Head Restraint

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

My grandson would like to remove the head restraint from his 1998 Buick LaSabre in order to attach a new seat cover but he has been unable to do so. Any suggestions?

2

Aside from the fact that he should not ever do that? The head restraints are there to prevent upper spinal injuries (the worst kind) in the event his car is rear-ended. Do you really want to be the one who tells him how to remove this safety feature?
Please tell him to find a different seat cover. Or if you can afford to do it, and really like the kid, pay for an upholstery job that leaves the head restraints just as they are.

3

Perhaps he plans to put the head rest back on once he has the seat cover installed? I’ll bet the seat cover has the two holes for the head rest to go back on through.

4

Thanks so much for your reply and your concern. Absolutely - I agree with you and did not mean to leave my question so open-ended! He WILL REPLACE THE HEAD RESTRAINT! However, in order to put the cover on he has to remove the restraint. He says the cover has holes to align with the back of the seat for replacement of the restraint.

5

I['ve not had a Buick, but all the cars I’ve had with seperate head restraints had a button on one side of the “trim” at the top of the holes to release the restraint posts. They’re usually pretty well disguised, they nee dto be looked for. Has he looked for such a button?

Does the owner’s manual say anything about the head restaints?

6

Yes. He has looked for such a “button” as well as in the manual - no luck. He’s pretty savvy in that respect; has talked with a few of his buddies, too. At this point it’s a mystery to him if they can be removed. However, as alluded to above, it may be purely a safety issue and I certainly don’t fault Buick for that! Thanks for your reply.

7

Maybe you could try calling a local body shop. They may be willing to tell or show you how to do this as a good will gesture. If not, they may do it for a reasonably small charge. Either way, there’s little to lose by asking.

8

Thanks for your very good suggestion - you are so right.

I appreciate each of you and your common sense ideas. He told me yesterday that, with the help of a friend (one person pushed on something -the seat top (?) while the other pulled the restraint) he was able to remove the restraint! He placed the new cover on the seat and DID replace the head restraint! So . . . , he is happy about his success and we both thank you all!