How to Fix an IKEA Drawer Front That Is Crooked
If your IKEA drawer front looks crooked, sort the fault into one of three places: loose face, out-of-square drawer box, or misaligned slides. Leave it alone and you can get rubbing, uneven gaps, a drawer that jams, or a front that sags. This guide shows how to check each layer and fix only the part causing the skew.
What you’ll need
- Phillips screwdriver
- IKEA hex key or the driver that fits your hardware
- Rubber mallet
- Drill and pilot bit
- Clamps
- Wood glue
- Replacement screws, if the original heads strip or the holes loosen
- Optional replacement brackets, braces, or model-matched spare parts
- Empty the drawer completely and pull it out far enough to see every fastener.
- Check the face first: look for uneven gaps, a tilted reveal, or one corner sitting proud of the others.
- Inspect the slide pair for left-right mixups, loose screws, or one side hanging lower than the other.
- The drawer box can be checked for square by measuring corner to corner.
- Look at the bottom panel for sag, especially on fiberboard bottoms, because a dropped center can push the front out of line.
- Fix the shallowest failure first: tighten the hardware, then re-seat the face, then re-square the box, and replace parts only if the structure will not hold.
Crooked drawer front diagnosis matrix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fastest check | Required parts/tools | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dresser drawer front sits higher on one side | Loose front screws or a racked drawer box | Compare the gap above the front on both sides | Phillips screwdriver, hex key, clamps | Adjust, then re-square if the box is skewed |
| ALEX unit face looks tilted or uneven | Loose screws after assembly or a slide mounted unevenly | Check all screws and confirm both slides sit at the same height | Phillips screwdriver or hex key; replacement screws if needed | Adjust first; re-tighten ALEX screws after assembly and when necessary |
| HEMNES drawer front bows or shows one corner out of line | Front joint looseness or a sagging bottom pushing the face | Press the front inward and watch for movement at the joint | Wood glue, clamps, drill and pilot bit, replacement screws | Re-square the box; replace damaged joint hardware if it will not hold |
| MALM drawer face rubs at the top or bottom | Slide height mismatch or a dropped slide | Compare both slide rails against the cabinet side | Phillips screwdriver, hex key, rubber mallet | Adjust slide position; replace badly worn hardware |
| Kitchen drawer front sits crooked after closing | Front panel attachment out of square or a separate kitchen-front adjustment issue | Check the front mounts and the cabinet-side slide screws | Phillips screwdriver, IKEA model parts, spare front hardware | Adjust or replace model-specific hardware; replace the front if the mount is stripped |
How do you tell which layer is crooked?
Start with the front panel, then move to the box, then the slides. If the gaps around the face are uneven but the drawer moves smoothly, the front is the likely problem. If the face stays crooked after loosening and reseating, the box or slides are usually at fault.
A dresser drawer with about a 2 mm gap at the left top corner and a wider gap on the right may point to an unevenly seated face. That usually points to a face that is seated unevenly, not a broken cabinet. If the gap changes as you slide the drawer in and out, check the slides next.
Look for a box that has racked into a diamond shape. One easy check is diagonal-to-diagonal comparison; if the measurements differ, the frame is out of square. A sagging fiberboard bottom can also push the front out of line even when the face hardware is tight.
How do you fix the drawer front itself?
Remove the front if you need access to the fasteners, then tighten the attachment hardware before you replace anything else. Loose cam locks or drawer-front screws let the face tilt even when the box is square. If the holes are stripped, the front may need new hardware or a replacement panel.
- Open the drawer fully or remove it for easier access.
- Loosen the front screws or release the cam locks just enough to realign the face.
- Square the front to the box, then retighten the hardware evenly.
- If the screw holes spin or strip, drill fresh pilot holes only where the model allows it.
- Replace the front panel if the attachment points no longer hold.
How do you fix the drawer box or slides?
Move to the box and slides only after the face hardware checks out. A drawer box that is out of square will pull the front off line, and a slide mounted on the wrong side or at the wrong height will do the same. Usually, alignment fixes it, not a full rebuild.
- Check that the drawer box corners are tight and the diagonals match.
- Apply wood glue to an opened corner joint, then clamp it until set.
- Move the slide to the correct side if left and right were swapped.
- Set both slides at the same height before tightening the screws.
- If the bottom panel sags, add support wedges or braces matched to the model.
One IKEA-related repair guide treats drawer wedges as a $6 fix for sagging support. That kind of support works when the bottom is the problem, not when the front mount itself is damaged.
How do you remove an IKEA drawer?
Most IKEA drawers come out by extending them fully, locating the release points or lift tabs, and then lifting or angling the drawer free. The exact method depends on the slide style, so check the assembly manual before pulling hard on a side-mount or undermount system.
Suppose a MALM drawer stops halfway and the front seems crooked. Do not pry the face first. Remove the drawer, inspect the slide pair, and check whether one rail is dropped or sitting on the wrong side before you reset the front.
- Pull the drawer out until it stops.
- Look for release levers, tabs, or end stops on both slides.
- Lift the front slightly while easing the drawer forward.
- Set the drawer on a flat surface for inspection.
What to do if that didn’t work
If tightening and reseating do not solve the skew, move to the next layer instead of repeating the same fix. Follow this order: face hardware, then slide alignment, then box square, then bottom support, then replacement parts. That order avoids over-repairing a drawer that needs only one correction.
- Replace stripped cam locks, screws, or brackets with model-matched IKEA spare parts.
- Use the assembly manual to find the part number before ordering or requesting replacements.
- Check whether the part is available in your region, since some spare parts are free and some are unavailable.
- Replace a badly damaged front panel if the mount holes or edge material will not hold.
Model-specific notes
ALEX units have a maximum load of 4 kg per drawer, a total maximum load of 12 kg, and small drawers with a 2 kg maximum load. IKEA also says to re-tighten ALEX screws after assembly and when necessary. Those limits matter because overload can let the slides sag and make the face look crooked.
BRIMNES uses a tempered-glass front with a framed drawer front, and that frame includes particleboard and fiberboard. Its drawer bottom is fiberboard, so a bowed bottom can shift the face even when the front hardware looks fine. HEMNES and MALM often need the same square-and-slide check, but the front mounts differ by model.
IKEA kitchen drawer fronts are sold as a separate category, so kitchen repairs usually mean a front-panel adjustment or replacement rather than a dresser-style rebuild. IKEA offers a VALLSTENA drawer front in white and an ASPUDDEN drawer front in matte white, which shows how model-matched the parts can be.
Common mistakes
- Replacing the front before checking slide alignment
- Tightening hardware without checking for a racked box
- Mixing up left and right slides
- Using generic parts when the model needs IKEA-specific hardware
- Ignoring a sagging bottom panel that is pushing the face out of line
Prevention
After the repair, check the screws again after a few open-and-close cycles, especially on ALEX units. Keep heavy items within the drawer’s rated load, and do not let one side carry the bulk of the weight. That reduces slide drop and keeps the face aligned longer.
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