Ouch: Many Minivans, SUVs, CUVs And Pickups Have Lousy Headrests

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety performed a battery of tests on new SUVs and determined that in 20-mph crashes the following vehicles performed poorly in the area of neck restraint:

BMW X3 and X5; Buick Rainier, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Isuzu Ascender; Cadillac SRX; Chrysler Pacifica; Dodge Nitro; Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer; Mitsubishi Endeavor; Hummer H3; Hyundai Tucson; Jeep Liberty; Kia Sportage; Lexus GX470 and RX; Nissan Xterra; Saab 9-7X; Suzuki XL7; Toyota 4Runner and Highlander.

According to the IIHS, headrest failings lead to two million claims per year at an annual cost of $8.5 billion. Considering these types of vehicles are often heavy, clumsy and have more blind spots than Stevie Wonder's Synclavier, 20 mph collisions are common. All is not lost however; jump for the mixed news.

The following big boys all performed well on the neck test:

Acura MDX and RDX; Lincoln MKX, Ford Edge and Ford Freestyle; Honda CR-V, Element and Pilot; Hyundai Santa Fe; Jeep Grand Cherokee; Kia Sorento; Land Rover LR3; Mercedes M Class; Mitsubishi Outlander; Subaru B9 Tribeca and Forester, and Volvo XC90.

If trucks are your thing, we're sorry but all these were rated poorly:

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Classic and the GMC Sierra 1500 Classic; Dodge Ram 1500; Ford Ranger and Mazda B Series; Nissan Frontier and certain versions of Ford F-150, Dodge Dakota and Mitsubishi Raider.

The only good truck of the bunch is the Toyota Tundra. Minivans are dangerous too, as all of these faired poorly:

Buick Terraza, Chevrolet Uplander and Saturn Relay; some versions of the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan; and the Toyota Sienna.

As the Institutes's vice president David Zuby explains, "It's not a major feat of engineering to design seats and head restraints that afford good protection in these common crashes." For the record, we're with him. Carmakers, think of the children! – Jonny Lieberman

Crash test: Larger vehicles a pain in the neck [msnbc.com]

7:00 AM on Tue Jul 3 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
1,514 views
8 comments

Comments

Turboner at 08:19 AM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

What, do we need HANS devices to replace driving skill? Remember the good ol' days of 20+MPH collisions riding on a front bench seat, with no headrest or crumple zones? That shit would teach you to check yo' mirrahs, foo! Protect ya neck!

In all seriousness, headrests should be well engineered by now. For shame.
mcshnobe at 09:36 AM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

@ Turboner - In all seriousness, headrests should be well engineered by now. For shame.

Take a look at how the IIHS rates head restraints. If it is adjustable, it is knocked down a rating level. IIHS assumes people are too stupid (probaby not a bad assumption) to adjust their head restraints properly. This would be fine and dandy if we were all the same height....
abgwin at 10:58 AM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

Wow, I'm quite sure GM is going to rush out and re-engineer the headrest in the Upchucker/Terrapin/Relay. It's not like anyone is in danger, unless their GM car is in the shop and they have to use the dealer's shuttle - they're the only people on the planet driving one.

If this was about the Lambda's or something for sale NOW, I might care.

Why aren't these tests done when a vehicle ENTERS the market, not EXITS?
superbmtsub at 11:15 AM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

The irony is the Tundra did well this time while it's competition fared poorly.
HDC at 11:46 AM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

When I was car shopping a few years back, I was looking at the then new design Nissan Pathy. One of the nifty safety features on it was active head restraints, a feature I haven't seen much of. Maybe this study will help alleviate that.
adidascrosscountry at 01:32 PM on 07/03/07
Reply by Email
*

Evidently Toyota didn't entirely screw up the Tundra. You'll just have to select to be rear-ended versus hitting anything in front of you.

There are so many ajustments for most headrests, that I'm not sure that even the ones ranked highly in this test matters much in real life. I think the best head restraints are those found in Volvo... not very ajustable at all. Just a big padded block behind your head that moves forward in an accident to protect your head.
my favorite car is a... at 05:13 AM on 07/04/07
Reply by Email
*

Finally! Its refreshing to know that the idea that "heavier = safer" can only be true if your neck isn't snapped by the crappy seats in large vehicles. If you want a safest car on the road, you get a McLaren F1. (seriously, did anyone see the UK impact test on it? They crashed one into a concrete barrier and then drove it onto a trailer to take it home. It was the only car in the history of the test to drive away...)
TrackpediaCow at 12:05 PM on 07/05/07
Reply by Email
*

adidascrosscountry: You're right, Volvo makes great headrests, and they somehow manage to fit short and tall people while having ZERO adjustment. (I'm 6'5" and they work fine for me - they also fit fine for 5'1" ladies I've had in my S60)