• Fixing the Shark Ion Robot brushroll stuck error



    The other day I noticed my Shark Ion Robot would run for a few minutes and then stop. Looking at my app, it had been doing that for awhile. The message gave an informative "Jaws brushroll got stuck while trying to clean. Remove any debris from around the brushroll."

    Easy enough, I pulled the brushroll out, but it wasn't dirty at all. I did notice that the brushroll was insanely hard to turn. I did a quick Google search and found lots of reviews indicating the Shark brushroll stuck message. Most people had called Shark, did some basic troubleshooting and were told their year old vacuum robot was dead and were offered a 30% discount on purchasing an entirely new one. Not acceptable service really.

    So I did a little part removal to see if I could see what's up. I ended up figuring it out and the Shark is working nicely now. Better yet, it was easy and I will show you what to do.

    What you will need:
    1) Knife or very small screwdriver
    2) Needle or dental pick
    3) Compressed air (you can buy the cans at many hardware stores if you don't have a compressor)
    4) Silicone lubricant (also at the hardware store)



    The first thing you'll want to do is to gently dig any dirt and hair out of the of the roller that spins. I've put a faint arrow on the picture above to show what I'm talking about. This end pulls off, but you wouldn't even have to take it off. You can work on it right on the roller. Mine was caked with dirt and pet hair. Once you've gotten all the hair and dust out that you can get with a needle or pin, hit it with some compressed air until it looks clean within the portion that rotates. Lastly, liberally spray some silicone lubricant in it and spin it with your hands until it spins freely. This will help, but odds are the next piece is what is making your vacuum stop.



    Where the roller attaches to the vacuum there is a little square piece. Pet hair can get jammed in there. Worse yet, it seems like when hair jams in there it freezes up the bearing. This square piece actually pries off with a knife or small screwdriver, it is on tight though, be warned. And be gentle, don't break it by taking out your frustrations with Shark on that little plastic piece. Work your way around the edges until it slides off.

    Once off you can see the bundle of pet hair that was stuck behind mine, causing the brushroll to be stuck. Clean out all the pet hair, and then hit it with some compressed air to clean it out even more. Lastly, tip the robot on its side and spray some silicone lubricant where the arrow is pointing to above. That will get some lubricant on the bearing. Clean the little square piece and push it back on, taking note of the tiny splines. Do another shot of silicone lubricant on the back of where the square piece meets the vacuum. Then put the roller in and do a couple of spins by hand to get the lubricant into the bearing.

    Put it all back together and you should be done, much cheaper than an entirely new robot. Now if I can just figure out the stuck front wheel message...