Zodiac V3 4WD

15 Years they say, more like just a few – They say it can last 15 years, but its honestly not worth the money and your lucky to just get a few years, just past the warranty. Overall two stars by 66 people, should have looked at the reviews rather than listen to the salesman Show details

Zodiac Vortex 3 Pool Cleaner - Works Well – I bought mine in 2012 and to date it has worked very well without any issues. I waited a few years before posting this review to get an accurate picture on performance. It does a decent job of cleaning the pool although it does miss some spots occasionally. Regardless, it works well enough that I only rarely have to vacuum the pool (mostly if… Read more ·  1

there has been strong winds resulting in lots of leafs blown into my pool) so its doing what I purchased it for. Its easy to use and clean. I store it in a cabana and also my pool is chorine (i.e., not salt in case that makes a difference). Unfortunate to hear many of the reviews about failed motors but in my case its been holding up well for 6 years.

Zodia v3 Robotic pool cleaner – I bought mine 3yrs ago and have had no issues with it at all. I use it very regularly due to tree and have had no issues at all. I have forgotton to retrieve it from the pool quite a bit but when I do it goes in a shed. Bit of a rinse every now and then. The onnly thing I have is very faded blue plastic but that will be me forgetting to retrieve. I am also up for a new filter cannister.  Show details ·  1

Awesome little cleaner – The pool is much cleaner now that I have this little wonder. It is a great cleaner... I have purchased a cleaner before and it didn't last very long and didn't clean as well as this one. The holder for the leaves and sand is bigger. Very happy with this purchase  Show details ·  1

Motor is not designed to last - unit is expensive and a terrible disgm – Too.costly.and.the.main.motor.dies. Was just inside warranty, but.no.receipt. Whole unt now useless. The motor power amd design is not properly scaled for the work the unit has to do. Terribly bad design. Show details

Very concerned - a lot of money and appears to have a common problem - Can't afford to fix! Pension – We bought a Zodiac V3 Mk2 forward drive robotic cleaner from our local pool shop on the 2 February 2016. That is what the receipt says but we only started to use it a month laters. In March this year 2018 it just stopped going up the walls. We were told it was our pool, we scrubbed the walls and tried so many different things but nothing… Read more

worked. Then in October it just died. It didn't do anything. We were devastated when I took it into the shop and they then said oh, zodiac won't do anything if your out of warranty. Hang on I have spent since March (one month past the warranty) to try to get it to work and now it is still only 2 and a half years old and I have been told it will be around $500 plus in parts and more in labour. My pool man said it would be no use to phone zodiac as they will just say a blank no. Here is the thing, if I had known of this fault (which appears quite common) would I have purchased the product? The answer is no. Has the product been fit for the purpose and does what it says. The answer is no. Have I been mislead in their advertising? The answer is yes. Has the product deteriorated to the extent that it is faded, looks extremely sad and really not worthy of the money for the time of the product use? The answer is yes. Zodiac, may I draw your attention to Australian Consumer Law and all these are issues. The cost of the product classes it as a 'major purchase' and it is then worthy of a manufacturer that will stand by their product and not just reject. It should have been swapped over. My husband is disabled with dementia and I am ill and for me to now try and clean our pool which is magnesium (for health reasons) is impossible. My husband used to use the pool everyday and now he can't. He is a heart patient as well and this is a very important part of his palliative care. Shame on you Zodiac. You have left us out of pocket after it took us so long to save for something we thoughts was the top of the line. Shame! I have the date of purchase and the pool shop has the record of the purchase so there is no disputing that. Pity that the retailer just says outright that Zodiac don't honour the Australian Consumer Law. That's a first for me.

Biggest Waste of Money – Don't waste your time and money on this machine. We bought this robotic cleaner as we thought that Zodiac was a reputable brand. After 3 1/2 years the motor block has gone on the machine which after reading all these reviews seems to be a common problem. Our unit did not receive much use and was stored in a shed so was well looked after. When… Read more

contacting Zodiac for troubleshooting advice I was told they would have to look at it and to take it to my nearest pool shop. I arrive at the pool shop to be advised that I need to pay Zodiac $70 for them to look at it and $25 courier fees (total $95) something Zodiac didn't inform me of. Then I get a call to tell me it will cost $846 to repair the unit. What a joke it cost $1500 to purchase and has only lasted me 3 years! They were fully aware of the issues and if they had told me it was likely to be the motor block I wouldnt have even paid to get it looked at!!! Will they refund my quote fee NO, will they warranty it NO, even though there are many complaints about the same issue. Been chasing Zodiac for 2 mths to resolve this NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER will NEVER purchase Zodiac equipment again nor recommend it.

lemon – broken down twice cost twice as much to fix and really is not good at cleaning. the cord twists so much hard to maintain and does not remove the micro film. poor quality for money and best steer clear of this type of product from this company. their other products are ok  Show details

Terrible Product - broke in no time – Buyer beware: This product worked fairly well until the motor gave out, which I see is a common problem for this model. I've had the cleaner for 3 years and used it moderately. I live in Canada, so my pool is only open for only a few months each year (May - October). In year 3, the unit's motor gave out and now it'll cost me $500 to repair it… Read more

with no guarantee that it will continue working. Will probably just buy a new robotic pool cleaner instead. Don't buy this product or any robotic cleaner from zodiac or polaris!

Terrible Product do not buy! – Motor has burnt out twice in the couple of years we have had it! Costs $450 to replace each time.Highly disappointed as we paid a lot for this cleaner only to get a poor quality product which keeps failing.All the reviews I read say that this is a common issue with the motor but Zodiac do nothing about it! Do not buy this cleaner it’s a total waste of money!  Show details

Unreliable – I bought this unit a few years ago. I work away so it never got used much at all! The motor burnt out on the right hand side and just went in circles. A new motor block costs $450(which I am not willing to waste). The motor that had burnt out cost me $10. A cheap plastic gear had rounded off and prob only costs about 20c but you can’t get ahold of… Read more

this part. If they gave access to these parts these problems could be often fixed I’d say for approx $20 of parts instead of charging $450 for a whole new block. The cost of the unit and then the costs of repairs is not worth it at all when there is other more reliable brands out there. This problem seems to be the most common fault too! You would think if they cared about putting out a good product these issues would be addressed and improved. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Zodiac Z3 left wheels stopped working – After 3.5 years of working well, this years first cleaning saw the left wheels not working. The unit stops after reaching a wall or works for 5 minutes and spins in one direction twisting cable. Disappointing seeing the unit would have run for under 100 hours in total. Just out of warranty.  Show details

Not worth purchasing unless you dont mind replacing the motor every few years – I would not purchase one of these again, the reason being we only had it just under 1 year and the motor was replaced under warranty. We have just had the exact same issue again with the motor being burnt out after 4 years and in this time the machine was stored for 12 months when we rented a house while waiting for another to be built. I have… Read more

been informed to repair the machine will cost $800 plus.

These cleaners are obviously not made to last and in its life it has had casual use and stored correctly under cover when not in use. Definitely not cost effective.

Poor quality - Would recommend to Consider other options – I purchase this product in February 2014. I guess it was doing a decent job while working. It has about 300 hours on the clock and has stopped working and it seems that the motor need replacement. Looking at few customers reviews here it seems that this is a common issue and that the likely life of the motor is around 2 or 3 years. The motor… Read more

cost about $450/500. To consider when weighing your options.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend the product.

Don't buy this – This was a great product whilst it worked. It was six weeks out of warranty when it broke. The motor block needs to be replaced. Even though Zodiac knows about the motor block problems, they have taken over a month to tell me that they won't warranty it. It has been stored indoors and used about once a month. I would not recommend spending money on this. I will be contacting consumer affairs.  Show details

Not fit for purpose – Cleaner was great when it worked. Then around 2.5 years in, it stopped working. $640 for repairs for an already expensive bit of kit. Block needs replacing, new hose needed. Not worth the cost of repairs. Not sure how long before the block motor dies again. Would be good if it wasnt so unreliable and expensive to fix.  Show details

Don't buy this rubbish – Problems from early days and had to send it back to be fixed within a year. They sent it back unfixed and physically damaged so I had to send it back again and was told the physical damage was the fault of the courier (that they provided) and they could not do anything about that. Generally poor at cleaning the walls of tiled pool and lead… Read more

tangled. It did pick up loose leaves and grit ok to be fair. After 3 years and water leaked into the motor and burnt it out. Zodiac gave me the polite 2 finger reply when I suggested this was not good enough considering I have a small rectangular tiled pool (25,000 litres) and never left the cleaner in the pool after it finished. This product is a complete waste of money.

the worst product I have ever purchased – My Zodiac V3 4WD stopped working after 3 years. Initially one of the wheels stopped working and it would go around in circles. Shortly after that it stopped working altogether. I contacted the "customer service" number and was told that they could not help as it was out of warranty. I was told to speak to the local dealer. He told me it was… Read more

probably going to cost about $500 to repair it (either gears or motor or both). I have decided not to waste any more money on this piece of garbage. The purchase price was $1000 and it lasted 3 years, which means that this would be the worst product I have ever purchased in my 54 years of life.

Terrible – Terrible product, motor has broken after 3 years of minimal use. This product costs a lot of money! It should last longer than this! I am in the process of a complaint with consumer rights! They also think it should last longer, others should do the same.  Show details

Dont buy since known and costly motor block issues are common – These are terrible and totally overpriced. Within 2 years ours was buggered even after only using once a month in the warm months so possibly only 15 hours of working life... turns out it was the motor block. Calling zodiac and was told its a common problem & motor block had a NEW VERSION... this is AGREEING that the original version was poor… Read more

quality.

Unfortunately for me i could only find the original documentation and not the ticket RECEIPT (since we had built a house and had thousands of receipts!) so zodiac rejected any warranty. They would not 'look up' my serial number or offer any assistance whatsoever... Of course i found the full receipt 6 months later!!! > but was told again "sorry no warranty from Zodiac"

So this piece of expensive garbage sits there and i will have to throw it out one day ......once i can get myself past the expense and aggravation this thing has caused.

Terrible quality and terrible service.

Needless to say i wont be buying Zodiac gear again.

good when working – Loved this machine when new as it handled gum leaves etc very well. Unfortunately it now has come up with an error10 fault for the 2nd time & is out of warranty. The last repair under warranty was a pain as customer service was poor to say the least. The number of people complaining about motor block issues makes me think it is not worth spending hundreds to repair & certainly doesn't give me confidence in the brand for any future purchases.  Show details

second failure – As [name removed] has detailed, our cleaner was purchased similar time November 2013, failed within the warranty period and same thing has occurred within another 2 years. seriously, you pay a fortune for them, surely they are waterproof and you'd expect to get more than 2 years use from them. we has a KK Kadet for years and thought we'd try… Read more

something different. we have purchased another KK unit and that taps away happily, we recommended it for the first 18 months or so but won't be recommending them now.

Great product when its working – I too purchased a Zodiac V3 4WD in September 2013 it ran great until it failed under warranty in 2015 ! Zodiac came and replaced the motor block and it was back up and running..... until now the replacement motor block has now failed also with only one side working, it now spins in circles winding up the cable. After purchasing a expensive… Read more

Branded pool cleaner I assumed that I would be in for many many years of trouble free pool cleaning. Unfortunately for me this is not the case.

Now to have the same part fail with almost the same time frame as the original, leads me to believe there is an inherent fault with this motor block. I now read here that I am not alone with issues regarding the V3 4wd.

I hope Zodiac stands behind there product and will make the effort to repair this item. As a consumer I believe that we all expect much more longevity out of an item that is from a trusted brand with such a high purchase price.

I have emailed Zodiac Today and I would expect a response from them soon.

One season and it fallen to pieces – First off I which I had found this site before I purchased. First problem the cable, tangles all the time, hopeless and frustrating as the cleaners motor is not strong enough to pull the cable straight. 2nd I'm now on my second filter bag after the first one disintegrated. 3rd the wheel just completely broke off, it is like the plastic has faded and gone all brittle. maybe it is not made for NZ sunshine.  Show details

1yr out of warranty and stopped working. Error code 3 – Loved my V3 4WD right up until yesterday when it wouldn't start and was reporting "Error code 3". I followed all of the troubleshooting recommendations and no luck. Rang Zodiac customer service today and after being on hold for 45mins, was told there was nothing they could do, as my cleaner is 1yr out of warranty. I asked if 3yrs was a typical… Read more

lifespan for these expensive machines (!?!) and got the same response and was "invited" to send an email. Looks like I'll have to take it to my local pool shop for them to send away for repair and live with a dirty pool right in the middle of Summer. Very disappointing product & service by Zodiac. I've been recommending these to all my friends & family (a few of whom have purchased) but will certainly now be informing them otherwise!

Robotic cleaner v3 has broken down after 2.5 year's – The first year we had no major problems although it did not clean so well. The first breakdown happened after one year and was repaired. Now it starts blinking from level 1 to level 2 and doesn't move. Unsure about repair cost? I have lost trust in Zodiac products. A very disappointed customer.  Show details

Expensive and completely unreliable, short service life – I purchased this cleaner new just over 3 1/2 years ago. within 3 months the motor block required replacement, some twelve months later the controller required replacement and now the cleaner fails to work at all. I would expect that after outlaying more than $1400 on a piece of equipment that is only used for a small domestic pool the service life… Read more

would be in the region of 10 years at least, after all, it's not groundbreaking technology. Never again would I purchase a Zodiac product, as sadly, I have no faith in their quality control whatsoever.

Never buy it again – Not happy with it after 1 year with it. It was good in the beginning and now it keeps landing upside down and stopping. The cable gets tangled and restricts it going everywhere. The zodiac repairs bloke came out and seen what's going on and said I had to run out the cable differently. He did it his way and within 10 minutes of him doing it, it was tangled again. It didn't show him though how it ends up upside down, which I was spewing  Show details

Perfect until out of warranty – My zodiac V3 machine cleaned perfectly until now that it's out of warranty. This is my second zodiac product I have purchased but now that I've spoken to customer service they told me do this do that. We can't do anything because if the warranty so you will have to take it back to where you lurched it. Sorry never again.  Show details

Was good but now it's an anchor – When working it's great, when error 10 pops up which is every minute now its an anchor. I have read the other reviews regarding this issue, it certainly is a common fault with this unit. So what happens now as it's out of warranty ? Can I get some advise from Zodiac or someone who an help thanks  Show details

Zodiac V4 Robotic 4WD – Excellent product - it has provided faultless service until today when it stopped working with Error Code 02 - still under warranty so hoping it will be quickly repaired by taking it back to my local Swimart Dealer. Despite this set-back, this product has been very reliable and cleaned our 50000 litre pool without issue.  Show details ·  2

Love the zodiac v3 – Love this pool cleaner it has worked every time not a problem at all. My husband has had pools all his life and did not want another one due to the upkeep, however since we have had the Zodiac it has been effortless. Our pool is always clean and the zodiac is easy to use and needs very little maintenance. Love it  Show details