IKEA METOD: spare parts, common problems and repair guide

In 2014, IKEA discontinued FAKTUM after 21 years of service. METOD replaced everything – cabinet bodies, hinges, rails, legs. And the two systems are not compatible. If you have a kitchen installed before 2014, you have FAKTUM. After 2014, it's METOD. This distinction determines every part you search for.

METOD is now the basis of all IKEA modular kitchens. Millions of homes in France are equipped with it. Here are the most common problems, the most requested parts, and how to navigate this system.

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Which METOD element do you have?

The METOD system groups three families of cabinet bodies, each with its own part constraints.

Element type	Typical dimensions (W x D x H)	Associated accessories
Base element	20/30/40/60/80/100 x 60 x 80 cm	Adjustable legs, MAXIMERA drawers, doors
Wall element	20/30/40/60/80 x 37 x 40/60/80 cm	Wall suspension rail, doors
High element / cabinet	60 x 60 x 140/200/220 cm	UTRUSTA hinges, high doors
Special cabinet (refrigerator, oven, corner)	Variable	Specific hardware

Depth is a key point: 60 cm for base elements, 37 cm for wall elements. MAXIMERA 60x37 cm drawers are reserved for low wall elements – they do not fit into a 60 cm deep cabinet.

METOD also replaced the drilling pitch system. FAKTUM used 32 mm vertical spacing between holes. METOD uses 50 mm. The hinges, fronts and hardware of the two generations are not interchangeable.

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Why won't the METOD door close properly?

This is the most frequently asked question about all IKEA kitchens. The door remains ajar, or it closes crookedly, or it rubs against the neighboring door.

The UTRUSTA hinge has three independent adjustment screws. Each corrects a specific problem.

• Center screw: adjusts the height of the door (up/down). If the door touches the worktop or leaves too much space at the bottom, this is the screw.
• Right screw: adjusts the lateral offset (left/right). This is where you should start. A quarter turn is sufficient in most cases.
• Left screw: adjusts the depth (the distance between the door and the cabinet body). If the door protrudes forward compared to the neighbors, this is the adjustment.

Always start with the lateral adjustment. It solves 80% of closing problems before even touching the other two screws.

The integrated damper of the UTRUSTA hinge can also wear out. A door that slams shut abruptly when the damper was silent for years indicates a hinge at the end of its life. Caution: UTRUSTA 110° and 125° are not substitutes for each other. The opening angle depends on the space around the door (corner, high door, front side). Check the reference printed on the hinge body before ordering.

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A METOD cabinet leg has broken: what to do?

The METOD white plastic legs are screwed under each corner of the base cabinet. Minimum height 7 cm, maximum 10.5 cm, pre-set to 8 cm at the factory.

They break for two main reasons.

• A leg not properly engaged in its housing. If the leg thread is not correctly engaged in the metal bracket screwed under the cabinet, the leg supports the load asymmetrically. It cracks in a few weeks. The rule: always screw the leg in fully before adjusting the height.
• A punctual surcharge. Base cabinets with integrated appliances, corner not compensated on uneven ground, leg taking all the load on one side. The plastic gives way. The legs are not noble parts but they bear several tens of kilograms. A cracked leg must be replaced immediately – a kitchen that sags on one side can distort neighboring cabinets and misalign all the doors.

Replacement is done with the cabinet slightly raised (a floor jack or two people are sufficient). Unscrew the metal fixing bracket if it is also damaged, attach the new one, rescrew the leg and adjust the height.

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The wall suspension rail: the part no one thinks to check

METOD wall elements do not rest on conventional screws. They hang on a horizontal zinc-plated steel rail fixed to the wall. This rail must be positioned exactly 82 cm above the highest point of the floor.

The rail lasts as long as the wall is solid. But it happens that the wall fixing gradually gives way – especially on lightweight partitions (Plasterboard, BA13) where expansion anchors are not sufficient under a load of 20-30 kg per element.

If a wall cabinet has come loose or is leaning, the priority is to check the wall anchors, not the rail itself. The METOD rail is rarely the cause of the problem. For hollow walls, only molly anchors (metal expansion) or toggle anchors are reliable under this type of load.

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Why does the METOD plinth keep coming loose?

The plinth conceals the adjustable legs under the base cabinets. It is fixed via plastic clips that snap onto the legs.

These clips are the most ordered METOD spare parts after the hinges. They age, become brittle, and eventually no longer hold. A plinth that comes loose with every vacuum cleaner pass is almost always a question of worn clips, not a damaged plinth.

The clip is removed by pinching it laterally and is changed in seconds. Order several at once – if they start to loosen on one side, the others will not be long in coming.

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What you need to know before ordering a METOD part

The first question to answer: METOD or FAKTUM? If your kitchen dates from before 2014, it's FAKTUM. The hinges, plinths, rails and fronts are not the same. A METOD hinge will not install on a FAKTUM cabinet (pitch 50 mm vs 32 mm).

To identify: open a door and look inside the cabinet. METOD has two columns of vertical holes spaced 50 mm apart. FAKTUM has a single column at 32 mm.

Once on METOD, the essential check is the hinge angle (110° or 125°) and the cabinet width for everything concerning drawers and rails. This information is on the label glued to the inside of each cabinet, or in the original IKEA instructions if you have kept them.

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Can you renovate a FAKTUM kitchen with METOD fronts?

No, directly. METOD fronts do not adapt to FAKTUM cabinets without modification, because the drilling pitch is different (50 mm for METOD, 32 mm for FAKTUM). A METOD front mounted on a FAKTUM cabinet has misaligned hinge holes – it doesn't close, or it closes crookedly.

The correct solution to renovate a FAKTUM kitchen: replace the cabinets with new METOD cabinets, or work with third-party suppliers of custom-drilled fronts for FAKTUM (several European manufacturers offer this service).

IKEA itself advises replacing the entire cabinets rather than attempting an adaptation. The extra cost is real but avoids years of adjustment problems.

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How to properly fix the METOD wall cabinets to avoid incidents?

A poorly fixed wall cabinet is 20 to 30 kg suspended above a worktop. The risk is not theoretical.

The fixing relies on two elements: the horizontal steel rail and the wall anchors. The rail itself is solid. It's always the anchor that poses a problem.

For solid walls (concrete, full brick), a classic Fischer SX 8 or 10 nylon anchor is sufficient. For lightweight partitions (Plasterboard, BA13), there is no alternative: use molly anchors (metal expansion) or toggle anchors – nothing else will hold under the dynamic load of a slamming door.

Wall type	Recommended anchor
Concrete / full brick	Fischer SX 8 or 10 nylon anchor
Plasterboard (BA13) partition	Molly anchor or toggle anchor
Hollow brick / cinder block	Fischer Duopower bi-material anchor

A point often overlooked: the suspension rail must be perfectly horizontal. A bubble level of at least 60 cm is essential. A rail laid with a slope of 2 mm over 80 cm in length gives a door that never closes flat, regardless of the hinge adjustment.

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The METOD accessories that wear out but we forget to order

Some METOD parts are so discreet that we only think about them when they are missing.

• Plinth clips: small plastic parts that hold the plinth on the legs. They age badly and end up breaking. If the plinth comes loose, it's them. Order a dozen at a time.
• Door damping pads: small self-adhesive rubber pads glued to the inside of the cabinet to cushion the closing shock without soft-close hinges. On old FAKTUM kitchens that have been recycled, they are often missing or peeled off. A door that slams loudly but whose hinge is working normally: check these pads first.
• Cabinet-to-cabinet connecting screws: during a move, the cabinets often come apart individually. These screws disappear into the miscellaneous bag. Without them, the cabinets are not laterally braced and each door gradually becomes misaligned.

The assembly instructions and parts available for METOD are listed just below.