Review your last buy on ProductReview.com.au
Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine Wet & Dry Vacuum

Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine Wet & Dry Vacuum

 Verified
Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine Wet & Dry Vacuum
1.7

11 reviews

Positive vs Negative
0%27%73%
Product is used ?
  • Several times a week
Pet OwnerYes · No
Build Quality
5.0
Value for Money
2.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Cleaning & Maintenance
3.0
Noise Level
4.0
Battery Life
3.0
11 reviews
  • Thumbnail
  • Thumbnail
Shane
Shane SA 7 posts
  Last edited   Verified

Update: My experience has shown that buying Dyson products through a local retailer offers far better support and practical options when something goes wrong than dealing directly with Dyson. After weeks of going nowhere with Dyson Customer Resolutions, a retailer resolved the issue within hours, with no downtime. My advice: Don’t buy directly… Read more

from Dyson. Buy through a reputable retailer that will actually help when something goes wrong.

————->

Found what appears to be a cockroach/insect crushed and sealed inside the filter of my Dyson vacuum.

Dyson initially agreed to replace the filter, then told me it was out of stock for around six weeks. Their solution was to replace the entire vacuum — but only after I send mine back first, leaving me without a vacuum while I wait.

I offered several practical alternatives, including a simultaneous exchange. No flexibility.

For a premium-priced product, finding this inside the filter was bad enough. The way the issue has been handled has made the experience considerably worse.

Photos speak for themselves.

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your review. We appreciate you sharing your… Read more (+2 replies)

  • Thumbnail
Caterina
Caterina NSW 2 posts
 

I want my V15 back I had a Dyson V15 Submarine. I liked it. Then the green light on the head stopped working, and Dyson replaced it with a V16. I thought: Wow, lucky me. An upgrade! No. Just… no. Let’s start with the power button. After years of having to constantly hold the trigger (which actually gave me a lovely little callus on my right index… Read more

finger) Dyson finally fixed the problem. Brilliant! They added a proper ON/OFF button. And where did they put it? On top of the filter! So instead of pressing a button with the hand already holding the vacuum, I now have to take my other hand off whatever I’m doing and reach up to the top of the machine. It’s like designing a hairdryer with the ON/OFF button on the back of the hairdryer. But wait. It gets better. The vacuum head. The V15 had the beautiful Fluffy head: low, soft, incredibly smooth and perfect for hard floors. The V16 has… whatever this is. A pointy, chunky head. Why? Because apparently Dyson has discovered that homes contain an extraordinary number of corners and very few straight walls. When I vacuum along a perfectly straight wall, I can no longer simply push the vacuum straight towards it. No. I have to turn the head sideways. Because apparently vacuuming along a wall was a problem that required an engineering solution. And then I discovered that the new head is thicker than the old Fluffy head. So the V15 could comfortably slide underneath my pantry. The V16 cannot. Congratulations, Dyson. You have designed a newer model that can’t reach places the previous model could. “But the V16 is lighter!” Yes. On a set of scales. In real life? It feels heavier. The new head creates noticeably more friction on my floors, so I have to use considerably more force to push and manoeuvre it. After just TWO DAYS of using it, my arm and shoulder were exhausted. I never had this problem with my V15. And yes, I know the V16 has more suction power, a bigger bin and some clever anti-tangle technology. Great. But I don’t buy a vacuum cleaner to admire its specifications. I buy it to clean my house. And if cleaning my house now requires: -two hands to turn the bloody thing on and off -wrestling with the vacuum head -turning it sideways to clean along a wall -accepting that it won’t fit under furniture that my old vacuum could reach -and then recovering from the resulting shoulder workout… something has gone seriously wrong with the concept of “user-friendly”. The most ridiculous part? I already had a vacuum cleaner that I preferred. The V15. The one Dyson replaced. The one that worked well. The one that was genuinely easy and pleasant to use. And somehow, someone decided to “improve” it. Dyson, please. Before designing the V17, take a V15 and give it to someone to clean an actual house. Not a laboratory. A real house. With walls. Pantries. Skirting boards. Low furniture. And, most importantly…a human arm. Because at the moment, the V16 doesn’t feel like the future. It feels like a V15 with a PhD in engineering and a very poor understanding of ergonomics.

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your detailed… Read more (+1 reply)

T.B
T.B WA 4 posts
 

Bought the V16 animal thinking I was upgrading from my V15, so disappointed, I now see this was a downgrade and wish I’d stuck with my 15. This is my 5th Dyson and I have to say I regret buying this machine, the all in one head is terrible it misses dirt, anything bigger than dust has to be lined up with the 2 cutouts otherwise it won’t pick it… Read more

up, the rubber lining on the back of it has a lot of friction on a had floor so a lot of effort is required it doesn’t just glide. It constantly says it’s blocked when it’s not, it doesn’t do a cumulative dirt count at the end of the clean like the 15 did. The built in tool at the end of the drum is way worse than the V15. They changed the attachment style so you can’t use all your previous attachments of which I have heaps which is disappointing because I want to go back to using the stand alone hard floor tool it was amazing and much better than this all in one. They need to offer a dedicated hard floor tool again, that alone would be a big improvement.

We own so many Dyson products and unfortunately of late they all seem to be disappointing, like its innovation for innovations sake not because it’s actually improving anything.

I hope they go back to their roots soon!

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your loyalty to… Read more

Emma from Perth WA
Emma from Perth WA WA
  Last edited

Don't buy. Throws part of the dirt around instead of sucking it up. My 3rd Dyson stick and second with a light so I know its dad design and not a single faulty machine. The parts also get stuck so its hard to pull apart to change attachments. No help from dyson to return the product. Stuck with a $1,500 product that we'll and truly underperforms. Show details

Kylee
Kylee NSW
   Verified

Purchased my Dyson V16 Piston Animal back on 9 September 2025 and have had issues with it ever since. I have had previous Dyson vacs and have had no issues with them at all so expected this to be of similar quality, but it is not. There is a constant Airway Blocked error message and no matter what I do with cleaning it and replacement filters,… Read more

the issue keeps returning. Dyson has replaced the filters twice for me and serviced the machine once but once again the issue has returned. I would not recommend you spend your money on this model. It is frustrating and unreliable.

Hanedy B.
Hanedy B. VIC
 

I’ve owned this Dyson V16 Piston Animal for approximately six months and, unfortunately, it has been a disappointing experience compared to previous Dyson vacuums I’ve owned. The vacuum feels noticeably heavier and more cumbersome to use. The design is quite clunky and not particularly ergonomic, making longer cleaning sessions uncomfortable. … Read more

One of my biggest frustrations is the constant blockage warnings. The vacuum frequently displays error messages indicating there is a blockage, yet after checking all accessible parts I am often unable to find anything obstructing the machine.

The filter also requires cleaning far more often than expected. Once washed, it can take a very long time to dry completely, especially during colder weather or when there isn’t much sunshine. This can leave the vacuum unusable for extended periods.

Most disappointing of all is the suction performance. Despite being a newer model, I don’t find it as powerful or effective as previous Dyson vacuums I’ve owned.

Given the premium price point, I expected a significant improvement over earlier models, but in my experience this vacuum has been a step backwards in both usability and performance.

Chris Williams
Chris Williams WA 5 posts
 

I give up on this Dyson,no matter how many times I pull it apart I still get the airway blocked message-I’ve cleaned the filter waited 24 hours pulled it apart can’t see any blockages start it and it goes for 5 seconds and stops ,was talked into… Read more

buying this one with the push down dust storer as the previous Dyson didn’t have that-won’t bother with Dyson again

 Follow-up  · I bought it new in April after owning a previous Dyson with a larger dust catcher and was told this one was better.it worked ok a few times although the smaller dust catcher had to be emptied more often.it started saying airway blocked about the 4th time I used it,it has a narrow airway as well and I pulled it apart each section time and time… Read more

Michael
Michael NSW 4 posts
   Verified
Build Quality
Ease of Use
Cleaning & Maintenance
Noise Level
Battery Life

Not a very good vacuum cleaner - bit of a dud. This is my 3rd Dyson vacuum - I've owned a v8 Absolute and a v15 Detect. Both were very good at vacuuming dirt, dog hair, etc (the v8 Absolute is still going strong in my garage) but this new V16 Piston Animal's performance doesn't stack up at all to my previous Dysons. I have to go over the floors 2… Read more

or 3 times to achieve a standard the previous Dysons. Really disappointed.

Rang Dyson service to see if I was using it wrong or if I could return it - though the service lady was very nice, she pretty much said bad luck as I was out of the 30 days return window. I'll be taking the complaint further.

Extremely disappointed in product and service as Dyson has (had) a good name. Definitely not up to the Dyson standard.

Cannot recommend the v16 Piston Animal.

Michael
Michael   

An update.... as a "gesture of goodwill", Dyson has now refunded me the full purchase price of the… Read more (+1 reply)

BRIAN W.
BRIAN W. NSW
 

Purchased this on the strength of the advertising that you don't need to change heads as the machine adapts to carpet and hard floor. When using on hard floor, you need to go over the same area several times to effectively clean the floor. Also when removing the wand in order to empty the machine you really have to struggle, as it is extremely hard to remove.

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your review! We appreciate you sharing your… Read more

Nicole M.
Nicole M. VIC 2 posts
  Last edited   Verified

Overall happy with the performance of the vaccum. The large bin and compression function along with the illumination function on the motorised head are both fantastic. A few reasons for not giving a 5 rating. 1. I find it very hard using the "Easy Access Wand tool" and removing attachments. It seems to take a lot of strength to disconnect… Read more

attachments. Most of the time I give up and think I will do that later. I have read the user guides and still having trouble. 2. Only having a bluetooth connection to the app means that the connection is very unreliable. Been using it for a couple of weeks now and the app hasn't recorded any last session data. The vac needs to be within 10 metres of your phone. Before using you need to check the vac and app are connected and then I think the phone needs to remain unlocked and the app open. Also the vac is made for a large house so as soon as I go upstairs the connection (if I manage to ever get it working) will be lost. Have not found any benefit of having the app.

27/11 - Have downgraded to a 3 star. 1. Having issues with error messages that make the vacuum unusable, even after going through the troubleshooting options. 2. My old V7 does a better job at picking up dog hair from my hardwood floor stairwell. 3. V16 is leaving clumps of matted hair on my carpet.

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your review! We're so glad to hear you're… Read more (+1 reply)

Paul
Paul VIC 185 posts
   Verified

I thought I would take the time to write a Review of the Brand New Dyson V16 Piston Animal Submarine Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner (Not sure why Dyson have chosen this Model Name but it is what it is!!). A few things to point out before this Review. I have had this Vacuum for a week now and that is the length of this Review. I am an older Australian… Read more

who loves his Tech. I purchased it direct from Dyson Australia by phone. I am not Reviewing the Submarine attachment as I didn't actually use it.

Dyson always package their products extremely well, so no point in talking about that aspect.

Setting it up was relatively straight forward. I was more than pleased (Dyson couldn't tell me before my purchase) that the 2 x screw holes for the Wall Dock were the same as my previous Dyson Gen5 Detect, so no need for more holes in the wall. I waited until the Vacuum was Fully Charged which took a number of hours. Syching the Vacuum to the My Dyson App was straight forward but it did take some time, as there was an Update for this particular machine. I had to leave my phone with the Vacuum for the Update to complete.

The first thing that I did notice was that this machine coupled with the motorised head, was much heavier than my previous Gen5 Detect. I guess the upside to that is that you don't have to change the head for carpet or hard floors - it does both. The motorised head is not as manoeuvrable as the head for the Gen5. It did seem to be more quiet than the Gen5, but as the head is shaped at the front like an arrow, I had to change my routine slightly and run it along the skirting boards rather than head on.

Attaching and detaching the heads and/or accessories, with the new push down part of the machine (Which means you don't have to bend as much) took a little bit to get used to but in the end was fine.

I didn't notice a line of dirt left between the 2 rotating cones when vacuuming, as mentioned in some of the reviews that I read.

Emptying the bin is easier in that the lid flicks up rather than down, so it stays clear of the dirt being emptied.

I did notice more dust around the attachments and on the actual machine, after cleaning, that weren't there with the Gen5. As far as the squigee on the inside of the bin, to compact the dirt, so you don't have to empty it as much - On Dyson's video, it looked like this part cleans the inside of the bin. In the demonstration video, I can see that they used straw or similar rather than actual dirt and dust. My experience was that it does Compact the dirt but it doesn't leave the inside of the bin looking super clean, as Dyson suggested.

The light on the motorised head is much brighter than the Gen5 but it seems to turn off when vacuuming carpet. I suppose on carpet you really don't need to see the dirt.

Over all, I wasn't that excited about this new machine. I was excited before purchase, because I was aware that it was the first real update for a number of years, of Dyson's stick vacuum, but once I used it, there wasn't a great deal to make me feel like it was worth the purchase.

One important part I will point out - If you are going to buy it, but it direct from Dyson, either by phone or chat. Why you may ask - Well you will be entitled to the 45 Day Money Back Guarantee!! If you don't like it or don'y want to keep it, Dyson will provide a Free Shipping Label for Aus Post and it can be returned for a full Refund. Just check with Dyson when you are speaking to them to confirm this!!

I took this option and returned the V16 today. At the same time, I ordered a New Gen5 Detect Absolute, which is on special at the moment, and gone back to my tried and tested choice. It was a very easy and straight forward process, over the phone, to do this!!

I hope that I have helped some people in their journey to buying a new vacuum cleaner.

Dyson
Dyson    

Thank you for your detailed review. Your insights into the… Read more (+1 reply)

ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.