The problem with these joints is that they are by default, manufactured to fail. The part concerned is a cheap plastic component costing pence to produce. It has a hole in the moulding to take the rivet that forms that joint's pivot. That hole creates an obvious weak point. In every case reported on this forum and there have been many, this joint has broken because of that weakness in the design. This joint is not load bearing.
Despite this being a common fault, VW have done little or nothing to change this joint, apparently preferring instead to change the whole chair under warranty or charge their customers a king's ransom for a new one with warranty claims often being dodged by dealers who would rather charge customers for a new one. Believe me, I know. Perhaps this lack of modification is due to these chairs being manufactured by an outside contractor with the cost of any broken chairs being down to that supplying company who are able to turn these chairs out for peanuts. If a replacement isn't costly to them and tooling for a new replacement component is prohibitively expensive then why change the design?
Anyway, you can repair these joints yourself relatively easily by making a new joint in a more robust material. Or there is a chap in Germany that has produced a solid metal joint replacement kits. However having used the search function I have been unable to find details of previous threads on this subject which contained his details. Where have they gone?
Anyway, IMO these chairs are not only prone to failure but aren't that comfortable either. Accordingly, we never use ours. Like us, many owners have reached the same conclusion and have purchased much better alternatives for a lot less. There is also a thread on this subject. Frankly, you'd be better off finding a more comfortable and no doubt cheaper alternative.
vwcaliforniaclub.com
