Losing faith in neato

[awkwardturtle]

I have two xv-21 neatos, one is several months old (worked flawlessly up until recently), the other one I bought about a month and a half ago.

The older one randomly got the wheel stuck error.. sent it in, got a new one, worked fine. My 2nd neato then got a stuck wheel shortly after getting the replacement for the first one.. sent that back. got a new one... now the last replacement I got again has the stuck wheel error.

So, in short, in about 2 months time, I've had 3 neatos give me the stuck wheel error. I love this thing when it works, but I fear it's just going to be a paperweight once the warranty is up. Any idea what keeps causing this? I'm looking in the wheels and there is absolutely nothing jamming them.. but one wheel (the left each time) just becomes more difficult to turn. Very upsetting after spending $800+ on these things

[glnc222]

binding wheel attachment screw:
Vic7767 photo http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/download/file.php?id=5579
in thread "stuck wheel problem and fix" http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16527

[vic7767]

There are now evidently two different reasons that the Neato may report the Stuck Wheel condition. One is some type of internal to the motor itself binding that can be "resolved" by lubrication of the motor axle bushings and then long runs using a battery (30 or more minutes) and reversing polarity and repeat in the other direction.

The other binding condition occurs within the wheel axle mounting and/or gear assembly and requires dis-assembly as well as re-lubrication of all moving parts, re-assemble and test. If possible test your work by measuring the amount of current that the drive motor draws when completely assembled but not installed. The motor, wheel, and gears should all spin and draw about .1 amp of current @ 14 vdc.

[awkwardturtle]

I don't have the tools or know how to do that, nor do I want to dismantle it. I just want it to work for more than 2 months without failing Neato makes such a kick-ass product, I just wish they'd hire an engineer or two devoted to solely designing these things to fail about 100x less often than they apparently do. It's just not acceptable given the cost of this thing.

[Hotcut]

I have a feeling that something like this is very high on the priorities at Neato - for you it may be an inconvinience, but for the company it is a large added cost to the units.
It may possibly be a bad batch of wheels/motors that they are using, perhaps waiting for new shipments from their own suppliers.

I am preety sure that you will get a better wheel next time - or the time after that

~Casper
PS: Owner of problem-free Neato.

[awkwardturtle]

I'm willing to give it one or two more shots before I call it quits, get a new one and sell it. The person I spoke with at Neato told me that the problem has been identified and assured me this next one will not fail due a wheel issue. Pretty tall guarantee, hopefully she wasn't blowing smoke up my ass and they really did identify the problem.

[wmaxx]

Just bought my xv-21 yesterday from Best Buy and today I get the "stuck left wheel" message. Not bad for 1 day's usage? Yesterday it worked just as it was supposed to do.
Full cleaned the unit, and checked that both wheels turned freely in both directions.
Called tech support. THey had me shut the unit down, wait 5 minutes and then put back on the charger for an hour or so to get a full charge.
THe technician says a reset will fix most issues, but if not, I can call back. We will see what we will see.
I am glad this is just a vacuum and not my car or computer!

[awkwardturtle]

The reset is kind of a bogus fix, I don't even know why they suggest that for a stuck wheel. It's a physical issue.