Aeron Wheel Disintegration

I’ve written before about troubles with the Aeron that cradles my ass. Between then and now the back failed and once more it was fully covered by Herman-Miller‘s incredible twelve-year warranty. Just like the seat pan incident, a guy was sent out to service the chair and cart away the residue, no charge.

The carpet casters were no match for the tile floor of the office. It took about a year for the grout edges to pound them into submission.
The carpet casters were no match for the tile floor of the office. It took about a year for the grout edges to pound them into submission.

Seat pans and backs are expensive. The most recent failure was not. This time it was the casters.

When I bought this wonderful chair way back in May of 2005 my floor was carpet and so I specified carpet casters. I knew well the damage that an office chair does to carpet – don’t ask. By mid-year 2007 the carpet was gone, replaced with maple plank. The carpet casters were fine for that but to reduce floor wear I added a non-spiked vinyl chair mat. Then, in December 2012, the chair got a new home on a ceramic tile floor. I didn’t give it any thought at the time but in retrospect not caring for the wheels was a grave error. By summer the casters had begun shedding their rolling surfaces! Being me, I started collecting the pieces.

I considered pursuing the warranty thing again. Then I discovered that bona-fide Herman-Miller parts were only around $50. I guessed it would be kinda hard to find service here in rural Florida so I pulled the trigger. ChairPartsOnline.com had brandy-new Herman-Miller hard floor casters in my hands lickety-split. Installation took seconds. They don’t seem to have seat pans or backs or pneumatics but WTF, I needed casters and they delivered.

The warranty on this bad boy’s still good for nearly another three and a half years. Service options research is on my to-do list.

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2 thoughts on “Aeron Wheel Disintegration”

  1. Hi Rick, I’ve been finding plastic bits under my Aeron chair for a few weeks. Thanks to you, I now know what they are and how to fix it. I’ve had the chair about 16 years, so really can’t complain. Thanks for the info. Nancy F.

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