In Technology

HowTo Fix: Roomba Clicking Noise

Posted by: on May 28, 2010 | 43 Comments

A while back the vacuum in our apartment stopped working so I decided to do something I always wanted: Get a roomba. So far its been great and it keeps the carpet clean with minimum effort.

However, we have encountered some problems where the Roomba occasionally makes a repeated clicking noise and then shuts off. It then repeats “Please Clean Roomba’s Brushes”. It got to the point where it was making the clicking noise EVERY time it was run and would shut down after about 2 minutes. I tried reseting the battery, cleaning the brushes…everything. Finally I realized what was wrong. I wasn’t cleaning the brushes properly. If you have a lot of dirt in your carpet or pets (we have cats), it’s easy for fibers to get wrapped around some of the moving parts of the roomba brush.

So to fix the problem simply remove the brushes from the Roomba as your normally would to clean them. However, check under the yellow cap at the end of both brushes (by that I mean the brush and the rubber roller). Don’t worry, they are designed to come off, so you can pull on them. Afterwards you may see something like this:

What you may see if your roomba is making a clicking noise

Just pull out all the hair and fibers with a pencil or paper clip and replace the yellow cap. Afterwards your roomba will be good as new! Be aware though, that this is likely to happen again so make sure you periodically clean under the cap of both brush attachments.

43 Comments

  1. Chris
    August 27, 2010

    You have solved a 3 year mystery for me.

    Works perfectly!

    THANK YOU!

  2. Dan
    August 28, 2010

    Glad to hear it! It’s always great to hear that my blog has helped somebody

  3. Suresh
    October 23, 2010

    I tried cleaning the gear box etc before coming to this post. This fixed my issue.
    Thanks much

  4. Dan
    November 3, 2010

    No problem, glad to be of help

  5. Tristan
    January 9, 2011

    Thank you soooo much!! I read a billion posts about cleaning the gear box, ordering a new CRM etc and was getting very frustrated. We followed your instructions and hey presto, our i-roomba is working perfectly again :) CHEERS!!!!

  6. Dave
    January 13, 2011

    Our little roomba was knocking away, and sure enough, this was the problem, we had a TON of hair wound up in that little nook. Thanks so much!

  7. Jojo
    January 24, 2011

    Thank you! We returned one Roomba because of this, and when our second starting having the same problem my husband was ready to call it quits. Found this site, fixed the problem, and now it’s working perfectly! I get to keep my Roomba now! Yay!

  8. Mel
    February 6, 2011

    This fixed my problem!!!! I took the entire machine apart at first and still could not get it to stop making the knocking noise. I cleaned the brushes but never noticed the little cap that could slip off. When I pulled it off, there was a bunch of wrapped up long hair in it. Your photos really helped!!! Thank you so much for this post. I was about to send my Roomba back- but now I don’t have to thanks to you! You are a god send!

  9. RK
    March 11, 2011

    Hello!

    Thanks so much for this! I never realized that the yellow thing can be removed. The pictures helped! I had this clicking sound so often for past 3 months and had almost given up on my roomba. Thanks!

  10. JBx2
    March 16, 2011

    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I just got my Roomba and had cleaned the upstairs/downstairs a couple of times and that clicking nosie started and sure enouh the thing would run for a couple of minutes and says the brushes needed cleaning, it was driving us crazy as we kept pulling the thing apart and cleaning the brushes over and over again, so my husband says “you can find anything on the internet” and there were your pics and it fixed the issue! Thank you so much!

  11. Anna
    April 5, 2011

    So little hair, so much problem! THANK YOU for taking the time to write this out for us!

  12. Martin
    April 19, 2011

    Excellent. Thanks a lot! Solved my problem.

  13. Jojo
    May 15, 2011

    Problem solved. Thanks!

  14. kevin
    May 15, 2011

    I was sure my $250 roomba was on its way out when I heard the clicking and normal cleaning didn’t seem to fix it. Thanks for the tip!

  15. Robert
    June 26, 2011

    We have consistently (over a year) cleaned away hair as described, however this time the thumping continued. Finally I took the time to investigate further by dismantling the Roomba brush enclosure then opening the cover over the gears. The gears were tightly packed with small bits of hair , but fortunately each gear can be removed for cleaning. Once all gears were cleaned the Roomba reassembled, it operates without the thumping and probably consumes much less power.

  16. Roomba Fan
    June 28, 2011

    Thanks for the help. It worked.

  17. Robert
    June 29, 2011

    I must say I was impressed with the ease of this repair/maintenance and therefore the simplicity of the Roomba’s design. Why the manufacturer does not provide a description of this repair in the operating manual is a mystery, especially considering the ease of the repair. What other simple repairs may be possible?

  18. Kk
    July 21, 2011

    Awesome. Thank you. Very helpful.

  19. Thavidu Ranatunga
    July 23, 2011

    Thank you so much, this quick fix made everything sooo much easier

  20. penny brassey
    August 16, 2011

    Thanks for the advice – solved my problem! Very helpful

  21. Paul
    August 20, 2011

    What is the use of the yellow caps? I’m no longer using them.

  22. Peter
    September 3, 2011

    Well done; thanks very much for this tip. Roomba is back in action again.

  23. Michelle
    October 4, 2011

    Thanks! I undid the yellow caps and it was covered in hair!! However, it still clicked!! I then undid the box that is associated with the brushes, undid the six screws to the gear box and then found even more hair and dust!!! Put it back together and now it is working great!!!! Thanks

  24. Alanna
    October 12, 2011

    THANK YOU!! My husband wanted to throw our Roomba out :( This TOTALLY did the trick. I guess it does know what it’s talking about when it tells you to clean roomba’s brushes, too bad the manual doesn’t say ‘hey dumby, take off the end cap too, that’s part of cleaning the brushes’. You have no idea how this made my day, I should have googled for this months ago!!

  25. Dave
    October 17, 2011

    THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!
    I have literally taken apart eveything else on my roombe except that, i even pulled the brush motor out and cleaned and oiled it, and it still clicked. This worked and fixed the problem! I dont have to live in a mess anymore!!!!

  26. karen
    November 3, 2011

    Thanks so much!!!! I was so frustrated! I’m wondering why Roomba doesn’t put this in their FAQ?

    Either way, you are so helpful!!!!

  27. George
    November 16, 2011

    it worked quite well, my only concern was that the little yellow cap lots it’s spring so it falls off easily… no big deal though, it stays in place once it’s all closed back up.

    Thanks for this valuable solution!

  28. Mikkel
    December 6, 2011

    THANK YOU! :-)

  29. McManus
    December 12, 2011

    Thanks!
    I realized it was the brush on my iRobot Roomba 500 but didn’t see all that hair that had been gathered. Sure the Roomba gives a guding error code… but I didn’t see anything in the manual about this.
    So, I almost ordered a new brush.
    Thanks!

  30. yacahuma
    December 13, 2011

    Thank you, thank you. Never notice the cap. Finally I know where the clicking was comming.

  31. Kyle
    December 25, 2011

    Thanks!

  32. John
    December 25, 2011

    Thid worked great. Took the thing all the way apart to find out what was wrong and cleaned it all put. Still making the same noise and shutting off. After reading this post it is working great now. Thank you for the help on this!!!

  33. Sumguy
    January 3, 2012

    Wow, wish I saw this before taking my roomba all apart. Worked.

  34. gc
    January 6, 2012

    thanks very much youve fixed my problem
    i never realised the ends came off and have never cleaned there
    was full of bound up cat hair

  35. silvio
    January 8, 2012

    Thanks a lot. I would have never imagined those things can be pulled out and the problem could be buried under there… now roomba is working again. Great guy!

  36. Tracey
    January 17, 2012

    It worked. Hooray! We received our Roomba as a gift before our 2nd child was born. We only used it a handful of times before the clicking/error starting happening, and since I don’t have the receipt, I thought we were SOL in terms of the warranty. Thanks!

  37. PJ
    January 27, 2012

    Huzzah, you saved me a tone of effort, and frustration. All fixed.

  38. Ronda P
    February 29, 2012

    Wow, glad I found this post. I love my rollback and was already getting sick thinking what a new one would cost. You fixed it right up. THANKS! !!

  39. Ronald
    March 26, 2012

    Wow this is fantastic and it works!!! Thank you!

  40. runninglynnie
    March 27, 2012

    So glad I found this post – it worked for me too!!!

  41. Børge Jakobsen
    April 8, 2012

    Thanks, saved my a lot of troubleshooting! =)

  42. Tom Zenk
    April 21, 2012

    Duh, it’s only in the manual. Mine is still clicking. Sounds like it’s coming from inside where the gears turn. I think it’s hair wrapped around the gears.

  43. Dana
    May 10, 2012

    Brilliant, that worked perfectly to fix the clicking

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