New Riccar R40.8 failed after two uses

Just curious if anyone else has had issues with Riccar’s latest revision of the R40 (the R40.8 variant)?

I bought one the Friday before Christmas and used it to vacuum our living room (15x15) and then the tools with the turbo tandem brush roller head to do the stairs between my second, main and basement. It worked with no issues.

The next day my son used it to vacuum a small carpeted living space in the basement (10x10 area). Then when I used it later to vacuum my home theater the brush roller error light would come on and it would stop spinning. I could get it to go sometimes if I was moving the vacuum when lowering the handle (aka engaging the roller) but that was sporadic at best. Eventually while vacuuming that area it would no longer turn on. I checked and there was no clog or obstruction in the roller.

I took it back that day to the shop that I purchased I from. They did a quick inspection and had the same intermittent issue with the brush head error. I left it there for them to look at further. I got a call after the holidays indicating that they replaced two parts (wasn’t told specifically) but the error was still occurring so they gave me a new machine. I haven’t used the new one yet but I’m curious if this is going to be indicative of what to expect from a $1700 machine. I’ve seen other reviews of the R40 with similar issues after a while but I was under the impression these were older more problematic revisions.

Did I make a mistake? Our other 20 year old Riccar has held up other than some damage from being dropped.

The Riccar like yours have many known issues. This is not indicative of high end machines ($1,700), but rather Riccar. I recommend that you return the vacuum if they will allow you, and try/buy a Sebo. The Riccar will probably be a money pit. Many dealers have stopped selling the R40 and R30 due to the issues. For your $1,700 you can possibly get two Sebos.
I would imagine that your 20 year old Riccar was the 8955 or similar model, those were excellent. Riccar has unfortunately gone down hill.

Riccar is now a pile of rubbish.

Do you have experience with current revision or is that just a general take on Riccar now? I know many like to bag on the brand because of its price point. They are several revisions into the newer series. Just curious if the newer ones are actually improved (less issues) or if they are about as prone to problems as the older R40 revisions.

The dealer I bought from also carries Simplicity, Miele and I think Sebo. He spoke highly of the R40.

Yes getting a bad unit out the door is leaving me questioning if I made right decision. I’m more interested in knowing others experiences with the same unit than just people tearing on the brand.

Riccar is just like that now it would seem.

centralsweeper63 said:

Riccar is just like that now it would seem.

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Just like what?

Low quality but still expensive.

Tok said:

Do you have experience with current revision or is that just a general take on Riccar now? I know many like to bag on the brand because of its price point. They are several revisions into the newer series. Just curious if the newer ones are actually improved (less issues) or if they are about as prone to problems as the older R40 revisions.

The dealer I bought from also carries Simplicity, Miele and I think Sebo. He spoke highly of the R40.

Yes getting a bad unit out the door is leaving me questioning if I made right decision. I’m more interested in knowing others experiences with the same unit than just people tearing on the brand.

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Sure he spoke highly of the R40. It's probably one of his most profitable models to sell at that price point.

Just curious, if you have the brush roll and lower motor on, do they shut off when you place the upper body in the full upright position? Some two motor uprights including the old Sebo 370 and Lindhaus do this when you put the upper body full upright. Just wondering if maybe there is a switch there that was going caca-doo-doo.

centralsweeper63 said:

Low quality but still expensive.

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Look I appreciate the insight but as I stated above I’m curious in those that specifically may own the latest revision of the R40. Not saying your take is wrong but I looking for other’s experiences with the same unit.

We can say the same thing about the vast majority of products from brand names we used to feel produced a quality product.

The other thing I'm wondering is if the problem happens when you pull back on the handle but not when pushing forward? I have seen a problem like this with a Windsor I have where you pull back and a slightly loose connection separates and shuts the vacuum off. Just thinking out loud. I could be a million miles off because I have never even seen an R40 in person yet.

Just ask Dysonman1 and he will tell you. I do understand though.

cheesewonton said:

Sure he spoke highly of the R40. It's probably one of his most profitable models to sell at that price point.

Just curious, if you have the brush roll and lower motor on, do they shut off when you place the upper body in the full upright position? Some two motor uprights including the old Sebo 370 and Lindhaus do this when you put the upper body full upright. Just wondering if maybe there is a switch there that was going caca-doo-doo.

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That’s the issue I was having. The brush roller motor wasn’t turning on. From what I have seen it relies on feedback from a hall effect sensor and if it isn’t spinning at a safe speed it shuts down to protect the motor but from what could tell the motor was rarely starting after using it with no issues the first day. I could get it to go a few times if I was pushing the vacuum as I lowered the handle but it wasn’t consistent and after I put the handle back up and just lowered it it failed again. Dealer replace a couple of parts but did not tell me specifically what they did but they still had the same issue. Dealer suspected that unit had a bad brush roller motor from factory.

Faulty parts and fires on the QC line are not unordinary for the low quality Riccar parts.

centralsweeper63 said:

Faulty parts and fires on the QC line are not unordinary for the low quality Riccar parts.

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Fires in Quality Control? Geez

Ask Dysonman1 (I think that is the person, I may be wrong though). It is him (or whoever the person is, sorry) that worked with taccony.

centralsweeper63 said:

Ask Dysonman1 (I think that is the person, I may be wrong though). It is him (or whoever the person is, sorry) that worked with taccony.

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He left Tacony a long time ago. Probably ten years at least. I think he left shortly after the Prima was introduced.

He left a long time ago, still has stories though.

Tok said:

Do you have experience with current revision or is that just a general take on Riccar now? I know many like to bag on the brand because of its price point. They are several revisions into the newer series. Just curious if the newer ones are actually improved (less issues) or if they are about as prone to problems as the older R40 revisions.

The dealer I bought from also carries Simplicity, Miele and I think Sebo. He spoke highly of the R40.

Yes getting a bad unit out the door is leaving me questioning if I made right decision. I’m more interested in knowing others experiences with the same unit than just people tearing on the brand.

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Price point is not the issue, I only buy high end brands (Lindhaus, Sebo, and previously Miele). I have not experienced the R40 because I wouldn’t buy one, they’re not much better in quality than a Walmart vac. If you don’t want to believe the most knowledgeable group of people within vacuums, keep your Riccar and don’t come back and cry to us when you have circuit boards and motors failing. I’m sorry that you were swindled by this dealer (dealers make the most profit on Riccar), but you indeed bought one of worst products available.

I worked at the factory where they made that machine, for more than 10 years. There were so many problems. All sensors failing during the initial run. Motor is catching on fire on the assembly line. It's just a terrible vacuum cleaner, in my opinion. There are certainly many better choices. I had over 500 vacuum cleaners at one time in my collection, I have whittled it down to about 100. Not a single one is made by Riccar.

Look I appreciate the opinions on Riccar. Again I’m looking for those that have experience with the latest revision of the R40. Supposedly the .8 revision corrected a lot of the issues with the model. I’m curious on others’ experiences with the same revision. I probably came to the wrong place to ask.

Thanks again.

To be honest, all the revisions are more or less the same low quality. What improvements did they make though?

Tok said:

Look I appreciate the opinions on Riccar. Again I’m looking for those that have experience with the latest revision of the R40. Supposedly the .8 revision corrected a lot of the issues with the model. I’m curious on others’ experiences with the same revision. I probably came to the wrong place to ask.

Thanks again.

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The 8th revision. What does that tell you? They are either guessing or when they remedy one problem it causes something else to fail.

I have one made in the USA Riccar upright, an older Vibrance. It is a dead nuts copy of the Panasonic Jet Flo. But even with the Jet Flo to copy from they still managed to screw it up. The hose from the nozzle to the bag chamber is assembled the wrong way. The blunt male ends of the hose sections face into the airflow. Stuff jams on the exposed lip and soon enough you have a clogged hose. Actually the stupid thing clogs in three different spots. I never have this problem with a Panasonic upright. Fortunately it has no circuit boards and seems otherwise reliable, though the plastic nozzle base is flimsy. I bought the steel sole plate and was astounded that it isn't a full sole plate but just a thin metal cover for the plastic. Better than bare plastic I guess but not by much.

cheesewonton said:

The 8th revision. What does that tell you? They are either guessing or when they remedy one problem it causes something else to fail.

I have one made in the USA Riccar upright, an older Vibrance. It is a dead nuts copy of the Panasonic Jet Flo. But even with the Jet Flo to copy from they still managed to screw it up. The hose from the nozzle to the bag chamber is assembled the wrong way. The blunt male ends of the hose sections face into the airflow. Stuff jams on the exposed lip and soon enough you have a clogged hose. Actually the stupid thing clogs in three different spots. I never have this problem with a Panasonic upright. Fortunately it has no circuit boards and seems otherwise reliable, though the plastic nozzle base is flimsy. I bought the steel sole plate and was astounded that it isn't a full sole plate but just a thin metal cover for the plastic. Better than bare plastic I guess but not by much.

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I think you be surprised on how many running changes happen in the world of manufacturing without a single public indicator of a change. Also I believe that there are definite cosmetic differences from the earlier R40s to the most current.

From what I have gathered there are different revisions of the PCBs. As far as the price point the Riccar includes the Service Plan that includes cleanings at 1, 3 and 5 years. It’s definitely a machine that requires service to keep it in peak operating condition.

Not saying anyone is wrong about Riccar going downhill but I see a lot of generalized hate for the brand here. I see similar reactions to Bose speaker systems from audiophiles that I don’t necessarily disagree with either.

Tok said:

I think you be surprised on how many running changes happen in the world of manufacturing without a single public indicator of a change. Also I believe that there are definite cosmetic differences from the earlier R40s to the most current.

From what I have gathered there are different revisions of the PCBs. As far as the price point the Riccar includes the Service Plan that includes cleanings at 1, 3 and 5 years. It’s definitely a machine that requires service to keep it in peak operating condition.

Not saying anyone is wrong about Riccar going downhill but I see a lot of generalized hate for the brand here. I see similar reactions to Bose speaker systems from audiophiles that I don’t necessarily disagree with either.

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You made an account just to ask if anyone has that specific revision of the R40? This is not a website for consumers, we are probably the most knowledgeable group of people you can find. There is veteran Riccar employee telling you about the issues, I’m not sure what else one could want. Don’t you think if there’s no one that has that model, there must be a reason. If you really want to hear how great the R40 is, have a conversation with Josh May at Tacony. For reference, I like Bose.

Riccar is just bad. That simple. Therefore, no one has the new ones really.

Tok said:

Look I appreciate the opinions on Riccar. Again I’m looking for those that have experience with the latest revision of the R40. Supposedly the .8 revision corrected a lot of the issues with the model. I’m curious on others’ experiences with the same revision. I probably came to the wrong place to ask.

Thanks again.

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I think you did. Because we are real people here, not corporate shills and bots. This is a forum of collectors and enthusiasts. We give you the real scoop. And Dysonman actually worked for them, so he knows more than any salesman or repair shop guy would. They have not changed at all, gotten worse perhaps.

You bought a new Riccar vacuum. Said new vacuum is made in Hong Kong by a 3rd party and has a former reputable brand's name slapped onto the badge-engineered generic mold to trick consumers that they are buying a quality product. Said product promptly fails over the most basic of tasks. You are told by the company that they can't fix it even though it costs over $1,500, that should tell you everything you need to know. Go to another brand that's good and reliable. For less money you could actually buy a brand new Kirby and have over 20 years of compatible parts on standby!

I think the real reason is you are dead-set on Riccar for some reason (maybe from the vacuumcleaners subreddit on Reddit perhaps - they love Riccar there), got the Riccar you wanted, it promptly self-destructed (as they do), and now you have no Riccar, but you are struggling to process how Riccar could have ever betrayed you. And then you are asking us how you can make this vacuum work. It's not going to work. It's kaput. What I suspect happened is the motor could not cope with the new ultra plush carpets coming out and it overheated and went kaboom, or the microswitches that tell the vacuum when its seated or reclined shorted out and are going wonky. Could even be wires pinched in the neck of the vacuum. It's a dice roll what myriad of things could be wrong during assembly.

The only people you are going to see with Riccars is maybe senior citizens, or a commercial business. I rarely ever see used Riccars and I am all over 3 different auction sites frequently. People bin them, or they just never show up used, or nobody is really buying them, idk. Every now and then I see the odd 1990s or early 2000s model.

I only have one Riccar in my collection, and it was the first or second model they ever made when they first started the company, and it only works because it was made by Panasonic, haha

I agree about the plush carpet problem. I have old 8mm thick cut pile carpet that is now about 4mm thick from trampling and lots of vacuums manage to struggle on that!

centralsweeper63 said:

I agree about the plush carpet problem. I have old 8mm thick cut pile carpet that is now about 4mm thick from trampling and lots of vacuums manage to struggle on that!

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Yeah it's become a very common issue that people never get told when they buy carpets. It only came about starting through....2018? 2019? It's a really recent thing. The non-breathable backing and thick fibers create an airlock that just totally stops the vacuum cleaner dead in its tracks.

My uncle has 16mm plush carpet. He got a Beam central vac in the 2000s. It had the Wessel Werk RD272. It stuck like nothing else I have ever tried. He made a new floor tool out of stainless steel. Works great now. Cleans better on every type of carpet too!