H&M recliner mechanism issue

Happy Fall Duane!
Our Austin fully reclining sofa has a bit of a problem that came out of no where and just as football season is in full swing! On one seat of the couch, the side lever releases the footrest but when a person pushes back, it does not fully extend. I examined and compared both seats (one that works and one that doesn't) and it appears that a plastic wheel in the mechanism has come out of the groove it normally would roll in when a person pushes the back. We've tried everything to get it back in, including tipping the couch over, but have not been successful. It's in a really tight spot on the outside "wall" of the couch just below the seat cushion.

The couch is just over one year old and gets a fair amount of use but certainly not abuse (and we are below average in weight) so to have this fail in such a short time is really disconcerting. As you may recall we previously had this same model couch for about 15 years with no problems and only replaced it because the leather on the footrests was well worn and we wanted a different color. I certainly am regretting that decision since I suspect the older model had metal wheels not a plastic ones.

Should that part of the mechanism be replaced and what will that entail? I'm thinking even if someone could get the wheel back in place, isn't it likely to come out again? What does the warranty cover? The local store we purchase it from had a huge retirement sale and we thought they were going out of business. Now they are running ads about a grand re-opening. Wish we had purchased from an expert, namely you and The Keeping Room! Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. As always, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise, know there are many, myself included, who really are grateful for your help.
Cheers,
Joan

You'll have to replace that mechanism, they are not repairable. H&M will replace the mechanism at no charge the first three years of ownership, but will only pay for labor to install the first year of ownership. Contact them directly as it sounds like your dealer has folded shop and there's a liquidator in there, or you can try your dealer to see if they will assist. Any local upholstery shop can put that mechanism in for you for around $ 100. At my store I would pay to have that installed for you, because I don't think you should have to do so on a 1 year old piece, but your dealer may hold to the letter of the warranty and decline to do so, depends if the owners are there to stay or not.

Good luck!

Sounds like a defective piece of merchandise to me. Plastic instead of metal? Is H&M cutting corners now, too?

Its not H&M, mechanisms are Leggett and Platt. They own 90% of the residential motion business to ALL motion furniture makers....which is not to say they're fantastic, because they're not. But they're the only game in town. There's a definite market for a superior motion mechanism but L&P is know far and wide for suing the pants off anyone that attempts to come into the market with a similar product. They have the attorneys and willpower to crush any competitor, and they do.

I don't know if this is true or not. A furniture store owner in Seattle told me a North Carolina furniture manufacturer named Comfort Design http://www.comfortdesignfurniture.com/Styles.aspx?cid=4 uses their own recliner mechanisms that are considerably beefier and better made than Leggett and Platt.