Folding chair broken

[samdb]

Hi all, I'm sure this has been discussed but couldn't find this specific issue (feel free to post a link in reply!).

As you can see in the pic below, we seem to have a chair failure, with the other going the same way, which I think is either a manufacturing fault or flawed design. Has anyone else experienced this, and what was the solution?

Hoping it isn't buy another! Could be covered by warranty?

 

[Lewis]

I had a similar issue with the removable table. Replaced under warranty without any questions.

 

[Stoneybroke]

Has exactly the same on holiday. Pop rivet flew out.

The second chair also looks under strain.

Visiting dealer next week and will expect replacements...

 

[samdb]

Has exactly the same on holiday. Pop rivet flew out.

The second chair also looks under strain.

Visiting dealer next week and will expect replacements...View attachment 25420View attachment 25421

Going to do the same tomorrow. I'll update when I have more info. Fingers crossed.

 

[Mark Garrett]

I heard that replacements are circa £140 each!

Lets hope that you can claim under warranty.

 

[iamchucky]

Same happened to my chair a few months back (Cali purchased March 2016). Dealer replaced the chair under warranty no problems. They did insist that all the minor outstanding recall actions were completed on the vehicle at the same time though, but all booked in and sorted (Eurovans Crawley).

 

[samdb]

Going to do the same tomorrow. I'll update when I have more info. Fingers crossed.

Took it in today and within 10mins they'd ordered 2 new warranty replacements. No charge. Happy days. Bad batch made around March 2016 delivery timescales maybe?

 

[Stoneybroke]

Took it in today and within 10mins they'd ordered 2 new warranty replacements. No charge. Happy days. Bad batch made around March 2016 delivery timescales maybe?

Result. Hopefully the same for me on Monday.

My Beach was manufactured August 2016.

 

[Ian Reynolds]

Happened to mine but its an easy fix with a pop rivet gun.
Drill the old ends out and put in a new correctly sized pop rivet and its sorted.

 

[Stoneybroke]

Happened to mine but its an easy fix with a pop rivet gun.
Drill the old ends out and put in a new correctly sized pop rivet and its sorted.

Happy to do that when out of warranty, but when they are less than 12-months old and within warranty, I'll let VW take the strain!

 

[Stoneybroke]

Two chairs on order at dealers - warranty covering.

 

[Stoneybroke]

Both Chairs replaced on warranty by VW Vans Birmingham

 

[Flood51]

One of our chairs broke yesterday in the same place our van is March 2016 so maybe it is a bad batch. They have had very little use as we normally take a couple of high back chairs. Think I’ll ask for both to be replaced even though only one is broken.

 

[flying banana]

mines broke here. hoping to claim under warranty. but if not do they sell the parts to fix them?2016 beach

 

[westfalia]

mines broke here. hoping to claim under warranty. but if not do they sell the parts to fix them?2016 beach

View attachment 35539

Looks like a write off. who did you hit with it ?
it wasn´t one of those who woke you up early was it.

 

[flying banana]

I prefer to use the table to smack people with.i actually reckon someone bust it and snuck it back into it's holder without saying owt.

 

[Flood51]

Should be fixed under warranty just say it broke when your wife sat on it.

 

[kave]

mines broke here. hoping to claim under warranty. but if not do they sell the parts to fix them?2016 beach

View attachment 35539

Ours broke the same today, warranty soon runs out.

 

[Oldbramwell]

One of our camping chairs has broken at the top of both front legs. One side failed & was repaired using epoxy but now both sides have failed. Campervantastic do a direct replacement for £120 but this seems an outrageous price for a chair that’s less robust than a £10 umbrella chair. Our Cali is 2013 so definitely out of warranty.

Can anyone suggest a cheaper source for a direct replacement?
Or has anyone found an altogether different brand of chair that will still stow away in the tailgate?

 

[flying banana]

Mine broke in the same spot. Warranty swapped it. I believe you could get the part made out of aluminum to affect a permanent repair. Sure I saw this on the forum somewhere. Any small engineering company could make those parts on a lathe. We all want to keep the cali original that's why we get ripped off. If I was out of warranty I would look to getting some bits made to keep the original chairs. What about 3d printing?

 

[Stoneybroke]

I had ours replaced after less then 12-months when activating joint lower down failed.

 

[Oldbramwell]

flying banana - thanks for your suggestion. I'll maybe look into getting an aluminium part made. That may mean taking part our remaining good chair so we can use an unbroken plastic part as a pattern part.

Meanwhile, does no one know of a cheaper source for a direct replacement of the camping chairs? Or an alternative brand of chair that will still stow away in the tailgate? Any ideas very welcome.

 

[Tracey Johns]

We had a chair fail in exactly the same way - we had a part engineered out of aluminium on a lathe by a family member, so I can't give you an idea on cost sorry - but definitely cheaper than a new chair. Like you I would have preferred to replace with an alternative, as there is a certain loss of faith in the quality, but had no luck. I'll see if I can post a picture of the part as we had another made as a spare...

 

[Borris]

mines broke here. hoping to claim under warranty. but if not do they sell the parts to fix them?2016 beach

View attachment 35539

One of ours went in exactly the same place. VW supplied a new chair under warrantee. What bugs me is that these failures could easily be fixed if only VW or whoever makes these chairs for them, supplied the individual component parts. Instead the answer always seems to be a new chair.

Judging by the numerous posts on this and other threads relating to picnic chair failures, it seems that these items aren't as robust as they should be. If VW merely send them back to the manufacturers then you'd have thought that an improved version would be available by now. I'll bet that the returned chairs which usually just have minor defectives, just end up in a skip.

 

[WelshGas]

One of ours went in exactly the same place. VW supplied a new chair under warrantee. What bugs me is that these failures could easily be fixed if only VW or whoever makes these chairs for them, supplied the individual component parts. Instead the answer always seems to be a new chair.

Judging by the numerous posts on this and other threads relating to picnic chair failures, it seems that these items aren't as robust as they should be. If VW merely send them back to the manufacturers then you'd have thought that an improved version would be available by now. I'll bet that the returned chairs which usually just have minor defectives, just end up in a skip.

All depends on the overall failure rate versus the cost of development and making a stronger version.
VW don't bare the cost, the chair manufacturer does.