Roomba keeps giving error 2 even when brushes are clean

With my e5 model I had cleaned everything but I kept getting the error that the main brushes were stuck. I took the rollers out and popped the hexagon end off by just slightly folding down the plastic, grabbing it with pliers. It was completely wrapped with hair inside the actual brush roller.

Have you tried to check the rollers carefully right after getting the error 2? For some reason Roomba is thinking that something is stuck in the robot vacuum rollers as they creating the resistance. If you have it for a while it might be that the inside gears are getting resistance from dirt. You can see in this video how to repair it.

Something is impeding the drive train. Usually, it is the brush loaded with stuff it picked up. If the brush is clean, it obviously is not a clogged brush. The next step requires you to disassemble Roomba. Take brush, roller, and brush keeper. Easy part. Remove the bottom plate. It is held on with screws. Don’t lose them. You also mustunscrew and remove the circular sweeper thing. The bottom should come off. Now you must remove the entire piece that holds the brushes. Careful because the motor wires are attached. There is enough slack that you need not - and should not- unwire the motor. The piece that holds the brushes comes out. But not easily. There is a spring plastic catch right and left. You must depress both simultaneously (takes two hands), grip the brush holder piece (third hand) and hold the body of roomba attune rear (fourth hand), and pull the assembly out (fifth hand). People with five hands find this easy. It is almost impossible with only two hands. The entire green thing comes out. Including the gear box on one side. Carefully disassemble the gear box. Five or six tiny screws to keep track of. Lift off the cover from the gear box. There are several Teflon gears. They just slide off. Remember which one came from where. Likely, each gear will have accumulated sludge, and the axles will have strangled themselves I loose threads. Clear everything.. put the gears black in. DO NOT CLOSE UP YET! Spray everything in the gear box with WD40! Very important Now close the gear box and reassemble everything. The two front spring clips on the front of the brush housing will fight you. There should no longer be error 2. The brushes weren’t clogged. The gears were gummed up. Stuff migrates into the gear box over time. You have to execute this goat rope every year or two. There is not much to the Roomb@. All that’s left is the battery, which is easy to replace, and the motor, which is easier to deal with than the gear box was. Most of the functionality is in the electronics.

Almost none of these instructions come with Roomba or are in the manufacturer’s website. Phone help is clueless. You do not need to trash the Roomba or pay for repairs. Good luck. Remember that persistent Error two does not mean that the brushes need attention. It means that the drive train is clogged!

We had same problem. Make sure the little”string” between the pully on end of motor and middle of blue chassis. If it missing that’s the problem. Roomba website shows where it is We used a piece of nylon thread/ thin fishing line She’s working great.

I shot some wd 40 in where the rollers go ,the end where the gears are,and it took right off and finished the floor,this is after I got many “clean the brushes “,but the brushes were clean so it just needed a little lubing up

Argh this is an annoying error. I kept facing it as well. It’s super important to check the rollers - that is the first thing I would suggest to do. Usually, that is the problem. The rollers are probably just stuck or dirty. Otherwise, google troubleshooting for roomba. There are many guides available. I saw this one. That’s what I did.

I have completely disassembled mt Roomba 500. Cleaned brushes meticulously, disassembled the drive train. Cleaned gears and axles. Still get Error 2! I infer that the resistance is upstream of brushes and gears. Perhaps the motor shaft itself. That will be a very tough repair for me

So I received this error. I removed and cleaned the rollers as well as the entire cage, this did not fix the issue. I replaced the rollers with new ones as the existing ones were not in the greatest of condition. Replacing the rollers did fix the issue.

Cleaning the front wheel fixed the issue for me.

Does the front wheel spin freely?

If not, clean the front wheel

This fixed the problem for me :)

The main brushes are made of rubber and were rubbing against the left side of the compartment where they sit in on my unit. I took them out and pushed the inside of gear-like plastic hexagon bolt left and right until I correctly adjusted them to the center and that appeared to fix the problem. Remember anything that creates resistance on the brushes will trigger this code.

My e5 Roomba was a little over a month ‘old’ when it started to leave clumps of hair around rather than pick it up. We have 2 German Shedders and 5 cats - and despite having to stop the machine to empty it every 15 minutes, it has still made an incredible improvement in reducing the hair and dirt on the floor. I figured it was time for a ‘deep clean’ - and indeed it was. I removed the rubber brushes and cleaned them with water, cleaned the dirt bin using water, changed the filter, removed and cleaned the front roller. When I was done (and everything dry), I set the Roomba to start. It ran for about an hour, and then got caught in a cord under a buffet. I pulled out the cord, and the pressed start. In two minutes it stopped with an Error 2 clear the brushes. There was nothing there, started it again, and in two minutes another ‘Error 2’.

I went through all the many good suggestions on this page - including removing the end bearings and removing the amazing amount of twisted hair underneath. I tried to be sure the rubber brushes were centered. Nothing seemed to work - I continued to get repeated ‘Clear the brushes’ messages after two minutes. I finally resorted to what I really didn’t think would work: I ordered the ‘replacement part kit’ with new brushes, sweeper brush, and filters.

I replaced the brushes and the sweeper brush. The Roomba now works again. It seems strange that the brushes would be bad after only 1 month. Perhaps that cord catch damaged them. Regardless - the new brushes fixed this problem for me.

I had the same issue

Some times I heard that my roomba tried to brush.. Just for a short moment just to give up..

I had to pull of the brush cage and re solder a wire that was loose on little engine (that's beneath the brush cage when the roomba is up side down) that seams to lift/lower the brushes (I'm not sure about that)..

Now it works like a charm

Easy like a plätt

I was having very similar error reporting under the same conditions you have described. I went through a very thourough and deep cleaning process, full disassembly and a bit of dirt and dust, but nothing catastrophic enough to cause the roomba to continually shut down for reasons of error 2. I followed iRobot tech rep advice and bought new roller brush gear assembly. I put in the brand new unit assembly( very easy to do) and turned Roomba loose. Same error code and Roomba would shut down. So, I decided to replace the 4 year old battery. Popped in the new battery and fully charged up the new battery pack for about 7 hours. I let loose Roomba with new fresh fully charged battery pack and the error 2 of tangled brushes was no more. The unit ran for over 2 hours non stop and docked up to recharge. The old battery was the problem.

I have an 800 series and I had the same problem for quite awhile. I took mine apart down to the gear classes in the motor drive, and could find nothing wrong. I replaced several parts on recommendations from Roomba. Nothing fixed the problem. What finally “ fixed “ it for me was replacing the battery. I bought a non OEM battery, it’s more powerful and lighter weight than the original. Runs for a good 2-3 hours nonstop, no more error messages. This could be the fix you are looking for. I bought the battery on Amazon for a very decent price. My 2¢.

Hope it works for you if you try this method. If doesn’t fix your error problem, return your battery for refund.

Regards,

K

This is an update to my earlier post. I had continual error code 2 of tangled brushes that stopped my 880 series every 10 minutes. But they are EXTREMELY clean. But I replaced them OEM brushes, an entirely new brush roller assembly from iRobot at their suggestion. I installed and thoroughly cleaned the machine. Started Roomba up…….same error code. So I bought a new battery pack, a Lithium Ion, non Roomba manufacturer, but had good ratings. SUCCESS!! The new battery solved the error code 2 tangled brushes and I probably wasted money on new rollers and roller brush assembly as well as wasting a significant amount of time doing extensive disassembly that required only a new battery pack. The lithium battery is much lighter which allows the Roomba to climb on board atop thicker rugs much easier and it runs for a at least 2 + hours before heading back to base for recharge, even though battery indicator is still green. I recommend make sure brushes are clean and the front wheel spinner is free to swivel. Then buy a new battery that fits your series of machine. Charge the battery fully. Do a reset of your Roomba. Then turn it loose for tangle 2 error free cleaning once again! The disassembly and extensive cleaning as well as new new parts did not solve anything. Only the NEW Battery fixed it for me.

There's good advice for maintaining a Roomba, tried some of them myself to little avail. Ultimately opened up gearbox removed the gears cleaned meticulously and reapplied lithium grease. I noted there are two small steel-bushings 2 of the gears fit inside. They're inside the gear compartment and they do pull out. One of them still spun freely, the other seized up. Cleaned out all the crud and soaked in WD-40 and applied lithium grease. For now it seems to be working fine, but instead of just ordering new rollers or brushes, check out those little steel bearings if replacing the brushes and rollers doesn't work

You must pull off the ends, yellow , that fit into the cut outs, Opposite the drive ends. They fill up with hair and lock the brass bushings under the yellow cap. I have disassembled many Roombas, Sharks, they are all pretty much the same. Hair and string are not their friends. I have two Roombas over five years old, no issues other than batteries and Hair. 9, 2 dogs, 7 cats can keep them busy. I have two cats that start them when they are bored!

Roomba would run for 2 mins and then the error. I think the problem was when I took apart my roomba to replace the gears, I didn’t put the motor that turns the gears back in properly.

I took my roomba apart again, I ensured the motor was properly seated in its grooves, and the cable that goes in the wheel, was not loose but in its groove and seemingly tight.
Then it worked fine after that.

I had the same clean brushes error. Disassembled the unit completely and cleaned every rotating part. After reassembly, I got the same error message, however, I noticed the brushes weren’t turning at all. It didn’t make that same grinding sort of noise. Ran really quiet till it shut down.
Dissembled the unit again and removed the roller brush module. Removed the motor and jumped it using the recharging base. The motor ran. Reassembled and ran the unit. No error message. So far, so good.

HI Ben,

The fault with the Roomba is a hardware fault and i recommend for you to contact the manufacturer as they could have a recall on your product or even offer replacement

I was having the same issue. Cleaned the brushes, put everything back and got the error again. I finally took the brushes off and removed the grey ends and found a ton of dog hair under the grey brush end. Once removed it worked fine again with no error code.

Try replacing your old battery pack with a new lithium battery pack. A higher amp hour rating ands higher voltage will breathe in new life to your tired Roomba. Amazon offers quite a few choices so make sure you select a properly sized battery pack to fit your Roomba. And read the reviews concerning the various battery packs you are looking at. I did NOT buy a Roomba OEM battery and my machine now works faster, longer, and lasts much longer between charges.

Check this short video: you need to take off the yellow ends from the grey rollers and remove hair https://youtu.be/NdDhl7v0-9Q

Me too! Worked well.

We just had the same Problem with the Roomba S9 from Costco after only owning it 4months. We had the "Clean Brushes" error pop up about 6-7 times in a row and it was very frustrating. The first time it errored out, there was actually hair to clean out, but the other 6 or so times, there was nothing.. I believe the problem comes from when you clean the two green roller brushes and put them back into place that they are not aligned right. (Maybe a design flaw?) After the last time that it happened, I just turned the robot over and turned the front roller about an 1/8" to 1/4" and it has not errored since.

This exact behaviour happened to me. I clean out the rolls and those yellow end pieces. No change. I then pulled out cleaned out that plastic piece that is attached to roll and yellow end. The foam inside popped out. Removed all the hair meticulously.

Runs perfect.

Tried everything, including cleaning the front roller ball. Nothing worked.
However, I have two Roombas (different models), one upstairs on carpet and one downstairs on wood floors. I swapped them. The one that used to get the error works perfectly on the wood floors. The other one is doing a great job on the carpet. So there was something about the thick pile that for some reason started giving my other Roomba fits. Go figure.

Super late to this. But maybe it will help some in the future. My roomba was doing the same thing. Even with brand new brushes. I completely disassembled cleaned/greased gears, replaced wheels cleaned front wheel. The whole 9. Still the same thing. Tried factory resetting, nothing.

One thing I noticed was it would run just fine on the hardwoods. But as soon as it hit the carpet it would “hiccup” (as my two year old calls it) before throwing the dreaded error 2 code.

So I tried a theory. The bristles on the brush were too long and jamming it up. So I pulled out the scissors and slowly and in very small amounts trimmed them shorter. I mean like a cm or two. Not much at all.

Works just fine now. Might be worth a shot for some.

Super late to this. But maybe it will help some in the future. My roomba was doing the same thing. Even with brand new brushes. I completely disassembled cleaned/greased gears, replaced wheels cleaned front wheel. The whole 9. Still the same thing. Tried factory resetting, nothing.

One thing I noticed was it would run just fine on the hardwoods. But as soon as it hit the carpet it would “hiccup” (as my two year old calls it).

So I tried a theory. The bristles on the brush were too long and jamming it up. So I pulled out the scissors and slowly and in very small amounts trimmed them shorter. I mean like a cm or two. Not much at all.

Works just fine now. Might be worth a shot for some.

I only needed to replace the broken brush, but I bought a new set of brush, wheels, and filter that is cheaper than the brush alone. So, I replaced them all, NEW brush, wheels, and filter. Then, I kept getting Error 2 after every 30 seconds. It was so annoying. I noticed the Roomba ran slightly higher than before. It was about 1/4 higher than the carpet, now it is about 3/8 higher. I installed the old wheels back and SOLVED the problem. It is working on sensing the height. The new wheels pushes the Roomba up and it thought there were debris there. No more Error 2!!!

there is a little tether on the motor under the assembly, it looks like a tiny metal wire with a brass head, Once i removed that the brushes started working fine.

I have been suffered with error2 from my roomba S9 for over a year, and today, the problem solved - I changed the entire cage of the main brushes! (Of course I deep cleaned everything, sparyed WD40, as well) The connection between the drive train and the main brush motor in the cage was bad, which made the robot thinks the main brushes falling behind. The connection of the new cage seems improved - The photo I attached is the older cage, and the marked part is the one improved in the newer cage - They are covered with the black rubber. Hope this helps somebody!

Got new dust sensor from dealer. Problem solved!

Checked all of the above, and finally purchased and installed new brushes ----- and still got the error #2. The engineer in me finally kicked in and I took out the new brushes and looked closely at how they should operate. As noted there are two different ends to the brushes -- the drive ends which are the ends (with the square and hex shaft ends} that must insert into their respective shape. and the opposite end which should be free turning. So when you grab the square or hex end and twist it with your fingers on the opposite ends you should be able to rotate it easily while holding one end stationary. One of my new rollers was almost frozen stuck an the other required a high level of torque to rotate it. When you pull off the plastic end cap of the roller on the non drive end there is actually a brass bearing on the small steel shaft that can be exposed when you take that plastic end cap off. I took a bit of emery cloth and sanded down the shaft, added a touch of WD40, slid the brass bearing back on the shaft and reassembled plastic end cap on the brush. Bingo!! the shaft now turned freely when holding one end. Did the same process for the other roller and an put both back into robot as per the standard replacement process. The robot has been running great with no more code 2 errors. Hope this helps

Andrea, for the roomba error 2 message, your number 2 suggestion worked for me as well. Thanks for sharing your experience.