I have had two new beater bars since I got my Kenmore "Elegance" less than a year ago. The plastic heads at the ends of the bar tend to heat up and melt, causing the beater bar to seize and permanently cease to function. I am NOT impressed with this vacuum at all. I was told by the local repair guy that in order to avoid this problem you should never set the carpet cleaner head lower than medium and you should only run the vacuum for a couple of minutes at a time, allowing it to cool down between runs. Well, we followed that advice and here I am, with the stupid thing torn apart on my living room floor with the stench of burnt plastic and rubber in the air! I would say this vacuum sucks, but the irony would be too much...
Paul Papadopoulos, April 2009