NEATO BOTVAC D5 LONG TERM OWNER REVIEW PLUS A DETAILED DISASSEMBLY REPAIR OF A D7. WATCH AND REPAIR!

[@Rogueshoten]

This teardown/repair video is equally applicable to a D6; I just took care of mine and could see no difference in either the process or any of the internal components. Awesome video...thank you!

[@MR_Garage]

Indeed - I should have done a better job on the title! Will change it up. They are all pretty close to the same.

[@CasusBelli1000]

Thank you very much from Cyprus. Side brush in operation again. Lithium grease and break cleaner did the job fine. All the best.

[@QwertyQwerty-zx6jb]

Perfect and true Review !!! I have same experience after 2 years of D7. When works is D7 perfect, after 1.5 years started be a lot of time broken. I will not purchase it again.

[@MR_Garage]

Well, considering our household never got a vacuum to work longer than a year... I would say more than 2 years is pretty good for a device considering it does 10x more work than myself HAH!

[@stevieg123456]

Great video and thanks. I will definitely use this as a reference point for my upcoming repair job. My D5 (Botty) will be 4 years old in December. Apart from a number of replacement filters (around a dozen or so) a few side brushes, a battery and a main beater brush, Botty has performed brilliantly, however I think I now have a failed drop sensor. Initially the problem was intermittent and I thought it was down to bright sunlight reflecting off my white ceramic floor tiles, sometimes confusing Botty into suspending cleaning, however the fault has quickly progressed and Botty is now refusing to clean beyond the area of a single 60cm x 60cm tile. It seems to think that the dark grey grout between the tiles is a drop. As a temporary solution I’ve taped a small square of white paper over the affected sensor aperture which is fooling the drop sensor and is at least giving me some respite whilst I am waiting for an eBay delivery of a replacement drop sensor and new belts (may as well replace the side brush and LiDAR belts whilst the hood is up). Have you any previous experience or advice as to how I go about replacing a drop sensor? Is it a push-fit or do I need to wave a soldering iron around?

[@MR_Garage]

That is one part I have not pulled out for replacement! Never had one fail. Very interesting. Keep us posted on your findings. Most all neato sensors are on little individual PCB's so I assume it will be a push-fit board since they are not a part of the main board.

[@stevieg123456]

@@MR_Garage I managed to find a replacement drop sensor on eBay and successfully carried out the repair and my Botvac is now working properly once again. Being on the motorised side of the Botvac the drop sensor was easy to get to. The drop sensor is built onto a very small PCB with a push fit connector so very easy to replace. Changed the LIDAR and side brush belts at the same time with the help of your video. Thanks.

[@piNotEquals3]

For the side brush belt I used a 25 x 2 mm seal. Works fine.

[@shokasuya220]

I took apart my botvac connected after watching this guided video, very useful. I replaced my o ring with a new set of assorted oring set from amazon. Unfortunately the ones I bought were slightly smaller , tighter but it felt like a good fit. However after putting it all together it still didn't spin. I may have to replace the motor assembly. At least I know how to pull it apart now. Still a pain though!

[@jimbeama]

Another Jetsons fan? Rosie is my D5's name as well. I 100% agree with your review of the D5. It's awesome to have our floors always clean even when working outside the home. I considered what it would cost to have someone vacuum my house every day and saw that it pays for itself in only a couple months, even if I was paying a teenager $10 per day to do the job. Still running after 3.5 years.

[@MR_Garage]

Indeed! Some days it feels like we are living in the Jetson's age, some days like the stone age. But hey - love my botvac!

[@lindasaylor9750]

Rosie is my robat as well lol

[@MirkoGaleasso]

Thanks a lot for this video. The side brush of my D7 was dead but following your detailed instruction it was easy to repair it.💪🔝 Thanks for sharing.

[@annitociullo443]

Grazie per l'aiuto ho riparato senza problemi la trasmissione della spazzola del mio NEATO D7. Al video ho attivato i sottotitoli in italiano e seguito le istruzioni.

[@MR_Garage]

Happy to help! The biggest thank you we can get are likes and a subscription to the channel - those go a long ways for our tiny space on youtube!

[@buffalo2926]

He''s 100% right..buy the extended warranty. In 1.5 years have sent the D7 twice.

[@billhaley8873]

Excellent video. I have 3 D3s to cover my house and bought extended warranties as well. My oldest one just had a laser error and I tried the spin the turret and it spins freely so I used your video and another to take it apart hoping belt was broke but it’s not so it’s going in for repair. BTW a tip I saw on saving filters is to put a single layer of toilet paper on the face of the filter and throw that away after each vacuum cycle. I do and have never replaced a filter.

[@MR_Garage]

Thanks Bill! And good advice. We'll give that a shot

[@paulhanks3341]

Same story with my D5, interesting that it is around the same time. I like the design but the reliability of Neato products has a lot to be desired, next one is going to be the Roomba i7+

[@matt_waddy]

I bought one D7 and love how well it works so far. I was considering a second one for the other floor of my house instead of just a charging base, but now I'm second-guessing that purchase. It seems they have a lot of problems...

[@MR_Garage]

They do well, but Neato IMO has never gotten the whole house mapping perfect. Mine always drops the map or eventually has issues with the mapping. Even with the base locked in place on the floor and nothing that can be changed in front of it, still has issues. Otherwise, they are worth every penny for the amount of work they handle!

[@chichojo]

I also have the same problem. This thing can't hold the mapping of the house. Also the lidar got stuck after less than a year in my small apartment. I used to have a "dumb" roomba but way more smarter than this Neato.

Really great video. Helped me localize the root cause of the bad sounding d7 I have.

[@tombjornebark]

Thank you, thank you x100 Saved me so much time. Found that my original o-ring had totally snapped off. Had no o-ring so one of my daughters head bands did the trick, now it spins an im ordering a proper o-ring!

[@paolomv1936]

Thank you very much from ROME, Italy.

[@LunaticWithALicense]

Got our d7 botvac back at around the same time as you. only looking this up cuz I'm curious to see if I can clean the motor and remove hair from the internal mechanisms. My robot has lasted this whole time I never bought new filters for it. I only ever cleaned the old filters that came with it and use them over and over. Botvac still works just fine.

[@danielbjohnson]

Thank you very much, this let me fix my neato in 20 minutes, I forgot to buy the grease, so I am guessing I will be doing this again soon. I bought those long security torx you recommended too, and that was super easy. Not very good quality control, because at least two of them don't have the security indent. Oh well.

[@justinbailey6515]

Thanks for the honest review. BTW, most visa and MasterCard credit cards will double a manufacturer's warranty up to a year without additional costs.

[@MR_Garage]

A good thing to know!

[@mrhurst442]

great video and thank you for adding the links

[@MR_Garage]

No problem 👍

[@marcdobin]

Thanks for this. Side brush back in business.

[@emirabal]

Was able to take it apart and push a dent in the housing that seemed to stop the sensor from rotating - laptop fell on it.

[@Majski]

Thank you so much! My dad and I was able to fix a problem with the lidar drive belt that has plagued him for months

[@MR_Garage]

Awesome to hear!

[@MyN0N4M3]

This saved me so much time, thank you for this great vid!

[@MR_Garage]

Glad it helped!

[@linemn6]

Very thorough...ty for the great instructions

[@MR_Garage]

You are so welcome!

[@subwarpspeed]

I see you have lots of electronic equipment, you haven't tested what the diagnostic pins are? By just removing the front pumper 4 pins gets exposed. The circuit board doesn't seem to tell what it does but stands to reason it's a service/diagnostic port for service centers to hook into instead of the micro-usb in the dustbin compartment (used for firmware upgrades on a usb flash memory, if not done in app, so I doubt it provides diagnostic data). I have a D3 that has less than 10 hours on it over a few years (yeah, never got my home in order for it, but now I'm mowing...). But it has has stopped booting all the way. Both LEDs (I don't have the wifi and battery led on the other side) blinking like it's starting, then one turns solid green and after a while it turns off. After that it will not boot unless battery is pulled. Never get the chime from it and pressing the side bumper together with the button for a complete reset (so a WiFi hotspot should appear) doesn't take effect. Couldn't see any obvious damage (capacitors) on the circuit board and no loose cables. So I was hoping someone have figured out what out the diagnostic port. Googling mostly gives for older Neato models where people seemed to hack things but not for the more recent models. Battery is fine - I tested a pack from mother's D5 that had its battery charged and I used mine in the D5 later by charging it up and let it run some cleaning - no problem with the pack. As it's now I don't know what to repair so it can at best be a spare parts donor for mother's D5. A main board (not sure it is the cause) plus shipping from the US (ebay resellers) and duties would be around 2/5 the price of a brand new D4+ so it isn't an option I will try.

[@ayresc4]

Thank you for an excellent video. my one is called Mable. She decided it was holiday time a few weeks ago and would not switch on The start button seem to have got stuck down and it suddenly released itself after a couple of weeks, and now works ok but there is a bit of a grind noise coming from it any i ideas?

[@RC44E]

I'm looking at a NOS (New Old Stock) unit here. I was interested in it. As I like the full front rotator brush. But, I have read many complaints on the D7, like dropping the map. So I'm hesitant.

[@redkiosk]

just bought a new old stock D3 to replace my XV-11 which still runs after 7 years! I did have to send it in once for replacement but had extended warranty but honestly aside from that and one battery replacement I have had no issues for 7 years. (Until Recently) BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH ANY ROBOT VAC!!! My Xv-11 doesn't find all of my rooms anymore- after cleaning a couple rooms it skips the rest and thinks its done. I was going to pitch it but if I can repair it and use as a backup that would be great. Any advice?

[@HansUmhoefer]

Great video! I just replaced my side brush belt and am glad I didn't have to send it in for repair. I had a small rubber block fall out of the back area near the turret. I tipped the robot to get at a screw I dropped and the little block fell out. It's a rectangular, rubber block with the longest dimension about as long as one of the T10 screws. Any idea where it might go? I just left it out and the bot's been working fine. Just bugs me to have an extra part.

[@MR_Garage]

I think it was on the pcb as anti vibration but would have to research more. Mine fell out too and I just left it out hah!

[@HansUmhoefer]

@@MR_Garage it's the tattletale piece they use to tell if you tried to fix it yourself.

[@tomatenmagnet]

was just about to ask that question! thanks :)

[@toweri_li]

It is a piece to keep the cable harness in place. It has a slot at the very edge of the enclosure, slightly towards the back of the machine from the side brush motor. Missing it is nothing serious. Of, BTW, my "D7 Connected" vacuum is named "Fifi" (for the Wifi connection.)

[@akinummela6532]

Excellent video. Do you have similar video for right wheel replacement? My Neato got wet and after that event right wheel stopped working, not sure if that's engine or somewhere else like sensors or logic board. Anyhow, would be nice to check wheel first.

[@MR_Garage]

I do not at this time, maybe in a future video

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Lol, you named yours Rosie too? Guess we both grew up with the same cartoons. 😂

[@petercornish5451]

This is a fabulous video that has helped me take apart my D10. I have the side brush problem but also had problems with the motor driven wheels as the D10 has trouble turning left so I think there may be a problem with the right wheel. Before I buy another wheel I want to swap them to confirm the problem. I managed to take everything apart but didn't take a picture of all the wired connections before I removed them. Do you have a close up picture of the connections around the laser or know where I could find one so I can re-assemble? I so appreciate the detail you included in the video but of course you didn't need to cover the area I am working on.

[@petercornish5451]

In particular there are two springs in this area that popped out and I am not sure where to place them when I reassemble. Also when the machine is in normal position (brush down) and I am looking at it with laser at the back, there is a circular part labeled (8015W) connected to the board and I don't know where to place that during re-assembly. I know I am asking for a lot so I will take what I can get. Thanks

[@petercornish5451]

I am super sorry but I have a D7 NOT a D10

[@MR_Garage]

Only springs I know of are on the bumper sensors or wheels?

[@petercornish5451]

@@MR_Garage The springs I am targeting are this ones on the wheels. I can send you photos and specific descriptions of the springs and connections to help. If you send me an email to "[e-mail]" I can send to you. Thanks

[@colouny]

Good Video, helpful. Thanks for sharing this. One more thing, change the font in future videos, its kinda annoying, maybe its only for me, but thought would say Cheers.

[@thomashoffmann9349]

Mr. Garage - fantastic video, thank you! I am planning to repair mine rather than fork out for a new one. I need to replace the lidar belt and the side brush belt - but being in Australia, it seems to be difficult to get these from Amazon / eBay quickly. Is there any chance you'd have the specs for length and thickness of the lidar and side brush O-rings? Maybe I can pick something up from the hardware store?

[@MR_Garage]

Will check if I have some more at the office and measure for you

[@thomashoffmann9349]

Mr. Garage - thanks! That would be greatly appreciated :)

[@MR_Garage]

Small o-ring is right at 24mm ID. Thickness is 1.73mm. Larger one is around 78mm ID and thickness is 1.73mm. I am sure you could go +/- a bit on either and still be OK.

[@mariogarbey8933]

Thank you for the helpful video, I was able to repair my Neato D5 side brush .

[@MR_Garage]

Glad it helped!

[@radcpuman]

I took my Botvac Connected apart thinking I could repair it in the same way. The main board on it goes all the way across the front of the device. I was thought there was in issue with the brush belt part because it was making a lot of noise. It turns out I failed to notice that the brush was actually bent until I took the brush belt assembly apart and found it to be perfectly fine. Unfortunately when I put it back together and powered it on the buttons on the top just blink once and it never boots up.

[@MR_Garage]

Sorry to hear that, sounds like something is not connected properly or pinched. Only one way to know, keep trying!

[@radcpuman]

@@MR_Garage I will, but in the mean time I ordered a D7. I was hoping Neato would release a self emptying version but doesn't look like the new D10,D9,D8 will have that. The D7 is $250 off the original price so looking forward to trying it out. I also have a D80 that I purchased in March of 2016. It is on its 3rd battery but still cleans the upstairs of my house once a week.

[@mooresw]

I need help, i tried to repair my battery and now eith a new battery it wont work my repaired battery didnt work so now i have orange lamp on battery after starting up melody do you have any way to go tip? I have tried to restart soft and hard and out with battery and diffrent battery but doesnt want to work. Is there a way to do like faktory reset or pins on board to do rst? Or to read the fault code? Br.

[@borolu3353]

How big is the belt? I was thinking about buying O-rings at a local shop and replac the old one

[@peterhuegli7181]

Thanks for this video. I have several problems with my d7 the first is the issue with the side brush. the main reason for me to attempt a repair on this robot is the fact that I was getting a error 4000. when I opened it up I found there were 2 small rubber blocks that fell out and I do not know where they go. have you seen these and if so where do they go?

[@toweri_li]

It is a rigid foam piece to keep the cable harness in place. It has a slot at the very edge of the enclosure, slightly towards the back of the machine from the side brush motor. Missing it is nothing serious.

[@nandotemplo]

Hi! My D3 has had the error "Reboot Me - hw_fail". I live away from any technical support area, so I have no idea how to fix it. Can you help me in any way? I opened it but there doesn't seem to be any clear problem with it so far (all I have is a multimeter). Thank you!

[@MR_Garage]

Check out the neato robotics facebook group. facebook.com/groups/351586185267303/ Have you tried pulling the battery and doing a hard reset?

[@codotec]

Thank you sooooooooo much, it was really very useful to me. Just perfect ;-)

[@lillypina2421]

Im pretty sure my dog walked past my d7 and lifted his leg to it and then it started acting wonky. How can see if there is water damage under the power button?

[@MR_Garage]

Oh no! HAHAHA. I have had one run straight though a pile. I feel ya. You would need to take it apart as I did. Remove the main circuit board and you can actually scrub with distilled water and a clean scrub brush. Then, dry the circuit board with compressed air and let sit with a fan blowing on it for an hour or so just to make sure.

[@pat9604]

Do all Neato Vacs have the spinny sidebrush? My daughter gave me hers. It didn't have one. Also, the dust bin keeps popping open when it moves over grout part of tiles. Any recs?

[@MR_Garage]

The D3 did not have a side brush. Make sure there is no dust or dirt under the bin that is putting pressure on it. Turn it upside down and shake it out / clean inside the compartment. If totally clean, I have not observed one that popped up so I am not sure what would cause it.

[@yolandamontufar6866]

Please I think you are an expert, I live in Ecuador, and by error my robot aspirated water and now, it start to clean and after 13 seconds stops and show de botton "House clean" in red. Thats all. In my country there are not technical support. I am so sad What can I do.....I am ready to open my robot, but I need a guide. What could be the problem.....?? Help me please

[@MR_Garage]

Hey Yolanda, Which model botvac is this? I assume Neato? The vac would need to be opened up. I assume dirty water somehow got onto one of the circuit boards as I have seen this before. Remove the board with corrosion or water on it and use DI or Distilled water and a scrub brush to clean the board. If components were damaged, not much can be done. If corrosion comes off and board looks OK there is a chance it will still work. Dry with compressed air and re-install. Check the main large board and also the board under the lidar (spinny dome).

[@djacirpalaciojr7642]

Thank you for the video. Do you know the size of the torx bit tool used to open the screws?

[@MR_Garage]

Hello, it is a T10. You can buy it in this set www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6EB035/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@djacirjr2877]

@@MR_Garage Ty

[@conduit242]

I would love to know what the hell the "four beeps" means or how it spontaneously fails doing nothing more than sitting on the floor.

[@conduit242]

And the moment I reinstalled the app, it died. Hmm.

[@MR_Garage]

Usually means the rotating lidar turret is stuck. Pop off the cover and spin clockwise / counterclockwise a few times and see if it frees up. Power on and watch to see if it rotates.

[@frustin]

Repair starts at 5:40

[@lindasaylor9750]

I am struggling to replace one of the drive wheels. Can you give me any insight into how to remove the cover over the wheel? I have it torn down pretty far, but am now stuck!

[@MR_Garage]

I have not replaced a drive wheel yet on any of mine. Maybe someone else will see this and chime in!

[@akinummela6532]

Hi Linda, did you mange this? I have same problem with my D7 and wheel change seems to be bit complicated

[@alesgaluska3187]

PERFECT !!!

[@moralmogi9800]

hey dear friend, i hope you may help me, i had replace a new battery in the neato d5 but the roobot not defined the new battery- i still get an error message in the app "having a trouble an unexpeceted error occus. please try again later"- what can i do to fix it?

[@MR_Garage]

Hello, The D5 worked perfectly fine before replacing the battery? Or did you replace the battery hoping it would resolve a previous issue?

[@TheNewports]

HELP!!. we have vinyl plank flooring all throughout the house. The dog had an accident and I didn't realize the D7 went through the pee. It is wet inside. what do I do??

[@MR_Garage]

Toss the filter, use soap and water inside the dust bin area... take apart the brush and wash that too. Basically wash or wipe down any surface you can get to. If the fan area and exhaust are wet, really needs a major dissasembly to clean it out.

[@dalehunter8265]

@@MR_Garage mine aborbed pee puddle too. Just stopped working. Battery full but app just reads "something wrong" reset etc....no dice. Opened it up to let it dry out. Think it's the vacuum motor?

[@happy2watchu]

Hair gets caught in drive side of brush. How do you clean that out? It requires a tear down on underside. Also, how do you access back wheels to get rid of pet hair in axel

[@MR_Garage]

Check out this video. Shows how to remove the side of the brush to get hair out. Back wheels I have never had a pet-hair prob with. Do you mean the rollers or drive wheels? kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4iliZ9uZ5WMqMU

[@happy2watchu]

@@MR_Garage drive side of beater bar. Not side you can pull end off. Small hex side

[@happy2watchu]

It requires taking cover off

[@svenkateswaran7516]

How do you replace the drop sensors???

[@MR_Garage]

Have to take it down in detail. They are on separate little circuit boards with plug in cables. Easy to change.

[@ef6820]

Thank you!!!!

[@jonlindberg5043]

Do you have a recommendation for LIDAR motor replacement on D5?

[@MR_Garage]

I have never had one fully fail. Ebay usually has a lot of parts listed

[@mikegallagher6322]

Can you recommend a replacement for the laser turret belt thanks

[@MR_Garage]

I feel they are WAY overpriced, but... they do last longer than any I have used so far. www.amazon.com/Botvac-Robotic-Vacuum-Sensor-Compatible/dp/B079J6F4LQ/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/139-3967300-3797020?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079J6F4LQ&pd_rd_r=fecba1c3-b78f-41f5-9886-2370158ec3f1&pd_rd_w=rz703&pd_rd_wg=WDVyT&pf_rd_p=4e3f7fc3-00c8-46a6-a4db-8457e6319578&pf_rd_r=PMXR5Z1BSC9W7XVRX678&psc=1&refRID=PMXR5Z1BSC9W7XVRX678

[@mikegallagher6322]

Mr. Garage thank you

[@stefanolschewski]

We did have 3 of them, now the 4th. They do all die after 2 yrs 2 to 2yrs 6. Coincidence? Do not think so.. but great devices, until Neato decides to kill them..

[@HorsepowerHouse]

The newer Neatos have "tamper-proof" torx screws. So you have to have that type of tool to remove them. So dumb.

[@MR_Garage]

The set I list in the video description works for the security type and is thin enough to get down inside the thin tubes.

[@funkantigo1995]

do you have any contact, or social media? i would like your help to fix my d7.