Herman Miller Aeron: Replacing the Gas Lift

Having documented other people's difficulties with replacing their Herman Miller Aeron gas lifts, it was finally time to do the same for my own 1999 chair. What are the current challenges and tools available for this activity in 2022?

Since acquring my late 90s Aeron, most of the common parts have been replaced (sunken seat pan, plastic clamshell hip bolts, torn seat back, fixed arm rests, wobbly castors, torn lumbar support, seat pan edge foam insert) but whilst the gas lift had always been sticky and the chair wobbled, this was put off due to the reported difficulties. However more recently this was no longer an option to defer replacement since the gas lift would no longer operate, being stuck after lowering. But how easy and what options for parts are available.

The Remastered Aeron - What was once Old is New again

The original Herman Miller Aeron has been in the wild since 1994 and has been widely successful in both corporate and domestic office settings. In 2017, after nearly 23 years, Herman Miller released a revamped update, calling it the Remastered Aeron and ended production of the original Aeron later the same year.


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But aside from the revamped looks, weight and features how does the Remastered Aeron sit and feel in the real world?

Herman Miller Aeron: pitfalls of trying to buy second hand

The Herman Miller Aeron has been available on the market since 1994 and since then there have been a few subtle changes to the parts since then; the chairs have been referred to as the mark I (production runs from 1994 - ~ Aug 2004) and mark II (production after Aug 2004). All of this matters to avoiding some subtle pitfalls if you are looking at a second hand Aeron chair from various office clearance companies or ebay.

The chair has many options for configuring the type mesh and lumbar support but the main configuration that can't change involve the support for full front and rear tilts (fully loaded) or just rear tilt. The chair can also be configured to have no arms, fixed position arms or up/down adjustable arms: the arms can also be fixed or can be pivoted in 3 positions (in/out/middle).


Below are some of my experiences from trying to find my own Aeron chair, and subsequently fully refurbishing a 1999 chair, which may be useful to anyone trying to determine if an Aeron bargain is worth the risk.