Electrolux UltraOne Z8871P

I'll never buy another Electrolux vaccum ever again – I write this to warn other consumers. We purchased this machine from Harvey Norman in Auckland and luckily we took out an extended in store warranty because in it's troubled life it has gone through a power head repair and a replacement of the complete power head and hose assembly. Small things like the plastic clip holding the handle upright… Read more

whist not in use broke earlier on as well. Now a the replacement power head has died after 3 years of occasional use and recently the dust bag cover won't open any more and is jammed closed to the extent that we have broken the 3 in 1 compartment lever off trying to get the bag compartment lid to raise.

To cap it off the power switch has failed and only puts power on for a few seconds before shutting the unit down requiring a reset by turning power off at the wall switch to repeat the process. It still does it with the hose unplugged and the Hepa filter removed indicating a more serious fault.

As it is now out of extended warranty we won't be investing any more money on this expensive piece of rubbish or any of it's successors..

Disappointing costly item – We purchased our Z8871P in July 2011 because our son had been diagnosed with dust allergies. Unfortunately the power head (our reason for spending so much) started with intermittent problems about one year later. It stopped working altogether at about the two year mark. We continued to use the cleaner with the other head but the plastic handle… Read more

started cracking at the joins about 4 years in. I taped it up but eventually it just fell apart. Was online looking at replacement parts when I stumbled across this review page. Definitely won't go there now. Instead I will use our 18 year old Eureka cheap cleaner that still works. Funny how a cheap cleaner can have parts that last 3 times longer than an expensive one. I don't know what other electrolux products are like but I won't be purchasing them after this experience and I will continue to share my experience with others if the conversation comes to vacuums. Disappointing costly item!

Absolutely the worst $700 ever spent – Awful product and service help abysimal. Purchaced brand new in 2005 and within 2 months the s-bag access lever had snapped off. Ok fine, cannlive without it. Then the side hang for the vaccum head snapped. Aggrivating but not the end of the world. However the constant "random" stops, loss of suction, broken holders for the brush head, and the… Read more

2 hour cut out time it needs after vacumming one room is rediculous.

Elextrolux authorised service centre basically said suck it up, must be your fault. Local repair man said he has never seen a more pooly constructed machine. DO NOT BUY.

Poorly made – Pretty much the same experience as everyone else here. First the powered brush stopped working because a flimsy rubber belt inside snapped and now the handle snapped in my hand. I wasn't pressing hard so it is a design flaw. I used to see Electrolux as some what of a premium brand but no longer.  Show details

Don't buy another – I Concur with everything this customer has to say. My Z8871P also broke down down under warranty, replacing the hose complex was the answer to that. Now just on three years old the circuit boards have gone..$290.00 to replace. Had that home and going for five minutes only to have the cleaner stop again....back to repairer. who now tells me I… Read more

need a new motor!! I also was an avid Electrolux fan, but will not buy another one. Way to go Electrolux!!

A money pit of repairs. Will NEVER buy Electrolux again! – I also bought an Ultraone vacuum with a powerhead that cost me over $800. I have only ever owned Electrolux vacuums and have been more than satisfied with their performance. Not this one though. It broke down twice during the warranty period which caused me great concern as it was shorting out the circuit board. It then broke down again when it… Read more

was out of warranty with the same issue, this time costing me approximately $250 to once again replace the circuit board that had shorted. My vacuum broke down yet again within a month of that repair which them prompted me to write to Electrolux customer complaints (after speaking with Consumer Affairs regarding my dissatisfaction & ongoing failure with this product) to request a total refund of my machine and the repairs I had outlayed up till then citing that it was a lemon and that I had lost complete faith in the product. Needless to say this did not have the desired effect either. I was instructed that my only option at this time was to have it repaired yet again as the repairs done previously meant it had broken down during this short warranty period. Much to my frustration it broke down again. Same issue. This time my husband called and spoke with Electrolux senior management regarding the ongoing issues we were experiencing only to be told that the machine was now more than 3 years old and that they would not refund but rather offer a discount on a new machine. Thanks but no thanks! My husband proceeded to have this machine repaired yet again at a further cost of approximately $250 despite my warnings not to do so. Guess what? 6 months later and it has broken down again. I will never buy another Electrolux again.

Don't buy Electrolux again! – We paid nearly $700 for an Electrolux UltraOne and within a year it developed an intermittent fault with the powerhead rotary brush which the supplier then took over a month to repair. It's now out of warranty and the hose attachment to the motorised handle is coming apart which is pretty shoddy given the cleaner is not exactly a heavily used item… Read more

in our household. Apparently it cannot be repaired so will require a costly replacement, which means unbudgeted expense for us and a pile of junk going into a landfill. We reckon this is a poor advert for Electrolux especially given that the UltraOne was sold to us as being a quality item. Wish we had bought the much cheaper vacuum we originally intended to get, which wasn't an Electrolux.

Piece of junk – I totally agree with the person who has spent heaps of cash on parts and repairs. This vac is a piece of crap, full of brittle plastic and constant issues! Every time I replace or fix something, something else breaks or fails! Even with the extended warranty purchased through Harvey Normans, ive still had to pay a fortune!!! Don't buy Electrolux!!!

turn on problem easily fixed – The power head stopped working some time ago but recently the machine would start up for a few seconds and then cut out. Then it wouldn't start up at all! I contacted Electrolux and they denied this was a common problem with this model and said those posting on the internet were the exceptions. They wouldn't fix our machine for free but offered a… Read more

discount on a new one. Well I didn't feel like buying a new Electrolux that's for sure! Luckily I kept googling for an answer on how to fix this machine and found one on fixya.

http://www.fixya.com/support/t6122912-electrolux_ultraone_today_when

If you have basic soldering skills, or know someone who does, this is a very easy fix. A wire had come off one of the three prongs on the end of the hose which plugs into the vacuum cleaner. Looking at the quality of the soldering I believe there is a manufacturing problem - the soldering is not of good enough quality to withstand day to day use. It comes apart too easily. It might last a couple of years but after that its a problem just waiting to happen. Once soldered back the machine works very well (except for the power head of course) but I expect one of the other wires in the hose to come off in the future. Only thing is next time I will know how to fix it.

All up its worked well – Had this vacuum for 5 years and gets used once a week(ish). It's worked pretty well, no complaints. The turbobrush is great for picking up dog hair, we leave it on most of the time. Hair does get caught in one section of the tube (bit of a design fault) so you just need to have a look in there every so often.The 3-in-1 tool broke but that's… Read more

because I tried opening it the wrong way, but still I'm surprised it broke. The turbohead brush stopped last week but somehow it picked up a piece of glass which got wedged in there and stripped all the cogs, so can't blame the machine for that one. Looks like its pretty easily replaceable.

Not the same Electrolux my parents worshiped – This vacuum cleaner sucks. and not in a good way. I grew up with Electrolux, my parents had their vacuum for 15 years. I went to Harvey Norman specifically to get an Electrolux, and thought $710 was the price to pay for quality. It turns out that's the price to pay for suckers. In the last 4 years I have replaced many parts multiple times. The… Read more

quality of the UltraOne is let down by cheap brittle plastic. The catch that holds the dust bag cover has broken twice ($15 each), the plastic that holds the extension tube where the electrical contacts are for the power head have broken ($88 for a new tube). Two power heads have just "stopped working" ($240 each), The plastic where the handle with the switches joins the extension tube has cracked and after replacing the whole suction tube/handle (which cost $170) and now the dust cover has broken a third time and there must be a broken wire or something in the suction tube because the buttons on the handle are intermittent and hardly ever work and causing the vacuum to just turn off. This is going to cost me another $180!! AGAIN!! I can buy a whole new vacuum cleaner for that much!!

I will say the first 6 months or so were great, then it gradually fell to pieces.

I've spent $710 for the original vacuum cleaner, $768 on repairs and now need to pay another $180 ??

Harvey norman customer service is rubbish. They said the Electrlux UltraOne was the best cleaner they sell when I bought it. They laughed at me for not buying their extended warranty when it failed out of warranty just over a year later. Now Harvey Norman say Electrolux are so unreliable they don't sell them any more.

I would avoid Harvey Norman because of bad sales and support. And avoid Electrolux because the only thing premium about their products is the "look of them" and the price. The actual quality is worse than the cheaper Japanese/Taiwanese products. At least with those you get what you paid for. I could have purchased a brand new vacuum cleaner every 6 months and still been ahead.

Very disappointed.

Heap of rubbish – Were told it was the greatest thing since sliced bread by Harvey Norman. The latest thing to go wrong is the fact that it powers up when plugged in - goes for about 2 seconds when switched on - then dies. Last vacuum from either Electrolux or Harvey Norman.

Junk – Purchased in Feb 2011. This unit has been returned for warranty repairs four times, three of which were for a failed power head. Now out of Electrolux warranty, they have suggested I can take it back again to my nearest repairer 70 km away for them to asses the problem. Problem this time around is simple, the power head only works on a forward… Read more

stroke and not when moving backwards. The cord no longer retracts fully. Customer service have suggested that they would offer me a "special" price if I upgrade and buy a new vacuum cleaner. I paid $705 for this heap of junk and it hasn't lasted much over 3 years. Electrolux need to stand behind their products, when they fail continually like this. Maybe time to take this issue further with consumer affairs. I have two other vacuum cleaners a Wertheim that is 16 years old and a Nilfisk that is 10. These two units have had far more work and have never failed.

The Electrolux units full name is the Ultraone Copper. Maybe it should be Ultraone Lemon.

February 5th 2015 Update:

The Vac has been repaired again under the Hardly Normal customer care warranty. The power head and the cord return assembly have been replaced. I had to pay for the repair and then customer care quite promptly reimbursed me the $347.60.

On first of the unit, the new power head only works intermittently and the cord does not fully retract......great.

I have contacted customer care and they have told me to just get it fixed and they will pay the costs again, so another 150 kilometre round trip to get this crap unit fixed again. At the same cost most likely, which will now tally up to $700.00 in repair bills. I was told again by customer care, that it must have the same issue three times before they replace it. Really! ???? What a stupidly uneconomic policy. What a great piece of equipment. It may wrok well as an anchor.I have had enough of this junk.

Good when its working, which isn't often – I purchased the Electrolux on 10/4/10, within a month i had the hose replaced. Then within another month the power head stopped working. I had the normal two year warranty and very luckily bought it with a free two year extended warranty. I have not had this vacuum cleaner home longer than four months without it going back for broken belts, power… Read more

head control buttons needed fixing, and numerous power head replacements. I think it would have been fixed over 25 times. I thought i bought a lemon until reading others complaints and realised it's just a bad product. I rang electrolux and they sent me a free filter, wow, for my troubles, after i asked for a replacement vacuum. They also advised that they had moved premises and did not have any of my history of warranty repairs on record!!! Its now out of warranty as of april this year, and ready for the bonfire!!! Have found a place on line where you can purchase packs of 10 powerheads for a discount. Hahaha really!!! Answers all the questions on the worst cleaner i have ever owned. Electrolux..never again. After being fixed it works fantastic, until it doesn't again. Bad quality powerhead. Bad response from Electrolux.