Head Rest Driver Seat - E430
 

I am unable to lower the head rest. It is at maximum height. I assume it might be the electric motor. What can I do to identify problem, and if it is the motor is there anyway to lower manually? Thanks.......Highwater

What year is your car? Most likely it's the rack gear assembly that has failed...it's a plastic (about) $40 piece that can be replaced in the comfort of your garage...

Its remotely possible the seat is out of sync....move seat full forward and hold switch extra 2 secs.

Does the headrest ...
 

move up and down as you move the seat back and forth? If so I assume you mean that the individual switch for the headrest on the door will not move it. If this is the case, you could have a bad switch. Also, I think there is a module under the dash that controls the seat functions based on input from the door switches. That may be bad or need to be re-programmed. The one on my car went bad but affected things in addition to the seat switch for the driver side - at least that's how I remember it. Looking at that ticket, I see that the N/10 "control unit" was replaced.

If you move the headrest switch in the UP direction to you hear or feel the motor engage? If you do , the motor, gear, rack et al is good. The switch on the door needs to be cleaned. However if you are not handy you may want to buy a new switch. However they are cleanable and repairable. Soot builds up on the contacts and they don't make contact.

There is a documented process on this web page to clean and service Mercedes switches. The Door switches are a little more complex becuase they have more moving parts , but the DIY article explains it very well. I just had to fix my daughters seat swiches in her 86 190e and they work great again. These are the original switches, etc..