Dyson Motorised Head

Kintarō Hattori

Hi Folks,

As a matter of interest, how long would you expect the motorised head on a Dyson to last? We bought our DC35 probably about 4 years ago which I feel is a reasonable amount of time for the head to have lasted but the missus is feeling otherwise and thinks we should press the retailer for a replacement or repair.

Xterminator

you have very little to lose, by approaching the retailer.

if it goes all the way to small claims court your out 25 euro and a little effort.

there is no statutory definition of how long something last should last (up to seven years) , and so there is a grey area. But you have little to lose.

IMO 4 years for something with moving parts sounds reasonable. Bu then dyson is a premium brand and perhaps the store could offer you a discount on a new model etc.

whiskeyman

Which part exactly is busted?
I doubt you'll get anything from the retailer.
Try going direct to Dyson.

If it's the head bit I think it is, they could be cheap enough to replace? Looks to be around €20 for some heads?
Have you tried taking it apart yourself?
It needs to be cleaned often - otherwise it can jam with long hairs / dirt.

Slippin Jimmy

If you are going to the SCC then I would strongly advise against taking it apart. However, if it is meant to be taken apart to be cleaned then by all means work away.

L1011

The replacement head is about 70 quid; that is not Small Claims territory. Personally I'd consider it not worth chasing up beyond possibly just asking Dyson (even though the contract is with the retailer)

Kintarō Hattori

Thanks Folks,

It's been well maintained. Recently I unscrewed the mount that the motor spins as I read that although you can't see it, it collects hairs and dirt which get caught around the unit. Sure enough there was a thick circle of hair clogging it. I thought that might have been the issue but no.

I think as it's a good few years old there's little point in going back to the retailer, it's probably better to pick this up with Dyson themselves. What do you think?

whiskeyman

There's a few Dyson stores around the city.
Could try them. They might try it on another machine to be sure there's not another issue?

Did you check any YouTube videos of the issue? I've often found them great in fixing other things.

Do you have just one spinning head attachment?
If you've another, does that sound ok?

NinjaTruncs

When you took apart the head did you take of the part that makes the drum turn or just clear the hairs from around it. You need to take it off as there will be a lot of stuff under there, it is on fairly tight. Once I removed that bit and cleared it out the motor worked again for me.

whiskeyman

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

When you took apart the head did you take of the part that makes the drum turn or just clear the hairs from around it. You need to take it off as there will be a lot of stuff under there, it is on fairly tight. Once I removed that bit and cleared it out the motor worked again for me.

Good point this.
It's fairly straightforward to take the unit 'apart' for cleaning purposes.
You'd be surprised that a ring of hair hidden in a bit can cause it to clog.
You may need a small sharp scissors to cut it out if that exists.

Kintarō Hattori

whiskeyman wrote: »

Good point this.
It's fairly straightforward to take the unit 'apart' for cleaning purposes.
You'd be surprised that a ring of hair hidden in a bit can cause it to clog.
You may need a small sharp scissors to cut it out if that exists.

Oh I took it out and indeed there was a load of hair. It revolved much more freely but still doesn't turn when the unit is on.

kathleen37

I too would check youtube, there is some excellent stuff on there. (Helped me out with my dysons previously)

Also worth a look on ebay? I don't think they have any DC3 stuff available to buy anymore on the dyson website? (I just replaced my dc33) The new motorised heads are quite expensive, but may be worth phoning Dyson (I've always found their customer service excellent) to see what they say, and last resort ask about replacement as it may be much cheaper than the new ones.

Good luck!

(Did the issue with your parking ever get sorted??)

banie01

L1011 wrote: »

The replacement head is about 70 quid; that is not Small Claims territory. Personally I'd consider it not worth chasing up beyond possibly just asking Dyson (even though the contract is with the retailer)

There a swathe of replacement heads from other manufacturers available for much less.
Recently replaced the head on a V6 for €22 on Amazon.

4yrs on a head would be unlikely to get even goodwill from the retailer IMO.
But don't ask, don't get

L1011

Having got the CCD on an eight year old camcorder replaced due to a vague reference on the manufacturers site to a known issue I'm a great fan of asking the manufacturer when they have a coherent domestic operation - which Dyson do. But ask nicely, they have no responsibility to you so demanding gets you nowhere.

whiskeyman

I find Twitter can be good also.
Tweet them and include glowing review of the product and how it doesnt work and if they can help.
If they help solve it, you'd be likely to tweet your happy outcome.

Kristopherus

kathleen37 wrote: »

I too would check youtube, there is some excellent stuff on there. (Helped me out with my dysons previously)

Also worth a look on ebay? I don't think they have any DC3 stuff available to buy anymore on the dyson website? (I just replaced my dc33) The new motorised heads are quite expensive, but may be worth phoning Dyson (I've always found their customer service excellent) to see what they say, and last resort ask about replacement as it may be much cheaper than the new ones.

Good luck!

(Did the issue with your parking ever get sorted??)

Ask that last line in a pm:).

Samuel T. Cogley

I'm very disappointed by this thread. I though Dyson had finally invented something useful.

Kintarō Hattori

kathleen37 wrote: »

I too would check youtube, there is some excellent stuff on there. (Helped me out with my dysons previously)

Also worth a look on ebay? I don't think they have any DC3 stuff available to buy anymore on the dyson website? (I just replaced my dc33) The new motorised heads are quite expensive, but may be worth phoning Dyson (I've always found their customer service excellent) to see what they say, and last resort ask about replacement as it may be much cheaper than the new ones.

Good luck!

(Did the issue with your parking ever get sorted??)

I did indeed check YouTube, hence my cleaning the electrical contacts and finding out about the clogged hair in the head.

Parking did and didn't get sorted. One lady moved away but I had to take the other to court over noise and got a court order against her.... which she duly broke.

banie01 wrote: »

There a swathe of replacement heads from other manufacturers available for much less.
Recently replaced the head on a V6 for €22 on Amazon.

4yrs on a head would be unlikely to get even goodwill from the retailer IMO.
But don't ask, don't get

Oh I know I'm chancing my arm but I do think a big purchase like this should last a bit longer. Having worked in retail for 10 years (in the past thankfully) I'd never be anything but polite and respectful. I'm looking at a generic head alright if I have no joy.

L1011 wrote: »

Having got the CCD on an eight year old camcorder replaced due to a vague reference on the manufacturers site to a known issue I'm a great fan of asking the manufacturer when they have a coherent domestic operation - which Dyson do. But ask nicely, they have no responsibility to you so demanding gets you nowhere.

Very true and as said above I'd only ever be polite and respectful.

whiskeyman wrote: »

I find Twitter can be good also.
Tweet them and include glowing review of the product and how it doesnt work and if they can help.
If they help solve it, you'd be likely to tweet your happy outcome.

That's not a bad idea, I'll give it a try.

Kristopherus wrote: »

Ask that last line in a pm:).

Ah she's alright. I'm quite open about almost everything and I did have a thread in the legal discussion forum at one point.

sundodger5

Check if the head is getting power, My mother had an old dyson ball. head had stopped spinning. when i went poking about it turns out the wire that brings the power to the head had broke. Joined it back together and its running still.

Kintarō Hattori

I spoke with a Dyson rep yesterday who essentially tried to sell me another unit. Stated it'd be 'uneconomical to repair, a replacement head is about €75 so it made sense to just buy a new one as 4 years later is when people start to think about a new vacuum cleaner. There's been big advances in suction and battery life since you bought your model'.

Went with a generic head off of Amazon and sadly will have to think about a future purchase. I really would have expected to get more than 4 years from the unit I bought.

whiskeyman

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I spoke with a Dyson rep yesterday who essentially tried to sell me another unit. Stated it'd be 'uneconomical to repair, a replacement head is about €75 so it made sense to just buy a new one as 4 years later is when people start to think about a new vacuum cleaner. There's been big advances in suction and battery life since you bought your model'.

Went with a generic head off of Amazon and sadly will have to think about a future purchase. I really would have expected to get more than 4 years from the unit I bought.

That's annoying.
I read somewhere about planned obsolescence where many white good manufacturers expect you to change every 5-7 years.
My parents have the same Hoover since they got married 40 years ago and it's fine.
They would have had the same TV if I didn't buy them a new one 15 years ago!

I would have thought Dyson would be better built but I don't think anything is these days.