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Amazon seems to have replacement batteries for $25-$70... that might be a good middle ground, especially after having read this.

The same thing happened to our Roomba. Fortunately we had purchased it at Costco and were able to return it for a replacement about a year after we purchased it initially.

You might try Tower Hobbies - they have dozens of 6cell battery packs for model cars and planes - looks to me like two of those could drop right into that battery holder. And if Tower's prices are too steep you can get similar packs from ebay vendors for much less.

Did you buy it with a credit card - if so use your extended warranty (most do it by one year) and get a replacement.

We had ours for just over 2 years (past the Roomba and credit card warranty period) and the battery won't hold a charge. I think it's about $80 for a new battery and to be honest, I'd rather lug my old Hoover up and down stairs than shell out $80 for a new battery. Argh. Meanwhile the dog and cat hair piles up under my bed. If I can find a replacement battery for a small enough sum, I'll do it. But until then....I'll be vacuuming by hand.

Visit http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/

They are a bunch of aficionados who have hacked every generation of Roomba to repair them. Some sell reclaimed parts, others offer rebuilt batteries at reasonable cost. Everyone is really great and helpful. They have helped me with several problems on my fleet of Roombas.

HTH

When my roomba battery died a few months ago I researched all these hacks, and found that the final price of all the supplies (I don't already have a soldering iron, so that was added in) was only marginally less than buying a new one on amazon (I think I paid $50), especially with the piece of mind that it now works as its supposed to and won't burn anything down.

Also, if anyone wants my old battery, its their's for the taking. Just pay shipping or pick up in NYC. I've been saving it hoping someone more inclined to repair would save it from a landfill.

*peace of mind

I've been very unhappy with customer service at Roomba. The battery was fine, but the suckage stopped. Jumped through any number of "do this, do that" hoops that they instructed me to do at customer service. It still didn't work.

There comes a point when you just want to send it somewhere to get it fixed. You can't get there unless you run a do it yourself marathon.

The darn thing is sitting in a box. Someday, I'll throw it out. I'll never buy another one.

I was about to give up on mine when I went to the support page & found out about fully discharging & resetting the battery. Have you done that? I have to do it more frequently, but it's given a bit of new life back to my Roomba. I was more upset about the 'stair suicide' mine committed after 1 month of fabulous cleaning. It's never been the same since the tumble!

I've had 3 roombas die on me. I had two (one for upstairs and one for downstairs), and both died. Then I got a third replacement...same thing. At this point....I'd rather vacuum by hand. It's just too frustrating, and although I like them, they didn't do a phenomenal enough job for me to keep shelling out money, time & aggravation.

I've had many Roombas b/c I run them a couple of times everyday because I have a gang of rescued dogs at all times. iRobot replaced almost all of them at least once but I have no complaints ... Roomba is my liberator.

So, all you need is a battery, no biggie. Get them on eBay; standard price is about $30, a little more or a little less.

I bought two Roomba Reds at Big Lots with a 20% off coupon last last year because the price was so good: $80. I find the basic model does everything I want and don't go for the added bells and whistles.

@ Aldyth

Hey, if you still have the battery (the standard yellow one presume), I would absolutely LOVE YOU if you could send it over to me to try on my sick little Roomba?

I'd be more than happy to shell out for the shipping. Thank youuu!!!

Here's my email if you want to get in contact: ekoshyun@gmail.com

I got my roomba for free off of craigslist (the best free listing ever I must say) and the same thing happened to mine. I find it so sad to watch him wheel himself off his charger to spin for a second and then just die. Going to try the fully discharging & resetting the battery that SQ talked about. Maybe that will help. I do so love my little roomba guy.

So the Great Roomba Uprising predicted for 2011 isn't happening?

Roombas are awful, All I hear are horror stories of how they die. My upright is 11 years strong and picks up much better. It was also cheaper than a Roomba does, doesn't cost $50 a year in batteries, and won't attack my pets. Replacing over 5 roombas, a long life is two years, within the time of my Hoover would be very costly.

Try ebay. I bought a whole bunch of new parts there for my two Roombas and the prices were quite good.

@funstraw - You're right on all accounts. But the roomba does all the work for you :) That alone makes it worth the cost.