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My recent comment regarding Lane is being updated because of new developments. ANYONE contemplating a purchase from this company (LANE) needs to get their head straight.

I intend to help you with that with my major incentive of striking back at an American company selling shoddy merchandise -- knowing this and glaringly so (does this make this company crooked? Read on and make your own decision). Their idea is to lure you in to buying their defective products by deceptive ads promising "lifetime warranties" and quality of merchandise. Read on regarding my repair to poor design engineering concepts.

My 2-year Lane recliner/rocker has failed 5 times with broken bolts.

Their go-around scheme to get their defective gyp product repaired has resulted in "no call back." My 2-emails to their site have been ignored. During all of this I have been busy saving myself the expense ($850 cost of this farce chair) of replacing this nightmare of a chair. Be aware that if you think that buying an equivalent recliner by some other manufacturer is the answer, hear this: A Berkline spring popped loose after 6 months because of a defective staple that could not be replaced. Rather than inviting their nonsense over I pulled the front fabric free to expose the frame and springs where by I drilled entirely through the frame's fore member.

I then anchored a heavy gauge wire fashioned into a hook. The spring was then carefully stretched into place and the fabric stapled back. Obviously this was an involved repair. Next was my Barcalounger (purchased at the same time) whereby the front fabric seam began tearing away at either end.

Again, rather than call in the nonsense I meticulously sewed and then soaked epoxy along my work. This nearly invisible repair (after one revisit) did the trick. All this!! Now back to my farce (a curse) LANE.

After having done repeated bolt replacements 6 times on this junk, I thought through what was really at stake here -- undersized bolts that I was replacing with Home Depot's hardware -- not much better than Lane's Chinese junk bolts (grade 2 hardness or less). So I visited a local Fastenal store and bought harder (grade 5 hardness) stainless steel carriage bolts (1/4" x 1/1/2"). Now how to do this repair: Turn this nonsense upside down and observe the square cross member that runs from one chair side to the other. Now position the loose angle bracket (if you are having trouble seeing this you will need to have someone with a lil mechanical ability help you).

Mate up the bracket with the cross member by moving the mechanism so holes line up. Insert new bolt and then introduce a washer and tighten lock nut. Now comes the loose spring that more than likely fell out when the bolt broke. Many others think this spring broke!

Not usually so - casual inspection should easily confirm this. Your job, native, is to first attach one end of the spring to the loose part -- a danging "S" shaped hook and then tie a strong piece of nylon cord or other strong cord to unsecured spring end. Then weave this cord through to other side of chair. Tie this end to a makeshift support handle (spool) for grip.

Now (with help of someone) put tension on spring until it comes adjacent to its anchor point -- a thick pin or prong with a head on it that PROTRUDES outward in the same plane as the other attachment point. Your partner now slips the spring onto this pin. Voila! Wasn't this fun!

Lane does not mention this little kick-in when marketing their chairs. If you are not amused after all of this be sure to bill Lane a $150 an hour fee that will pay partially for psychiatric expenses. Now, patriots, that is not all! If it has not happened yet, the foot rest mechanism will also fail thereby pooping out a once again defective 1/4" defective carriage bolt....alas, and also eject a larger loose spring than one above.

After aligning holes and replacing bolt as per above, you will need to reattach spring to a trigger-like loose lever and tie a cord and so on. This spring MUST stretch a good distance using much effort (as above) before you will be able to slide it over the distant protruding "pin." Again use care/caution. You will need two people, one at either end. If all of this helps you -- great.

If this helps lose Lane part of its future customer base, even better.

If a Lane "executive" should be googling his junk here -- hey, I warned you I would do exactly this -- and with a vengeance! Also, if someone should fall and injure themselves from one of these chairs because of a frozen footrest in the open position I urge that they initiate a wrongful injury lawsuit against Lane and its corrupt executives.

Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin

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Guest

I had this same problem. I fixed it myself because I couldn't get a response from Lane.

I wish I would've read this before, but I figured it out. I went to a large truck and mill supply and bought the better grade bolts, so maybe I'll be ok for a while, we'll see.

Thanks for u guys that buck the executives and gripe when it needs to be griped. I'll buy a lazboy next time, I guess.

Guest

I have owned 4 Lane recliners. Your description of their faults is absolutely correct.

The cheap Chinese non-graded bolts that affix the recliner brackets to the actuator rod are a HUGE quality control issue! Every Lane recliner I have purchased has broken those bolts. EVERY ONE! As far as Home Depot bolts, the gray drawers in hardware is where they keep the good stuff.

I replaced those bolts with Grade 8, 1/4 X 1 inch bolts with a grade 8 split-ring lock washer and grade 8 nuts torqued very high, at lease 80 foot-pounds.

The bolt length for the bolts attaching the arm mechanism to the transverse square actuator rod will have to be 1/4 X 1-1/2, grade 8 with a grade 8 split-ring lock washer and a 1/4 grade 8 nut. Lane Furniture needs to address this issue, as it affects every recliner they make.

Guest

You are absolutely correct in your article... repairing one of these P.O.S.

for my girlfriend now.....

Definitely going with Grade 5 or 8 hardened bolt.

Wish me luck!

Oh and Lane did not respond to my email request yet either... Why put a contact form on a web page if you don't want to be contacted!?!?!?!?

Guest

Excellent write up, thanks, it fixed my problem, until the bolt breaks again. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

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