: iRobot 85101 Accessory Box for the 500 Series Roomba
Amazon.com’s Price: $69.99

Prices subject to change.

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours




Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Oversupply?
We’ve owned at least one Roomba for about one year and we purchased a second one recently. We’ve never felt the need of replacing anything yet. But, let’s analyze the contents, one by one, and see which of these accessories are needed and in what quantities.

- Sliver faceplate - not needed, unlikely to be ever needed. It’s not clear if it fits all 500 models.

- 3 side brushes - after one year of use, our side brush does look a little dirty. I may want to replace it sometime but, over the expected lifetime of a Roomba (3 years?) I would say that one extra, maybe 2 extra would be sufficient.

- 6 filters - the filters can be cleaned easily. I believe that we got 2 of them to begin with but I don’t see why I would want to replace the existing one. It still looks good after one year.

- 3 flapper brushes - the one that comes with the Roomba should never require replacement. Getting 3 of them almost guarantees that 3 flapper brushes are going to end up in the trash in a few years because they will never be used.

- 3 bristle brushes - we are still using the original one. They tend to get dirty as they catch hair but you either clean them and remove the hair all the time or you will have to keep replacing them after every couple of uses. For as long as you clean the brush, you will not need a replacement for the first couple of years of use or maybe forever.

- 1 virtual wall - whether this is needed, it’s anyone’s call. Since we have 2 Roombas, we got 4 of them and we are okay. 2 walls may not be sufficient. However, read the review preceding this one. The reviewer suggests that what you get in the bundle is a Lighthouse which, apparently is incompatible with the low-500’s models. I believe that the virtual walls are compatible with all the 500 series so, make sure that this is what you get if your Roomba is not a 535+.

Over the lifetime of a Roomba you may need one or 2 extra side brushes and, possibly, one extra filter or 2. Depending on your house layout, you may need more virtual walls or lighthouses. As far as I am concerned, this is it.

I am taking away 2 stars because, in my view, while each of the bundled components are good quality accessories, I see no need for most of them because they are not likely to be ever used as replacements over a Roomba’s lifecycle.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Lighthouse only works with models 535 and up!
This kit was offered as a free bonus with the iRobot Roomba 530 on Amazon. While this kit makes the 530 a much more attractive offer, THE LIGHTHOUSE IS NOT COMPATIBLE. I verified this with iRobot customer service after trying to get the lighthouse to work unsuccessfully. Lighthouses only work with models 535 and up. They are NOT compatible with models 510, 530 or 532. Amazon should do their homework.

The kit itself is decent. The silver faceplate is a nice-looking cosmetic upgrade. Also, be advised that if your Roomba is compatible with the lighthouse, you’ll still need a pair of ‘C’ batteries to power the lighthouse.