This was a great vacuum for almost a year, and really the small defect that I'm dealing with shouldn't be a big problem, but I'm giving this one star because of Dyson's TERRIBLE customer service.

As I mentioned, I have had this vacuum for a little under a year.
Recently the latch button on the cyclone assembly has gone missing, I assume it popped out while somebody was emptying the bin and fell in the trash unnoticed. At any rate, the button is no longer there, and so the assembly can no longer be attached to the body.
I figured this should be no problem to replace, after all I do have a 5 year warranty.
I called up, and the representative told me that this is "not considered a manufacturer defect" because "with the type of plastic we use that could never happen by itself" and that in order to replace the button I would have to buy a whole new cyclone assembly for over $90. Never mind the fact that the button that went missing is contained within a plastic handle that is easily detachable from the cyclone assembly.

NO THANKS!

The 5 year warranty is a sham. don't believe the hype.

Great vacuum. Dyson makes quality products. It's easy to use, and I can't believe how much it picks up. I have a black lab that sheds a lot and it does a great job pick up the hair. Filters are easy to get and clean. Not sure how to clean inside the bin, but being able to empty it is a great feature. Changing bags sucks. The attachments are pretty good, but buying more attachments is extremely expensive and I'm very disappointing about the lack of a decent crevice tool for cleaning the edges of the carpet. Cord is a bit on the short side, but still works if you have lots of outlets around the house.

I've had this for about 6 months now, and I have not had any issues with it.

The best feature on this vacuum is the ball technology. It is so light and easy to maneuver! It's the number one reason I would recommend dyson products.

We bought this vacuum in anticipation of getting new carpeting. When it arrived, we used it once on the old carpet before the new was installed. It was the best vacuum cleaner we have ever had on the old carpet. But when the new carpet was installed, we had a huge surprise. The vacuum wouldn't work at all on the new carpet. It was impossible to push as the head got sucked into the fibers. We thought we were doing something wrong so we took it into a vacuum repair store. The owner said he receives these complaints about Dyson all the time now. They won't work on new carpeting, with the denser fibers. It was already a few days past Amazon's deadline for returns so we contacted Dyson. They were useless and wouldn't do anything except offer to send completely useless information that wouldn't help in the least. So we took a shot and contacted Amazon, explained the problem and they made an exception for us so we could return it to Amazon. I love Amazon and have always had great customer service from them. But DO NOT buy a Dyson. It's not made for all carpeting.

Years ago I purchased the Dyson "Slim" or "Ultralight" or whatever it was called back then. Similar to this one, but certain parts of it were built much better. This newer design skimps on the engineering in a few key places.

One is the way the extendable wand collapses and fits back into frame. Once assembled (which was easy, instructions were good, pictures too) I unclicked the wand and extended it to test it. When I tried to fit it back into the lock position for normal upright use, I was absolutely confounded. It would not fit back. Eventually I got it to lock in place, but I didn't know how I did it. The plastic is poorly molded and it does not fit back easily at all. Eventually, hours later, after repeated attempts, I came to understand that to make it seat properly, I have to grip the receiver with my hand and kind of squeeze and manipulate the whole collar until the wand fits back in. Horrendous!!! I have two other Dysons, and when I collapse the wand back into the body, it does that. No mystery or "technique" involved. This vacuum was a gift to my elderly parents. There is NO WAY they are ever going to figure out how to do that part of it. Now I imagine after a year or so of use, the pieces will be worn enough so that it will fit without the amount of effort I describe. But any appliance at this price range should not be this difficult to manage. Dyson found a cheaper way to make this vacuum, and boy does it ever show. As a vacuum, it works great. Can't fault it there.

Another thing I don't like is the mechanism that locks and releases the vacuum from full upright (storage) to normal use position. It's hidden inside the "hinge". It works on pressure, or force, and I can't keep it from releasing when the vacuum is being moved around on its rear wheels.
This locking piece has always been a bit problematic, even in my old Ultralight, but at least that one has a big red plastic plate that you can see and manipulate with your foot. Once I get that one locked in correctly, I can tilt the machine backward and wheel it around without it "breaking" like an open shotgun. With this new model, it "breaks" when you don't want it to and you have to keep re-locking it. I'm kinda disappointed at this purchase. Yes, it is a good vacuum, but the wand fitment especially makes me sad. At this price, the quality should be getting better, not worse. I was a BIG fan of Dyson but in my mind they slipped a bit now.

I give it an A+ for suction power, and a C- on design. I'd be surprised if the design engineer of this product still has his/her job. Even for a guy like me that enjoys cleaning, this equipment is a huge frustration. The tiny red latch (or washer or whatever you want to call it) that holds the vacuum head attached to the ball is made of really cheap plastic. Wonder why they didn't it out of rubber or some other flexible material. After only a couple of uses, it broke when the floor piece lightly hit the leg of a chair (when you vacuum your floor, you will hit a few things!). Once that tiny piece of plastic breaks, this machine is useless, because the floor piece keeps popping out of ball even in a normal back and forth motion. I called them and they sent a replacement piece. After two more uses, the piece kept popping out and when I tried to put it back in place, the plastic broke again. Now again I'm left with a useless piece of equipment. When it works, it works really well...but sadly it is more often broke and standing in a corner. For my first Dyson purchase, I'd say this has been very very disappointing. Not something you'd expect from a piece that you paid a lot of money for