also detected "somehow"!

I had all three happen once when driving 70 mph on I4 (Florida) when a mattress fell off a truck in front of me!

Mercedes gets a lot of bad press, but they are in reality a very good car with very top notch safety features.

Oh, yeah. I forgot that Mercedes included a special tool in those days to reset those headrests. Be sure to see if that is needed before driving that car again.
I hope your Son is alright!
Click to expand...
The S class was the first car available with ABS, Dual airbags, flir and a whole list of other features. The seat shaped seat adjustment buttons were always an interesting touch.
 
JohnnyG said:
These vehicles were made during the Chrysler/Mercedes era. I've noticed that a lot of Mercedes features were incorporated into Chrysler products during that time. For example, the Chrysler Crossfire was a rebranded Mercedes SL.

Anyway Mercedes has had this feature since 2014 and possibly before that. They called it "Presafe" on a Mercedes, it would do that, plus tighten up the seatbelts, and even slam on the brakes for you if it detected an accident, probably using the cameras which were part of the automatic wiper system.
Rear impacts were also detected "somehow"!

I had all three happen once when driving 70 mph on I4 (Florida) when a mattress fell off a truck in front of me!

Mercedes gets a lot of bad press, but they are in reality a very good car with very top notch safety features.

Oh, yeah. I forgot that Mercedes included a special tool in those days to reset those headrests. Be sure to see if that is needed before driving that car again.
I hope your Son is alright!
Click to expand...

That reminds me of Merc commercials where they touted all these advancements but in the name of safety. Like their headlights adjusting to turns in the road so you can safely see further.... not features to make you look cool.
 
Pew said:
That reminds me of Merc commercials where they touted all these advancements but in the name of safety. Like their headlights adjusting to turns in the road so you can safely see further.... not features to make you look cool.
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Yeah, my car has those active headlights. And believe me, they are phenominal. I'm sure the original owner paid a hefty premium for that option. Keep in mind these are FAR from automatic high beams. When you pull onto a dark road away from traffic and it looks like daylight.

Now, being the second owner, I'd hate to see what it would cost to replace one!
 
JohnnyG said:
Yeah, my car has those active headlights. And believe me, they are phenominal. I'm sure the original owner paid a hefty premium for that option. Keep in mind these are FAR from automatic high beams. When you pull onto a dark road away from traffic and it looks like daylight.

Now, being the second owner, I'd hate to see what it would cost to replace one!
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I would happily pay $5,000 for those. The technology behind it is incredible.
 
Ah yes, the active head restraint
I learned about them in a MK Patriot when I got rear ended by a motorcycle a couple of years back

Saab was first to market with an anti whiplash head rest in '97, Volvo followed shortly
They're pretty ubiquitous now
PXL_20210803_192126723.webp

This Daimler era spring loaded design is resettable
There's another style, which I experienced when it happened the first time in a '13 Focus, it's more of an internal fulcrum/pivot that moves the headrest forward as you get sunk into the seat
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Both are effective, but it's also important that the "head restraint" be positioned at the right height
Especially for the taller or shorter driver
Some newer cars offer fore/aft headrest adjustment, which is very nice
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Good to hear your son wasn't injured 👍
Get out there and make sure those head restraints are set appropriately 👀
You don't wanna end up off kilter 😲
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