Missing Center Backseat Headrest

[CBolt]

I just saw this newspaper Q&A from almost 10 years ago so apparently the lack of a rear middle seat head restraint has bothered some prospective Chevy customers for a long time!

"I've been looking at many new five-passenger vehicles, specifically the Chevy HHR. One thing that bothers me is that there is no head restraint for the middle passenger in the back row. I can understand the visibility concerns associated with locating a head restraint in that position, but because I have three kids, I'm more concerned about the safety of the person sitting in that seat." from: October 2008 http://archive.boston.com/cars/researchandadvice/2008/10/09/the_car_doctor/

 

[CBolt]

I have had a chance to meet many happy Bolt owners since the last post and I have been able drive the car on several occasions. Chevy created a very good product. However, I have not been able to find a solution to the missing backseat center headrest problem. Hence, I have not been able to buy the car myself (since I have three children.) I recently spoke with one of the largest Bolt dealers in the U.S. and they estimated that maybe 10% of their Bolt sales have fallen through because of the missing center headrest! That is a lot of lost sales by trying to save $10 by not putting the center headrest into the U.S. model!

I thought that was a stunningly large lost sales estimate, until I saw the statistic that "70% of Bolt buyers are new to the Chevrolet brand" according to the GM Product Manager Darin Gesse (http://insideevs.com/gm-believes-evs-mainstream-incentives-dwindling/). I then re-reviewed the vehicles of the (now 7) people who I know who decided to not buy a Bolt because of the missing headrest and realized that they all drive Japanese or German cars - all of which have a backseat center headrest. So, if any GM people are reading this thread, please pass it onto Darin Gesse with a kind request that the next order for the Bolt backseats be the European model backseat. Or, if Darin Gesse doesn't get this message, I hope some procurement person at GM sees this message and "accidentally" orders the European backseat SKU instead of the U.S. seat going forward

 

[CBolt]

It turns out that the Chevy Bolt is not the only EV missing the backseat center position headrest - the new 2018 Nissan Leaf is missing it also. Nissan also installs the headrest in the models they sell in Europe. Just strange that only the U.S. models seem to be missing the center headrest.
However, the Honda Clarity and all Ford plugins have them. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has the center headrest. All Teslas have them, as do BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche and Kia models. It looks like GM and Nissan are the outliers.

 

[GernBlanston]

I removed the center headrest in my TDI Golf in '02 when I bought it,
because it gave me a much better view in the rear view mirror.
How often do you have 3 people in the back seat? I'll take the view.

 

[boltage]

I removed the center headrest in my TDI Golf in '02 when I bought it,
because it gave me a much better view in the rear view mirror.
How often do you have 3 people in the back seat? I'll take the view.

That generation of VW Golf had three large head restraints that did not fold down in the back seat. These did obstruct the view somewhat if they were installed and the seat back is not folded down.

The Ampera (Bolt in Europe) center rear head restraint is the shingle type to minimize view obstruction when that seat is not occupied. Also, the outboard rear head restraints in the Bolt can be flipped sideways to minimize view obstruction when those seats are not occupied.

Also, the camera mirror in the Bolt Premier can improve the view if you have a full back seat blocking the view.

 

[CBolt]

How often do you have 3 people in the back seat? I'll take the view.

I have three kids on the backseat almost daily - and their heads come over the backseat so the center headrest is needeed. I would not drive a car without a head restraint in the driver's seat so I would not want to risk my kids' necks either. The Bolt is a nice car - I just would not call it a five seater without the 5th headrest...

 

[CBolt]

The Ampera (Bolt in Europe) center rear head restraint is the shingle type to minimize view obstruction when that seat is not occupied. Also, the outboard rear head restraints in the Bolt can be flipped sideways to minimize view obstruction when those seats are not occupied.

I knew about the shingle center position headrest being standard in Europe but I have not heard about the Bolt rear headrests flipping sideways. That sounds like a clever feature.