Wrangler Unlimited Rear Headrest Removal DIY

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2012 JEep Wrangler Unlimited

This DIY makes removing the rear headrests in your Wrangler Unlimited as simple as it should be.

The rear headrests in the Jeep Wrangler are great when you have rear riders, but when the back seat is empty, they do little more than obstruct the driver’s rear-view. You can flip them down, but they hang down into the cargo area and look awkward when you have the top down.

Wrangler JK Unlimited Rear Headrest

Removing the rear headrests in a two-door Jeep JK Wrangler is as easy as pushing two tabs and sliding the headrests up away from the seats, but on a four-door Wrangler Unlimited, the process of removing the rear headrests is a whole lot more difficult. Fortunately, forum member “FiveOff” put together a great DIY of how to remove the rear headrests in the four-door Unlimited models while other members offered input of how to finish the project.

Removing the JKU Rear Headrests

When the OP introduced us to his DIY Wrangler Unlimited rear headrest removal, he started by showing us where to find the spring clip that causes the headrest to pop up when the seat is moved back and forth.

JKU Headrest Spring Clip

Once that clip is removed, he opened up the panel on the underside of the headrest.

JKU Headrest Underside

That reveals the trigger inside of the headrests to release them from the metal posts.

JKU Headrest Release Clip

At that point, the headrest is out of the way, but the metal posts are still hanging off of the back of the Wrangler seats. The OP didn’t know how to address that, but over the course of the thread, another member posted, explaining how to remove the posts. Unfortunately, that member later removed his comment, but the rest of the information in the thread explains how to remove the posts as well.

JKU Posts Exposed

Removing the Posts

Although the original person to explain how to remove the metal posts from the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, “Rubi-WAC” shared the picture below of the seat with the skin removed. The red box at the top is what holds and controls the metal posts, and by removing that metal box, you can remove the annoying metal posts.

JKU Rear Seat without Skin

After that, all you have to do is get the seat skin back on and zipped up, and your four-door Wrangler will be completely free of the rear seat headrests. Jeep makes this project more difficult than it needs to be, but with this DIY, it is a whole lot easier.

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com


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