i purchased mint a few moths ago in Amazon, and had it sent to Israel where i live
(after using it two times (!) it does not work well and the wheel seems stuck (it turns and turns in one spot
i can not send it to the US to repair because it will cost me a fortune to send it to you and back
i want to maybe purchase the wheel part to replace myself
(!) (i don’t know what to do, i used it barely and it cost me so sooo much to get it (with shipping aprox $900
i really really wanted Mint that’s why i bought it though the very high price and now i’m stuck with a machine that does not work after two times only
can i buy just the wheel to try to fix it here in Israel?
i tried disassembling the wheel to remove excess fur from my dogs (that was my first thought as well)
but as i opened the wheel i discovered there was no dirt there. i only used it twice, it didnt even get the chance to get dirty yet!
one wheel is harder to turn and looking closely, i think the little cog-wheels inside are damaged… but its a brand new Mint!
i own the white one, bought it just recently.
i’m new to this site, tell me, how can i purchase a wheel part? and does it come a a complete wheel unit or just the plastic black nub?
really need your help here…
This is not happening very often. We rarely have requests regarding a problem with the Mint. The common problem is the hair building up on the inside of the wheel, which can be prevent by doing a maintenance every month or so.
You should first verify if there’s any hair building up on the inside of the wheel as this can make it hard for the wheel to turn. See if you can remove any build-up with pliers, wire cutters, etc. and then try the robot again.
We rarely have requests for parts, so unfortunately we do not have parts for the Mint at this time. However, if you’re looking to buy parts we may be able to work something out and quote you for one of the wheels. In this case you’d need to send us an email through the Support Center.
One wheel hard to turn, is that common prob with mint? This is disturbing, I bought as a gift to my parents living in another country, what I should do?
We live in Costa Rica and bought two Mints for our ceramic floors. They are great when they work. Unfortunately, they have both been broken more that operable. On trips back to the States, we have sent BOTH Mints back TWICE for repair. The rubber “tires” separate from the wheels, rendering them completely inoperable. The cost of shipping, repair and customs each time has become prohibitive. Since one of the Mints will not connect with the cube (a new cube, btw) anymore, my plan is to try to cannibalize a wheel off the bad one to try to keep one running. We have tried to get replacement wheels, but iRobot tells us that is not possible. If you are shipping wheels now, we would like to be on the distribution list…one set every 3 months! You say the Mints seldom break, so either we are doing something dramatically wrong or we have two lemons. Please help!
I am having this same problem - rubber separating from the wheel. This is a manufacturing defect - Insufficient glue application causing premature separation. I think your solution to “purchase similar rubber material at the hardware store and glue it to the wheel” is a poor solution for a defect of a product that cost this much and is less than a year old. How ever would I match the width, thickness, and circumference of the rubber? How would I glue it? If this is the problem most seen, why can’t a replacement rubber be made available?
The wheel issue is actually the problem that we see most often. As you mentioned, these are unfortunately not available for sale separately since the wheel caps are not easy to remove and require a special tool.
What we recommend customers is to purchase a similar rubber material at the hardware store and glue it to the wheel. This can last for several weeks or months and does not require you having to send the robot for repair if the wheels themselves are working and the issue is just with the rubber.
We do understand. If your product is still under warranty, we suggest that you contact the manufacturer or the store where it was purchased from since this is covered under warranty. If this product was purchased with us, please contact us via our support center and we will gladly replace your robot under warranty.
The reason why the manufacturer does not provide replacement wheels is that a special tool is needed to remove the wheel from the robot. We unfortunately have no news on if replacement rubber will be available in the future. But, this is definitely something customers can ask them.
We suggest cutting a non slip rubber mat into strips or similar material. You can then apply 3M all weather gel double sided tape on the wheels and stick them to the wheel. Any other glue that works on rubber and plastic will work also. We have had customers that have been using this technique and the wheels work even better than the original wheels.
Sorry to hear that yours is not working properly. Honestly, Mints do not break down often. We rarely have requests for parts, so unfortunately we do not have parts for Mint at this time. However, if you’re looking to buy parts we may be able to work something out and quote you for one of the wheels. In this case you’d need to send us an email through the Support Center.
Before doing that though, if your Mint is having problems with one of the wheels, it may be just dirty and not require a part just yet. Flip Mint on its back and try to turn the wheels by hand. The one that is not turning properly should be more difficult to turn by hand. Look closely at this wheel; sometimes some hair will build up on the inside of the wheel and this can make it hard for the wheel to turn. See if you can remove any build-up with pliers, wire cutters, etc. and then try the robot again.
Also confirm if you have a Mint (white robot), or a Mint Plus (black robot). The reason we ask is that Evolution Robotics has addressed this issue in the Mint Plus by providing a gap in the side of the wheel for you to be able to remove any build-up around the wheel.
Let us know how that goes and if you have any questions.
