Dyson clutch lifespan

[niclonnic]

I have an interesting tidbit to share.

At my transition program, one of my teachers owns a Dyson DC14 All Floors. She told me she had to take it into the vacuum repair shop earlier this week.

Just today, she said that the floor clutch needs to be changed! Apparently, the vacuum repair shop said that after 5 years, Dyson clutches go bad. The repair bill was $103. In my experience, I would say otherwise. My mom's Dyson DC07 Animal is 7 years old and its clutch hasn't gone bad yet!

I understand that the purpose of the clutch is to allow the brush bar to be shut off for vacuuming bare floors. In addition, if anything gets caught in the brush bar, the clutch will make a LOUD grinding noise to prevent belt breakage.

So what are your experiences with Dyson vacuums that have clutches (DC07, DC14, DC33 etc.)? Have they lasted at least 5 years?

 

[singingrainbow]

The thing about dyson clutches is that alot of vac shops (in my experience) won't bother to repair them and will just replace them outright. At the store I work for however we often rebuild the clutches with new belts, etc (on out of warranty machines of course). In fact, I have several dysons with clutches many of which are almost ten years old and they still work fine, many have just had a new beld or two. Granted, they are a bit of a pain to work on but it can be done.


 


Scott

 

[parwaz786]

I have such old Dysons with clutches, DC04/07/14 and they didn't really need a clutch belt change except fr ne dc04. I had loads and they work fine.

 

[sebo_fan]

Ive seen so many DC07s with my friends (of those who own them) where the clutches go and that grinding noise is very apparent. It all comes down to usage; if average owner keeps vacuuming rugs with tassles that get caught in the brush bar plus usage from younger members of the household that don't really know how to vacuum, the result is a grinding Dyson clutch.

Spare a thought Tayyab, that you are NOT that average Dyson owner; you are a Dyson fan snd Dyson owner combined, so the care you put into your machines would be far and away from what is termed as "average use."

 

[parwaz786]

No I mean I bought mine used and have still had good clutches in them

 

[niclonnic]

Sebo_fan

I agree with you. Another factor that could lead to the clutch wearing out is a tangled brush bar. If you have pets or family members with long hair, the VERY slender brush bar will have to be untangled after every use. Simply take a coin, undo the 3 fasteners on the bottom and lift off the soleplate. Use scissors to cut the hair, then pull it off and throw it away. Replace the soleplate, tighten the 3 fasteners and you're good to go!

When I had my DC07, I was all over that, being the vacuum nerd that I am.

 

[sebo_fan]

I noticed many years ago when the DC07 was still around that those very coin locks are ones in which they get damaged very easily. So many repairers who don't have a clue what they are doing attack them with flat head screw drivers that end up twisting the plastic dial and breaking them off to get into the brush roll.

 

[niclonnic]

Well

That is completely dumb! Using a flathead screwdriver will just strip the fasteners!

Good thing I'm smart (I wear glasses BTW), as I always follow the directions in the manual to maintain my machines, so they will truly last for years to come.

 

[parwaz786]

I seen lots of Dyson uprights with that problem aswell. So annoying to take the soleplate off

 

[niclonnic]

True

That can be annoying, especially if you don't have a chunk of change nearby. I, myself, prefer to use a quarter to take the soleplate off. It can be even more annoying to put the soleplate back on, as you have to hook the front end onto the front edge just right. You have to make sure that both ends are aligned with the bottom. I've had trouble with that on some occasions.

 

[niclonnic]

Update

My teacher said that her Dyson is still in the repair shop. I wonder how hard it is to replace a Dyson clutch by yourself?

 

[parwaz786]

Its really not hard, just remove the soleplate, brushbar, brush housing and internal hose (they both pull off) then remove 3 screws for the clutch cover. Them pry off the clutch knob and un hook the belt. Then pull clutch out

Put new clutch in, replace the knob, hook the belt with a screw driver and put the clutch cover back on with the three screws. Then out the brush housing on and internal hose hack on. Then use a belt lifter tool and the brush can be out back in easily. Then soleplate back on, there's a how to video of this on youtube

 

[niclonnic]

Well

It does look very complex and time-consuming, due to the fact that you have to remove a bunch of parts.

In a few ways, Dyson is the Apple of vacuum cleaners. They have state-of-the-art industrial design, are simple to use and expensive but worth it. They are also deliberately over-engineered, so if something fails inside, good luck getting it repaired.

 

[gsheen]

Wow
After 5 years of doing dyson service I have only seen a small amount of clutches that needed replacement. My dc03 and my dc14 are all on their original clutches both are over 5 years. You can change the small belt with ease. If the big belt is really stretched then we fit a new one.

I have 10 loan units that are dc14's all of them were completely rebuilt when we trades them in New clutches the works, They do serious hard work and are often abused but their clutches are all still fine.

I find allot of vacuum shops over charge on a clutch repair to try and sell their brand of vacuum,

 

[parwaz786]

Exactly! I agree with Gareth. Dyson machines are also built to last. There are still thousands of DC01's being used today!