Chosen Solution
I cannot empty my V8 canister because the red lever will not budge will I try to pull it up. Dyson is sending me a new canister, but have no idea how I can change it because you have to pull the red lever to release the current one.
I just had the same thing with mine, which happens when you close the door before reinserting the top. What happens is when you close the top first, there a red lever that needs to be pushed in by the lid. If you reverse this, you miss out on pushing that red tab and it ends up being a nightmare. To fix this, you need to moderately release the canister by pressing on the 1/2” lever at the bottom and moving the canister as much as you can, then, basically pry open the lid. It’s terrifying and feels like you’re going to break it, but it’s just a ton of suction in the middle. Once you have the lid open, you should be able to pull up normally on the large red lever at the top and properly close it (top first, then lid).
2/24/2020 Following instructions offered below I lay the V8 machine top on newspaper and gently pried the bin open with a thin screwdriver. The top rose as it was supposed to! And yes, once I pressed the top back down, I closed the bin and was then able to move the red tab on top. Everything back to normal ! In 15 emails back and forth with Dyson, not 1 suggested this technique! They are sending me a new Main Body, which I will accept because my machine is new and under warrantee. Lesson learned! DO NOT close bin before top!
Bear in mind that the outer red lever is pushed DOWN and AWAY from the body to release the bin, THEN when you can see the little red tab, push that toward the clear bin to release (only moves inwards about 1mm or so). If the big outer lever will NOT move, and the bin is still stuck, see below: FYI: just found a solution that may work for some. On the V11 (maybe V10 and 8 too). When the bin/cylinder is carefully removed (gently pull and rock the bin off the main body until you can see the red release tab, press that and remove the bin), clean the mesh part on the main body with a damp cloth to remove dust particles, wipe the red seal on the bin, and the black rubber seal on the body. When dry, apply a MINUTE amount ( a smear) of silicone grease around both seals. DO NOT let any get onto the plastic parts, otherwise it will attract dust. After I had done this, my v11 undoes the bin just fine now. Many auto spare shops sell silicone grease, and it is useful for many other items around the home and garage too.
hi i am a 79 year old scottish man, i have the same problem. 1- do not concentrate on that mickey mouse red switch because that is not the problem. 2-take some dish soap and a toothbrush on clean all around the rubber gasket. 3-try and pull on where the rubber gasket is all the way round you will probably see a part of the gasket that wont move at all and thats why it will not open. put some water in the sink with some dish soap with ,just enough water to cover the gasket leave in in the sink for about 5 mins. take it out and pull on the sides of the gasket to loosen the gasket it probably pretty nasty inside keep pullin all the way around the gasket’ once you have done that and got it all loose then push on the red switch on top(mickey mouse) pushing on the gasket at the same time 4- once you have done all that and it is open. then keep opening & closing it. you will have to push on the bottom at the same time as you are pressing the red button on a lighter note once a king always a king once a nifgts enough ha! ha! ha! we all need a sense of humor at this stage of time. good luck you probably not need good luck
Turn the unit upside down. Press the red lever until it releases (you can hear, feel and see that). Next to the red lever, the lid has a clear lever … wedge a skinny object (little screw driver or similar) and press the clear lever in the direction of the battery pack until the lid releases. Gently try to wedge the lid open & possibly at the same time pull up on the large red piece at the top of the unit. When closing, be sure the clear lid is closed last.
Worked for me. Thanks. Maybe Dyson should put instructions on the bin. Not intuitiv at all.
My V10 canister was jammed. But but applying a little force on the canister itself back against the rear seal I was then able to release the red forward slide handle. Even after cleaning it doesn’t slide as freely as when new a couple years ago but at least I now have a trick to release it.
V8 and red leaver won’t budge. When opening a V8, the top part of the machine/bin opens first so gently try to assist the top opening rather than the bottom, whilst gently pulling the lever, a bit counter intuitive and the top is quite difficult to open but once free the lever should open the bottom of the bin as usual to empty. When closing it should be the top before the bottom.
Removed the canister to clean as mentioned directions above, now when I go to release the bin to empty dirt it just falls off. Little red clip is not broken. Anyone have this issue?
What works very well is removing the dust which accumulates around the release mechanism springs adjacent to the barrel. In other words belt the $@$* out of it with compressed air and suddenly the machine works as new.
