Customer Reviews

Hoover Savvy U8174-900 Bagless Upright Vacuum

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

Searched online reviews, read Consumer Report, went and looked at bunch of uprights and decided to try this one. It has great suction and YOU get to decide if you want to go bagless or not. We're using it without the bag and it is amazing the amount of dirt it is picking up (even after we had just vacuumed with an expensive Miehle). I thought the clean LED (red when dirty, green when clean) was a gimmick but it actually works well. Has a "lifetime belt" so supposedly won't ever have to replace it. Very happy with with the vac and for less than $200 I can afford another one in a few years vs. a Dyson, for example. (I have one wish that the manufacturers would incorporate the retractable power cords in uprights that they have on the cannister vacs.)

ADDED: 8 months later...been through 3 "lifetime" belts and the power switch is starting to go. Shouldn't have been so quick with my 5 stars!!!!

Great vacuum cleaner, but I knew their claim on a"lifetime" belt was too good to be true. After using it for 4 Saturdays, the agitator got tangled in the fringe at the edge of an area rug. By the time it was turned off, the "lifetime" geared belt was stripped.

I would not spend a dime on anything from hoover. I have had this vac for 13 months and it is DEAD. Out of warrenty so I am out of luck. Don;t waste your time on this junk!!!

I was in the market for a new vacuum, and was leaning toward a Dyson. I read an comparison by Good Housekeeping, though, and this was the winner. I decided to give it a try! I couldn't wait to try it as soon as I got it. So, even though my carpet had just been swept with my very old Dirt Devil, I vacuumed as soon as I got it out of the box and got the attachments fastened on. It picked up a ton of cat hair and a little bit of dirt. It has a neat sensor on it that is red and says dirty and then changes to a green light saying "clean." I've found the light changes to "clean" when it is no longer picking up anything. I first thought it was silly, but it's actually quite useful: the carpet is never actually cleaned as soon as I think it should be. The powered hand tool does a bang up job on the recliner and my couches. Seven months later and I still love my Hoover Savvy.

I bought this vacuum in late 2005 and used it lightly for nearly two years. But then the brushes stopped turning. I took it to a repair shop and was told that I had a problem with the circuit board that would take $90 to fix. He said the vacuum was terrible and he saw the problem all the time. He even showed me the one he was working on when I came in. He said he could fix it but I'd be back within a year with the same problem. $90 repair for a $200 vaccuum doesn't make a lot of sense to me, especially if the problem will continue. It was an easy decision to just throw it away and buy something else.

Hoover should be SUED for calling this a lifetime belt, which is why I bought the machine cause I was tired of replacing belts. I replace one about every 3-6 monthes, at 7-11.00 a pop. SCREW HOOVER THEY LIE IT IS NOT LIFETIME. First time I broke one, I called them, emailed them, etc. Talked to all kinds of service reps & stuff, and they finally figured out what I was talking about with the tiny little rubber cogged lifetime belt. They even sent me one. They could never figure out how to replace it. I had a local place do it, paid them 20.00 extra while I watched. Now I can find how to do it on the Internet also.... pretty easy.
Here's how from http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=43046

The Savvy uses a Maytag #91001028 Timing Belt.

UNPLUG THE VACUUM CLEANER FROM THE WALL OUTLET

A. Peel off the red Hoover circular decal from the top of the big plastic motor cover. Remove the screw underneath.
B. Turn over and remove the 2 screws (one on either side and just forward of the wheels).
C. Remove 7 screws from the beater bar cover. Clean beater bar.
D. Slide belt onto the beater bar and reinstall beater bar on its mounts.
E. Pass the belt over top of the idler pulley. It does not go around the pulley, just 1 side contacts the pulley.
F. Loosen the 2 motor mount screws. Slide the belt onto
motor pulley. Retighten the 2 motor screws.
G. Reinstall the beater bar cover with the 7 screws.
H. Reinstall the 3 screws that hold the big plastic cover on.
I. Apply power and test.

Remember....the beater bar will only run with the handle out of the fully upright position. The position you would norrmally use to run the vacuum.

I abandoned this hippogriff after six months. Lured in by promised power and technology. It's cleaning capability was lacking. And its featured "wind tunnel" design turned out to be its major fault. Bilateral forward mounted wind tubes have rough edged couplings within their lumens. This allows for hair to snag midway up the tubes. The hair then grabs lint and that leads to a full clot. You then have to snake a wire up the tube to clear out the clot. Plus the bagless system is a trap for that teeny-weeny dudu dust that fills in the nooks in the stinky filter. To clean it you turn a dial that runs the filter folds along a plastic ridge. Warning: you better be standing in the nearest parking lot when the dust and dudu start flying. With bagged vacuums you pull out the bag (dudu dust n' all) and slip in a fresh one. My Hoover Savvy is retired to the closet. The Kemore Progressive upright has proven to be the Queen Supreme.

This is really a review of myself: I have got to be the stupidest person ever!! I bought this vacuum, used, on E-bay, with no warranty, and without reading any consumer reviews first. After reading the Amazon reviews, about the faulty control switch, the loss of suction, and other complaints people have had about this machine, I was hoping the one I purchased would be alright.

WRONG! Guess what? FAULTY CONTROL SWITCH AND NO SUCTION....Luckily I only lost about $60 on Ebay, but GEEZ. Hoover apparently tried to play Candid Camera and make a really poor vacuum, just to sit back and laugh at all the whiners. The bare floor option doesn't work at all, and I have to keep messing with the carpet setting to get it to run. I can hardly lift the thing, it weighs about a million pounds. That's an exaggeration, it's really only a few hundred pounds. And the kicker was when it started blowing dirt all over the carpet at which point, I realized there WAS NO SUCTION.

Oh, the cost of wisdom.

The bearings went bad after only a few uses. As far I as can determine, neither Hoover nor any of their dealers sell replacement bearings. I paid $199 for a machine that doesn't work. I'm going to just throw it out and buy a new vacuum.

Bought it in 2005, already in the trash after threee trips to the repair shop. Plain Junk!