Customer Reviews

Panasonic MC-CG902 Canister Vacuum Cleaner, Burgundy finish

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This vac might actually be worthy of a 5-star review, but I haven't used it long enough to have that strong of an opinion, so I'm giving it 4 stars for now.

I never thought I'd buy a vacuum cleaner online -- I'm so picky about little things like ergonomics, how well it cleans, etc, and I know that shipping back an unwanted vac would be so expensive that I'd end up keeping a vac I didn't like.

However, I had looked everywhere in town for a vac that did well in Consumer Reports testing but didn't cost a lot, and I'd had no luck. So, I went ahead and took a chance on this vac; it did really well in the latest Consumer Reports testing and had overall good reviews on Amazon. (BTW, don't confuse Consumer Reports with Consumer Digest; the latter is basically paid advertising designed to look like tests/reviews!).

I've been using my new vacuum cleaner for a few days and really like it. I had a Kenmore Whispertone before that finally died and was surprised that this is almost identical - right down to the connecting pins! It seems just as solid in quality & construction as my Kenmore (which lasted at least 10 years).

The vacuum is a tad smaller and lighter (both the canister & the powerhead)than my Kenmore, which I like because it's easier to maneuver. However, if your house is all carpet (mine's 50-50 carpet & wood), you might prefer the deeper cleaning that a heavier upright has.

I ordered some pricey bags because I didn't think I'd be able to find Panasonic C-5 size bags in town (since I couldn't find a Panasonic vac cleaner). Turns out my old Kenmore Whispertone bags fit. You don't have to order the pricey Panasonic C-5 bags, just take the bag that comes with it to your local KMart or Sears and pick one the same shape.

Pros:
- Handle makes it easy to use on steps.
- Solid construction (steel tubes that really latch together)
- Good quality brushes (real hair bristles on the dust brush).
- Cord rewind button and it really works!
- Sturdy but not unreasonably heavy.
- Good Consumer Reports test results, especially on emissions (important in our house full of allergic folks!).
- Pretty standard canister bag shape.
- It also came with the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, which I didn't know.

Cons:
- Color is a dark maroon red, not a cheery red like I'd thought. Probably doesn't matter to most people but I have to store mine out in the open so I like happy colors.
- No "power paw" attachment (basically a small powered brush head) for getting pet hair out of upholstered furniture. Fortunately my old Kenmore one fits. But it would be better if Panasonic at least offered this as an accessory.

Overall, I'm happy with this product. It gets the job done better and more efficiently than the canister and upright vacuums I was using.

Pros:
- Off/floor/carpet slide switch is on the top of the handle - super convenient to run from rugs to bare floor and back.
- Good suction - picks up small rocks.
- The power head is low profile - gets under the toe kicks and sofa.
- The long cord reaches several rooms, rewinds.
- The extra floor attachment is ~9" and so gets into the nooks and crannies the powerhead won't.
- The wand / powerhead clip on the unit when upright so it stores compactly in the closet.
- Powerhead is light, a breeze to whip around the room, but see handle con.

Cons:
- The carpet height indicator is hard to see in anything but bright light.
- The handle rotates freely 90d ccw, which is good for getting under the sofa if you're right-handed,
but not so good if you're left handed. Also makes the power head harder to control when on rugs/carpet.
- Tool & bag lids are hard plastic, meaning you'll have to be reasonably gentle with them.
- The extra attachments, excepting the one for the floor just slide on, rather than clip.
- the headlight goes off in the floor mode.

Info:
- This unit uses 3 filters:
o Bag: 8" x 13.5" Panasonic MC-V150M | type C-5 | Kenmore 50558, 5055, 50557. # to a pack & bag material vary.
o Hepa: 4 5/16" x 2 13/16" x 13/16", Panasonic MC-V194H | Kenmore EF-2 | #86880. 1 to a pack.
o Motor protector: 5" x 5" x 3/8", Panasonic? | Kenmore CF-1. 2 to a pack.
- Motor head is reasonably powerful, but less so than my old Eureka upright.
- Roller has brushes on both sides, rather than a beater bar & brush.

HTH.

I got this vacuum after initially purchasing another brand and sending it back. This is exactly what I want a vacuum to be. It's lightweight to pull around. I had a similarly designed Hoover for 15 years and this is as powerful as it was, but much lighter and easier to maneuver. Cleverly designed so the handle can rotate to go under beds, etc. without too much stooping on my part, which is good since I have issues with my back. Best of all, it has really powerful suction, even on my deep pile carpets. It was also very easy to put together - I was able to put it together without help from my husband, who gets called in on the tough jobs. It would have gotten 5 enthusiastic stars from me, except for one minor design flaw. I like to use the brush attachment for dusting, but this b rush is so wide and narrow (what was wrong with round brushes?) that when you turn on the vacuum, the suction causes the soft plastic of the brush to close up completely! So basically, the brush tool is useless. I had to use the one from my old vacuum cleaner, which fit snugly enough, even if it doesn't clip into place. Overall, I would still buy this vacuum again, but I will be looking for a better designed brush attachment.

This Vac is the exact twin to my old Kenmore that just died, right down to the color, all the same markings and bells and whistles of the one I paid over $250.00 for 10 years ago, so when I saw it, and it was fairly cheap, I bought it! Well....there is one major difference...even though it is the same hp as my old one, it only has half the sucking power. I have dogs and birds and I need the flexibility of a canister and the old one just about took the carpet with it right up to it's dying day, THIS one, BRAND NEW, has about half the suction as the old one. It still picks up, don't get me wrong, but if you want a lot of power, this is not the vac for you. Otherwise, it is a great buy, the ease of use is good, the flexibility is good, if you have no dogs or cats, this would be a good buy for you. I wish I hadn't bought it though.

We bought this vacuum in March, and we've been very happy with it. Why only one star? Because of the horrible Panasonic warranty service...

The power switch on the handle stopped working after 6 months. No big deal - it's still on warranty, right? Well, we called Panasonic, and the closest warranty repair center is 120 miles away, near Philadelphia (we are in Wash. D.C. area). Our only options were to send it there by mail and pay the shipping in both directions or to drive to Philadelphia and back two times (to drop off and then to pick up). When we asked Panasonic to simply send us the replacement part (the hose with the handle, where the power switch is located), they refused and said that it can only be replaced by an authorized technician. We tried to argue that when the vacuum originally arrived from Amazon, that very part came disassembled, and if we were "authorized" to put it together then, we should be allowed to do the same with a replacement. No cigar. They refused to listen. A request to talk to a supervisor was denied too. The guy on the phone said that none of the supervisors were in the office that day. It was Saturday, but still a bit hard to believe that no supervisors were there. Will try to call them again during the week. Between this level of "service" and the fact that a major metropolitan area such as D.C. doesn't have an authorized Panasonic vacuum repair center (plenty of dealers who sell them though), we found the experience very frustrating...

I had purchased a Panasonic vacuum in l996. Still have it and it works well. But because of the age of the old one, I thought it was time to get a new one to be prepared just in case. The new vacuum had all of the features of the older model, except it has a hepa filter. There is a lot more plastic on this model, but the on/off switch is now on the handle and is convenient. I have other Panasonic items such as an iron, a cordless telephone, which have also served me well. There are many choices in the market, but have chosen to stay with Panasonic because of its reliability.

I have a very good upright cleaner but the canister that came with it was terrible. So I needed something for my steps and furniture.
This vacuum is perfect. I love that the control switch is on the handle so that you don't have to bend down every time you want to turn it off or switch from carpet to floor settings. It does a great job on tile and hardwood and can get to the places my upright cannot.
It is light enough and it moves smoothly around after me. And I was very impressed with the quality of the tools.
It has a power nozzle which I probably won't use except when my upright is in the shop for its yearly tuneup. It will be nice to have it as a backup then.
I also love the retractible cord.

I used to own an bagless upright (an 8-year-old dirt devil) but had such a hard time moving it on the carpet and absolutely hated cleaning out the dirt can.

I bought this vacuum after hours of research online deciding between Dyson vs. Electrolux vs. Miele... then this one.

Now that I bought this new vac and used it twice, I'm wondering what took me so long to switch. Consumer Report got it right! this is affordable and works great. Can't ask for a better deal.

Pros
- off/floor/carpet button on the handle
- long cord, auto-rewind
- not too loud
- quick to put on attachments (comes with 4) that are stored in the unit.
- no dust coming out of the vacuum
- replacement bags are cheap (3 for $5, PANASONIC MC-V150M, type C-5)

Minor gripes:
- the headlight goes off in the floor mode.
- the plastic lever that controls the carpet height looks flimsy. Wonder if it will break after a couple years...
- the handle rotates 90-deg only to the left. ???
- cannot control the height of the handle. I'm short so this would've been a mega plus.
- could be even quieter, but then it would be more expensive.

No, it does not suck as powerfully as the upright. But there is no getting around that with a canister vacuum. I have mostly bare floors, so this is actually a plus. I can see why other people would find it problematic, but it works fine on my big, thick area rug.

I hesitated about buying a canister model because you need to drag around the canister as you vacuum. Yes, dragging around the canister is a bit of a pain, esp since I have a small apartment and the canister bumps against crowded furniture. Even then, I still prefer it over pushing around a big clunky upright.

Purchase 4 weeks ago after reading consumer reports. This vacuum comes with all the attachments, along with light, hepa filter, floor/carpet switch, and height adjustment for carpet. This Panasonic works great on my hardwood floors and does just as well on my area rugs. Consumer reports gave an average rating for pet hair, but i have two dogs and it removes the hair just fine. Very easy to use, and gets underneath my furniture so i don't have to do much moving. Cord seems long enough, and is retractable. I love this vacuum, and compared to Miele, it was a fraction of cost.

Why, oh why, can't someone make a satisfactory bagged vacuum? This one ain't it.

PROS:
(1) Amazon delivered the vacuum 4 days after order was placed (free Super Saver Shipping.
(2) Suction appears to be acceptable; the person who reported poor suction might want to verify that the "suction control" on the handle is closed.
(3) I like the tool storage under the canister cover.
(4) Cord rewind feature is ok-- not robust, but ok.

CONS:
(1) Neither of the bags shown in the "Frequently Bought Together" section of the Amazon page are correct for this vacuum. You need MC-V150M, Type C-5 bags (3 for $4.99). Thank you Amazon for luring me into spending $30 for 15 of the wrong bag.

(2) You will also need replacement exhaust filters (MC-V194H), which is not indicated anywhere on the Amazon page.

(3) Cleaning is poor on low pile carpet. Edge cleaning is non-existent, despite mfr's claims. I have no pets or special cleaning needs.

(4) Unlike my old Kenmore canister, the wand doesn't telescope to accommodate users of different heights. I'm only 5'10", and have to bend over to vacuum the floor with the Panasonic. Not happy about that.

(5) There's no exhaust vent on the canister. Rather, the exhaust air just escapes from gaps around the HEPA filter cover. This is curious and would appear to be a design flaw, air flow-wise. Maybe that's why it vacuums poorly. I'm thinking about using it with the filter cover off ("Warning-- risk of fire or electric shock..") to see if cleaning improves.

(6) No positive lock for the small tools onto the wand. They just "slide on firmly," despite there being a "button" right there on the handle that they could connect to. My experience with plastic tools that you just shove over a metal tube is that they soon break and become useless.

Anyway, cannot recommend this item. And like other reviewers before me, I spent hours researching vacuums on Amazon and Consumer Reports and still got screwed. Guess I'll have to keep using my 10 year-old Kenmore Magic Blue DX, with the switch that I've repaired many times, and hope I don't get electrocuted. Never dreamed it would be impossible to replace.