patrick.net

I love the dyson hand dryers!

It's a DC-17 absolute. The belt is uncovered and is gathering animal hair, dirt & dust around it, then it slips and shuts down the motor. I would avoid the dyson altogether - i read some reviews & complaints and there are are many other vacuums that work just fine. They don't cost an arm & leg - and can be repaired or replaced easier.

The dyson is loud too. I bought it on a whim, and have been greatly disappointed. Best vacuum I ever had was an electrolux, I never should have gotten rid of it.

ellie mae you can fix the vacuum easily you'll want to douse the internal components with 90% isopropyl alcohol if its being gummed up that will remove the gunk and evaporate without damaging electronic components, after that i would apply some oil not wd-40 as that dries out, id use some mineral oils or gun cleaning oil, should lubricate any gunked up components

I have a DC-something or another animal, and it works great. The regular (yellow) ones suck at picking up hair. We've had it for a little over a year and have never had any issues with it; easily the best vacuum we've ever bought.

I think your problem here was the guy working at the repair place. You should find another place that does warranty work.

Dyson makes a fine vacuum cleaner. Everyone knows you can't vacuum up any liquids, unless of course it's a shop vac, etc.

I bought my dyson 5 years ago 3 cats and 2 kids under 4 using at as a horse and its still running like new.

1) It's never sucked up a liquid, rayray. The asshole repairman didn't actually look at the vacuum but was somehow able to diagnose this. He also refused to let me leave it there because there was "nothing wrong with it" without looking at it. And out of curiosity, what does a vacuum look like if it's sucked up liquids?

2) I'll bring my unit into the other repair shop in town, for which I'll have to pay. There's only one warranty shop within 150 miles. If it costs too much, I'll buy another vacuum that actually works. It seems to have gotten worse in the past few months - but it's merely the hair that's wrapping around the belt and gathering in the belt compartment.

There's obviously something wrong with the unit, but neither my warranty shop nor Dyson appear to care. Many people have no problems - but Dyson spends millions on advertising about how wonderful their vacuums are and how they have a five year warranty. Their warranty is useless if they don't honor it.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/dyson.html

elliemae, there are a bunch of options beyond what you've described doing. Just off the top of my head, in more or less escalating order you might

- Call Dyson's customer support # and describe the situation. Ask to speak to a supervisor if the frontline guy doesn't help. Get their names and employee ID #s for future reference.
- Write to Dyson's Legal department describing what (didn't) happen and requiring that the honor their warranty. Ask for a written response.
- Write to your local consumer advice columnist (most bigger newspapers have one) and the state consumer protection agency.
- If all else fails, take them to small claims court for breach of warranty.

So far it sounds like you had a bozo of a local service guy and one email that got ignored, it often takes a lot more than that to get satisfaction. Be persistent and document everything, and you'll probably get satisfaction eventually. I doubt Dyson is notably different than any other $BIGCOMPANY in this regard.

Oddhack offers some good ideas. I'll mull it over, but it's been 3 emails and they haven't responded, sent to cust service, us operations, and cust service (again).

zlxr:
thanks for the info about how to tell the liquid thing. Since mine has never vacuumed liquid nor does it offer any signs nor did the repairman actually look at it, this isn't the issue.

I've pulled the cover off and dug the dog hair out from the belt compartment about 20 times - it must be done every time I vacuum. The hair is enough to fill a quart sized baggie - and I just don't understand why it's doing it all the sudden. The bottom plate covers the compartment, so it looks like the hair is gathering on the belt under the roller and getting stuck. This is one of the pics I sent to dyson:

This is after I vacuumed one room, not exaggerating. I never had the problem before - and all the sudden I have to pick hair out of the belt compartment after each room (or the cannister fills up once). My dogs haven't grown extra hair, there's simply no explanation for this.

This is why it's so damn frustrating. But I'm sure that I'll end up taking it into a shop and paying over a hundred dollars to have it fixed and Dyson will continue to sell plastic vacuums with warranties they don't honor, the asshole repairman will keep his contract with them, and the world will keep turning.

Either that or I'll buy another vacuum - one that actually works without having to pick the hair out of the belt each time.

ugh.

That's the thing - it's not a lot of dog hair. It's a room's worth. The unit doesn't seem to be clogged 'cause it's sucking other stuff up and the canister fills just fine. The suction feels fine too - and I've snaked every part of the vacuum possble... There really aren't too many parts that can go bad.

I've had more hair than that sucked up by a cheaper vacuum. So I assure you, it's not the hair that's the problem. It's the damn vacuum.

Call up Dyson and call them out on their shoddy craftsmanship. Nothing needs to be repaired - which is probably why the repair guy shooed you away. He technically is right. Nothing is broken...yet.

Or you can just but a new one at Costco and return the bad one. They'll take anything back, and it will be Dyson's problem then :)

Elle, looks like you're not alone.

http://www.vacuumwizard.com/the-dyson-dc17.html

The last time I got my money back from my local Costco, they opened the box and checked everything inside.

vain says

Or you can just but a new one at Costco and return the bad one. They’ll take anything back, and it will be Dyson’s problem then

The problem would then be that I still had a dyson - the highpriced p.o.s. model. I'm thinking I'll get a real vacuum and here, openly, do invite Mr. Dyson to shove his vacuum up his ass. I doubt he has much room up there for mine, as no doubt he's got thousands more up there already.

seaside says

Elle, looks like you’re not alone.

it does feel like I'm part of a club, knowing that someone else has the same problem.

Mayby you just need to take it apart and clean it?

My vintage 1989 Eureka still works fine, and the bags for it are really cheap too.

zzyzzx says

Mayby you just need to take it apart and clean it?

I do that. After every room, and it's pissing me off - read the link from seaside above. It's happened to other people and there seems to be no explanation, other than that Dyson doesn't build a quality product. I should have bought a cheap good one, and I shall do that as soon as possible. I'll watch the xmas ads - and as for my pos model, I need to pawn it off on someone who doesn't have pets and very little carpet. Someone who wants an expensive vacuum but doesn't really intend to use it. That's what it's good for.

:(

Elli is the main problem that the brush stops moving. Maybe the problem is the clutch, hair shouldn't be able to stop and jam it that easy. There is a way to reset it, google clutch problem on dyson.

http://www.fixya.com/support/t3674016-dog_hair_gets_caught_all_time_in_belt

the brush is moving. i googled the clutch problem, one woman said to clean the inside of the roller. I'll try that. I think I'm screwed by Mr. Dyson, the guy who's so rich he doesn't care that my vacuum cost me "a lot" of money...

seriously guys/gals,
I shouldn't have to work so hard on a vacuum that's supposed to be worry free for at least 5 years. What a piece of shit,

How do you expect anything to work when it's all gunked up with all that hair? Do you live inside a barber shop?

Ray - if you would pull your head out of your ass and read this thread instead of just being a jerk who attacks without actually understanding what's going on (something I doubt you have the ability to do, but thought I'd suggest it anyway), you would find that the hair is the problem - and that this happens with other people's dysons as well.

I won't explain the problem again, because I probably used too many words you don't understand.

.......and it's back to ignore. But I just thought I'd see if you had something to actually contribute.

Of course not.

Black Friday gave me a discount on a new LG vacuum. My floors look great and I didn't have to clean the vacuum out one time. My long nightmare is over.

But I couldn't resist an email to Dyson telling them I'd bought another brand, explaining to them that their high-priced vacuum had cost me dearly: "Rest assured that the $300 I paid for my vacuum was quite a bit of money to me, even though it was the equivalent of less that one square of the 24-karat gold plated toilet paper Mr. Dyson uses in the bathroom of one of his many estates."

Couldn't resist.

elliemae says

My long nightmare is over.

Woot, Eureka! Pun intended.

Don't judge an entire company based on one alledged bad experience:

http://patrick.net/?p=588261

Dysons are awful for what you get. I returned mine to the store and the woman groaned and said everyone is returning these things. Too much money for the same performance you get with any other vacuum. And to the man who started this thread you shouldn't have to spend all that time cleaning up a vacuum cleaner, absolutely ridiculous.

Russhoffmann says

Dysons are awful for what you get. I returned mine to the store and the woman groaned and said everyone is returning these things. Too much money for the same performance you get with any other vacuum. And to the man who started this thread you shouldn't have to spend all that time cleaning up a vacuum cleaner, absolutely ridiculous.

This thread goes back 5 years. Wow.
Dyson is awesome. Best vacuum we ever had. If the product was that bad, Dyson would have been broke by now. Instead, they continue to command sky high prices.

Strategist says

If the product was that bad, Dyson would have been broke by now. Instead, they continue to command sky high prices.

It's so cute when humans believe that price discovery is efficient.

Just precious!

dyson is bullshit.

i still use a miele from 2007 and it works perfectly.

The term "V6 Digital Motor" from their ads is enough to keep me from buying any of their products.

pawn the job off to MerryMaids...
They'll clean whatever ails ya...and bring their own equipment.

Deja Vu

More commentary from Dyson Owner's:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LGPi106e610

landtof says

dyson is bullshit.

i still use a miele from 2007 and it works perfectly.

Nobody can beat German shit. That's why they are now pressured to bail out the rest of Europe and house half the middle-east.

mell says

Nobody can beat German shit.

well, i will say that the current crop of autos from germany are pretty much crap. they sell the older image of quality engineering but the reality doesn't live up to the hype.

landtof says

well, i will say that the current crop of autos from germany are pretty much crap. they sell the older image of quality engineering but the reality doesn't live up to the hype.

That can happen when companies become "global" ;)

If anyone is tired of buying crappy vacuums that break, buy an Oreck. The price will make you cry a little, but they are fantastic vacuums, and they last. Mine came with a free canister vac and a 21 year warranty. I've had it for over 10 years with no problems. If I had to do it over, I might just get one of their professional canister vacs, b/c the canister vac is more convenient for hardwood floors.

When you buy something like a Dyson, you are paying for the advertising campaign they used to sell it to you and a bunch of phony bells and whistles.

I wouldn't expect any kind of great performance from any a consumer grade appliance. If you get a couple of years out of them, chuck them and count yourself lucky. These are at best disposables and should be sold by the dozen in big blister packing so you can throw out one and just take out the next one when you need it.

If you want something bullet proof, buy a true industrial grade product made for janitorial use where the bearings, seals, motors, cords etc. are made to withstand constant daily use from neanderthals without breaking, and have metal parts where they should be. They are also repair friendly for field use. You will be amazed at how easy they are to use and that they seem unbreakable. Can be heavy because of the build, but they also usually have competent rollers and transport modalities. They will cost more, but over a couple of years, they will be worth it.

You can often buy refurbished/used industrial grade products at good discounts, and by consumer standards, they still have an almost limitless life left.

The consumer grade products you see at the big chain stores simply have cheap plastic parts, crappy motors and belts that have been dumbed down to reach a price/production point, and the money goes into fake claims, packaging and advertising. They will torture you eventually.

one word, many options -- SHARK! GET WITH IT PEOPLE!