Hello, I recently purchased a Fiat 500 Pop (my first car)... It was a quick sale as i bought a brand new car from the show room. I only just realised that my car does not have rear head rests :/ why is that? Other pop has this feature.... maybe it is because i didn't specify it. i think it looks better with it. Is there any way to add this feature on without changing the whole seat etc? I am new to this as you can see thank you.

apecakes said:

Hello, I recently purchased a Fiat 500 Pop (my first car)... It was a quick sale as i bought a brand new car from the show room. I only just realised that my car does not have rear head rests :/ why is that? Other pop has this feature.... maybe it is because i didn't specify it. i think it looks better with it. Is there any way to add this feature on without changing the whole seat etc? I am new to this as you can see thank you.

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Hi there and welcome to the forum :wave:.

On the 500, rear head restraints come as a package with split rear seats. This package isn't standard on the Pop, though it's available as a £160 option when ordering a new car. Quite a few Pop models were ordered with it (it's fitted as standard on the Lounge). You also get a split rear seat & head restraints if you specify a leather interior.

AFAIK, once the car is built, the head restraints can only be fitted retrospectively by changing the upper part of the rear seat assembly. If it really bothers you, these do come up on eBay from time to time, and it's a doddle to swap over.

apecakes said:

Hello, I recently purchased a Fiat 500 Pop (my first car)... It was a quick sale as i bought a brand new car from the show room. I only just realised that my car does not have rear head rests :/ why is that? Other pop has this feature.... maybe it is because i didn't specify it. i think it looks better with it. Is there any way to add this feature on without changing the whole seat etc? I am new to this as you can see thank you.

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My 59 pop came without rear head rests, and unless you carry rear passengers on a regular basis, imho you are far better without them.

Two reasons I find is that they can partly block the rear view when driving and they would have to be removed if you need to lower the rear seats to carry large bulky items, they also have a tendancy to make the interior look more cramped. I like my pop much better without them.

123barney said:

My 59 pop came without rear head rests, and unless you carry rear passengers on a regular basis, imho you are far better without them.

Two reasons I find is that they can partly block the rear view when driving and they would have to be removed if you need to lower the rear seats to carry large bulky items, they also have a tendancy to make the interior look more cramped. I like my pop much better without them.

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You know, funny thing is that i see many fiat 500 drivers with the rear headrests in the up position despite having no passengers in the back! I guess these people never use their rear view mirrors or look out the back anyway. They most likely paid for their driving licence.

ahmett said:

You know, funny thing is that i see many fiat 500 drivers with the rear headrests in the up position despite having no passengers in the back! I guess these people never use their rear view mirrors or look out the back anyway. They most likely paid for their driving licence.

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Or maybe:

(i) they are just driving home having dropped the kids (who were sitting in the back) at school;

(i) they are just driving back to school to pick up the kids (who will soon be sitting in the back);

(iii) they are just popping out to buy a loaf of bread and the rest of the family didn't fancy the outing.

Free your mind Ahmett!

ahmett said:

You know, funny thing is that i see many fiat 500 drivers with the rear headrests in the up position despite having no passengers in the back! I guess these people never use their rear view mirrors or look out the back anyway. They most likely paid for their driving licence.

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Is that possible in Greece?

ahmett said:

They most likely paid for their driving licence.

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stu0710 said:

Is that possible in Greece?

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I'm struggling to think of a country which gives them out for free .

RobinPJ said:

Or maybe:

(i) they are just driving home having dropped the kids (who were sitting in the back) at school;

(i) they are just driving back to school to pick up the kids (who will soon be sitting in the back);

(iii) they are just popping out to buy a loaf of bread and the rest of the family didn't fancy the outing.

Free your mind Ahmett!

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In which case they are then in the down possition in my car

RobinPJ said:

Or maybe:

(i) they are just driving home having dropped the kids (who were sitting in the back) at school;

(i) they are just driving back to school to pick up the kids (who will soon be sitting in the back);

(iii) they are just popping out to buy a loaf of bread and the rest of the family didn't fancy the outing.

Free your mind Ahmett!

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Robin yes you make sense. What i do, however, to improve visibility, is simply press that button on the side of the headrest and push it back down. I like seeing out the back, mainly to notice any tailgaters that may feel like following me. I value my car enough to brake test and emergency light any suicidal tailgaters that enjoy car accidents (i cant think of any other reason they would follow a car so close) = )

jrkitching said:

I'm struggling to think of a country which gives them out for free .

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you have a very good point! whats the rate, like 100 pounds + driving lessons? (i got my licence in the UK, passed 2nd time!)

Rear headrests pah... try driving a transit type van with no rear Windows hardly use my rear view

They don't cause that much of an obstruction to the view - a lot less than three do in other cars I have had.

And I certanly have never bothered putting them down every time the kids get out. given that they are in and out several times a day seven days a week that would be crackers.

RobinPJ said:

They don't cause that much of an obstruction to the view - a lot less than three do in other cars I have had.

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Agreed, and anyway I tend to drive more on the door mirrors as they have fewer blind spots which may conceal overtaking vehicles. (I get overtaken a lot ).

I think the bigger issue is the way the front passenger head restraint blocks visibility through the rear window to the nearside 3/4 - which can be awkward when pulling out at oblique junctions. When I'm on my own in the car, I'll usually stop to adjust it to be in line with the central pillar, which for me means having the passenger seat upright & well forward.

FWIW, visibility on the Panda is markedly better.

jrkitching said:

Agreed, and anyway I tend to drive more on the door mirrors as they have fewer blind spots which may conceal overtaking vehicles. (I get overtaken a lot ).

I think the bigger issue is the way the front passenger head restraint blocks visibility through the rear window to the nearside 3/4 - which can be awkward when pulling out at oblique junctions. When I'm on my own in the car, I'll usually stop to adjust it to be in line with the central pillar, which for me means having the passenger seat upright & well forward.

FWIW, visibility on the Panda is markedly better.

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So does Jnoiles - but in a rather different sense.

I agree with Robin! I usually forget to push them down or i'm really bored to!

ahmett said:

I value my car enough to brake test and emergency light any suicidal tailgaters that enjoy car accidents (i cant think of any other reason they would follow a car so close) = )

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Until the day the tailgater isn't paying attention and ****s your valued car

The not very exciting but proper way to do is to lift off and gently slow down until the tosspot gets bored and overtakes you.

Geddes said:

Until the day the tailgater isn't paying attention and ****s your valued car

The not very exciting but proper way to do is to lift off and gently slow down until the tosspot gets bored and overtakes you.

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yes you are right that was too aggressive. lets do indicators on no braking, and slow down until a gentle stop if necessary haha you cant wait for them to overtake you if you are on the outside lane and they arnet intelligent enough to know what tailgating means. with some people you cant reason = (

ahmett said:

yes you are right that was too aggressive. lets do indicators on no braking, and slow down until a gentle stop if necessary haha you cant wait for them to overtake you if you are on the outside lane and they arnet intelligent enough to know what tailgating means. with some people you cant reason = (

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I visited the outside lane once - I think it was in 1973 .

jrkitching said:

Agreed, and anyway I tend to drive more on the door mirrors as they have fewer blind spots which may conceal overtaking vehicles. (I get overtaken a lot ).

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I have to confess to not using the rear view mirror as much as I should. Like Andy, I drive a vehicle without a rear window and it is habit to rely on the wing/door mirrors even when I am in the car.

Ha! Ha! re the being overtaken a lot bit. Even though I am speed limited to 90KPH I reckon I would crawl past you at 1MPH whilst you are achieving your incredible MPG figures.

I could be wrong on this but when the 500 came out in Ireland initially it came with rear head restraints but not splits on the POP model but no spare wheel. With the negative feedback of no proper spare the head restraints got dropped and you got the spare wheel (this happened in 2010).

Personally I think that the 500 should come with rear head restraints but as already pointed out you have to pay €150 for the splits to get them (it is worth specing this).

One thing that I forgot to mention on the 500 verus the MINI is that the 500 is safer although the safety tests don't account for rear passengers. If it did the rear head restraints would come as standard.

For the OP the only option is to get a rear seat of the scrappie - they wouldn't be as common in the POP cloth but they do come up since some Lounge owners opted for the POP fabric instead of the 'hard to keep clean' chequered cloth.