S80 headrests found bothersome

[J. L. Schilling]

We have a 2001 S80. My wife has always found the driver's seat
headrest very uncomfortable. She is 5'4" and the leaning angle
of the headrest pushes her head and neck forward, such that she
feels stooped over and round-shouldered. (I'm a foot taller and
the headrest angle doesn't bother me.) The 850 we previously
drove never had this problem.

Our Volvo dealer has told her that a number of customers of
similar height have also complained about the S80 headrest
for the same reason.

Does anyone out there know if Volvo designers are aware of
this issue, and if and when they might correct it?

Jonathan Schilling

 

[Spanky]

We have a 2001 S80. My wife has always found the driver's seat
headrest very uncomfortable. She is 5'4" and the leaning angle
of the headrest pushes her head and neck forward, such that she
feels stooped over and round-shouldered. (I'm a foot taller and
the headrest angle doesn't bother me.) The 850 we previously
drove never had this problem.

I have a 2000 S80 and my wife and I both find the seats to be very
comfortable. She is 5'6" and I am 6'4". I wonder if your headrest is more
forward or has padding that is more "puffy"?

We picked the S80 specifically because it fit both of us so well.

 

[Pat Durkin]

We have a 2001 S80. My wife has always found the driver's seat
headrest very uncomfortable. She is 5'4" and the leaning angle
of the headrest pushes her head and neck forward, such that she
feels stooped over and round-shouldered. (I'm a foot taller and
the headrest angle doesn't bother me.) The 850 we previously
drove never had this problem.

Our Volvo dealer has told her that a number of customers of
similar height have also complained about the S80 headrest
for the same reason.

Does anyone out there know if Volvo designers are aware of
this issue, and if and when they might correct it?

I have the same car you've got J.L., and like you, I'm a pretty big guy and
it doesn't bother me a bit. My wife is shorter but she doesn't squawk about
it either, however we've got a lady friend who asked me a couple of years
ago to help her shop for a car. We looked at a lot of vehicles including an
S80 and she declared after she drove it around the block that she couldn't
sit in it, period! We wound up getting her an 3.2 Acura instead.

So I guess what Volvo may not know is that this issue not only affects their
customers - it also affects their potential customers, and it sends some of
them off in other directions where they become somebody else's customer.

Volvo is pretty proud of their seat design and its unique ability to protect
an occupant in the case of a severe rear impact, so I don't think the seat
design is apt to change soon.

Pat