Removable drawer backs in 3 seater bench

[Nolan]

Has anyone found a way to keep these from popping open at the least opportune moment? I don't think I've ever accessed the drawers from the rear but I'm often fishing back there to put the removable section back on after the kids have put the draw in a fraction too hard and popped the back off!

It's a weirdly bad piece of design, it can't have been hard to design a flap that actually stays on there.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Has anyone found a way to keep these from popping open at the least opportune moment? I don't think I've ever accessed the drawers from the rear but I'm often fishing back there to put the removable section back on after the kids have put the draw in a fraction too hard and popped the back off!

It's a weirdly bad piece of design, it can't have been hard to design a flap that actually stays on there.

"A weirdly bad piece of design" is a strangely apt turn of phrase. I have the the same issue with the drawer backs, but I would be more likely to apply that phrase to the designed to corrode roof and the handbrake that blocks turning the seat, both of which also have been around for more than 15 years and are still being manufactured daily. VW seem to be in a collective corporate slump without the will or pride to correct ongoing errors. Just for fun we could start a list, with extra points for mistakes which have not been corrected for over 15 years. I'll start:

1. Weirdly bad seat textiles which seem as if they stain if you just hold a cup of water near them without actually touching them.

2.Weirdly bad roof clips for the underside of the roof bed that are so fragile than members post links for buying them by the bag.

3. Weirdly bad folding seat screws which rattle loose from road vibration while stored in the tailgate and disappear because they have never been fitted with a simple locknut or locking washer.

4. Weirdly bad side window blinds just waiting to traumatize any unsuspecting child who tries to push them up without being previously instructed by an adult to make a sacrifice to the VW engineer god who couldn't be bothered to come up with a better design.


I love my van. I'm just sad that VW doesn't. VW has contempt for its customers, but it reserves an especially vicious contempt for the admittedly rare official dealers who honestly try to resolve these issues for their clients. I'm fortunate to have one of these dealers in Barcelona, and they get undercut by the factory at every opportunity. Anybody who's seen a few California Chris videos knows that the same happens to him.

But, as my local Westfalia dealer pointed out to me, if you're shocked by VW's low production standards, just look at the competition, which is even worse.

 

[Louis II]

Has anyone found a way to keep these from popping open at the least opportune moment? I don't think I've ever accessed the drawers from the rear but I'm often fishing back there to put the removable section back on after the kids have put the draw in a fraction too hard and popped the back off!

It's a weirdly bad piece of design, it can't have been hard to design a flap that actually stays on there.

Surprised no one has an answer to this one.
I had the same problem when I had a beach as a loan vehicle.
Hopefully someone will be along with a helpful reply soon.

 

[Nolan]

I did experiment with some heat shrink over the nubbins which hold the drawers in place but they still pop out! I don't want to do anything permanent in case I need to sell the vehicle in future.

I completely agree with the points above, especially the window blinds and water mark magnet seat fabrics.

 

[Neilos]

Yep. Regularly diving behind the bench seat to press back on. Considered just gluing them on tbh but there is access to fold or slide the bench in the middle one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Amarillo]

I have sometimes removed the cover and tray to load long items into the van. If ever I go skiing with the boys I image the removed hatches will be useful for skis.

We have plywood crates which, when the bench seat is in the correct position for the bed, jam between the back of the bench seat and the multiflex frame. When in place, the hatches stay in place.