Shark NV360 Vacuum - Shark Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe NV360 Upright

This is the most advanced maintenance task that you can possibly do. During the process, you will also need to solder the board, which isn’t something that everyone can successfully do without proper training or know-hows. As a result, unless you are technically-trained or are very skilled with electronics, we do not recommend that you do this by yourself. For most people, we will either recommend you to send the vacuum off to a professional or to purchase a new vacuum altogether if the circuit board fails. So, what does the circuit board do? The circuit board inside of the vacuum controls the brushroll. When you flick the brushroll control button on and off, it is the circuit board that either powers on or shuts down the brushroll for you. And when the brushroll becomes stuck or clogged, the circuit board can intervene and shut it down to prevent damage to the vacuum. If the vacuum’s brushroll refuses to work, the issue could be a failed circuit board. In that case, if you want the vacuum to work again, you must replace this component.

Where to Find the NV360’s Circuit Board?

The biggest problem isn’t the fixing job itself, but rather, it is finding the proper circuit board. Shark does not sell the NV360’s circuit board and no third-party manufactures it, either, because it is proprietary technology. Therefore, if you want to get your hands on a circuit board, you will have to go to auctioning sites such as eBay. Circuit boards are typically quite cheap. You can get one for around $25 - $30.

Gather the Necessary Tools

Once you have finally gotten a proper, working circuit board, it’s time to gather the necessary tools to perform the switch. You will need the following:

• Metal spudger
• Flush wire cutters
• Soldering iron
• Phillips #1 screwdriver
• Opening tool

How to Replace the Circuit Board

Remove the Bottom Plate and Gain Access to the Internals

The circuit board is located right underneath the brushroll inside of the vacuum’s cleaning head. Thus, the first thing to do is to disassemble the cleaning head to gain access. In the segment above on how to change the belt, we have given detailed instructions on how to remove the bottom plate of the cleaning head to access the internals. Scroll up, refer to, and follow it up until the step where the bottom plate is removed.

Remove the Brushroll & Electric Motor

Once the bottom plate has been removed and you can now interact with the brushroll, remove it by gently lifting it away from the plastic frame. Next, you will want to remove the electric motor. It is the metal cylindrical that sits at the top right corner of the cleaning head. Gently lift the motor from its half-circle bracket. Do not forcefully yank it because the motor is still tethered to the vacuum via two electrical connectors. You can easily locate the connectors through the blue plastic insulation that cover the connectors. One wire is white and the other is black. Pinch the plastic insulation and pull it down the wire up until the connectors are completely exposed. Do this for both of the connectors. When the insulation is pulled back, it should reveal a tiny metal protrusion where the wire meets up with the motor. Use your finger to push this protrusion down and, with the spudger, push the slim connector away from the motor. This will disconnect the wire from the motor. Do the same thing for the other wire. With both wires disconnected, the electrical motor is free. You can now safely remove it from its bracket and out of the vacuum.

Remove the Circuit Board

Remember the two wires that you just removed from the motor? Those are important. If you follow them along, they should lead you back to the vacuum’s circuit board. The circuit board is separated from the motor via a plastic divider with a pass-through hole for the two connecting wires. Remove both wires from this divider. Pinning the circuit board to the vacuum are two 10mm screws. They should be fairly easy to spot. Remove them using your Phillips #1 screwdriver. Because the two electrical wires are solidly soldered onto the circuit board, you cannot remove them the gentle way. This is where your wire cutters come in. Using your wire cutters, cut both the white and black wires that connect the circuit board with the vacuum. Once the two wires are cut, the circuit board will be completely free. Lift it away from the vacuum.

Reinstall the New Circuit Board

Place the new circuit board that you got into the compartment where the old circuit board once sat. Take the two wires that you just cut from the old circuit board and solder them back onto the new circuit board.

Reassembly

Reassemble the vacuum by reversing all of the steps above. Be careful when you reconnect the two electrical wires with the motor.

When Do I Have to Change the Belt?

Like every other upright vacuum cleaners, the Shark Navigator NV360 comes with a motorized brushroll. It scrubs the floor and helps the vacuum take out ground-in dirt or stubborn debris. On carpeting, the brush can dislodge stuck debris from carpet piling. But for the brushroll to work, two components must work together: the small brushroll motor and the belt. The motor provides the power and works the belt, which, in turn, rotates the brushroll. If the belt snaps, the brushroll stops rotating.

A snapped belt is an especially common problem among pet owners. When pet hair becomes tangled inside of the brushroll, it can clog up the brush and prevent it from moving. If you don’t remove the tangle immediately, the belt can become stressed out and will eventually snap. If your belt has snapped (signified by the brushroll not rolling), don’t throw the entire vacuum away. Instead, you have two options: you can either send it to a professional who will replace it for you at a fee, or you can replace it yourself. Here’s how to do the latter.

How to Replace the Belt

Find the Correct Belt & Necessary Tools

Just like the air filters, you can either purchase a replacement belt from Shark or you can purchase one from third-party manufacturers. Just search the model name “NV360” along with “replacement belt”. Replacement belts are cheap, costing less than $10. As for the tools, you will need a standard Phillips #1 screwdriver, a metal spudger, and an opening tool.

Replacement Process

Place the vacuum down flat on the ground. Find the brushroll underneath the vacuum’s cleaning head. The next thing you will want to do is to remove the wheels at each corner of the cleaning head. To do this, take the metal spudger and insert it into the tiny crevice beside the wheel where the axle is. Make sure to insert it into the side facing the brushroll (the inside side). When the spudger is in place, gently pry the wheel from out of its place. Repeat this with all of the other wheels. Once finished, find the four screws spread all across the underside of the cleaning head. They keep the cover plate attached and we want to remove the plate.

You can remove each screw using a Phillips #1 screwdriver. With the screws all removed, wiggle the joint connecting the vacuum’s body with the cleaning head to shake loose the cover plate. Then, slot an opening tool into the tiny crevice that separates the grey plastic bottom with the blue plastic cover at the top of the cleaning head. Gently pry and apply force all around until the two parts pop free from one another. Lift out the grey bottom frame and the brushroll assembly will be revealed.

The belt will be off to one side of the brushroll. If the belt has already snapped, it wouldn’t even be connected to the brushroll anymore, so removing it should be easy. If the belt is still fairly intact and holding onto the brushroll, lift the brushroll gently upward and slide off the belt from the motor. Place the new belt into its place. Place one end of the belt onto the electric motor’s gear and the other end onto the fitting of the brushroll. Reassemble the vacuum.

This is a very common question that we were asked. The air filtering system inside of the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV360 has to be regularly cleaned for them to perform at their best. And if you have read our previous reviews, you will also know that if they’re cared for well enough, you may never need to replace them. However, if your filters are coming apart and you need to replace them, the process is simple and you can do it in only a few minutes.

Find the Correct Filter Replacement Kit

First, you need to find a compatible filter replacement kit online. They are (at the moment of writing) fairly easy to find and are also affordable to boot. Just search for the model number (Shark NV360) along with the search term “filter replacement kit” and you should have plenty of options to pick from. You have two options, here. You can either buy directly from Shark’s store. They are still selling filter replacement parts. Because you will be buying directly from the company, the quality is guaranteed. However, according to our data, several third-party manufacturers who offer NV360’s replacement filters have good quality track records, too. This kit, for example, is very well-rated among users. Whichever outlet you purchase from, the kit should contain three filter pieces: a foam filter, a felt filter, and a HEPA filter. The foam and felt filters make up the vacuum’s pre-motor filtration. Though they are not as efficient as the HEPA filter, they can do a good job at preventing large particles like dust and visible debris from being ingested by the motor. They also reduce the HEPA filter’s workload significantly by trapping large particles. Then, there’s the HEPA filter. It eliminates anything that has managed to slip through the pre-motor filters. With its high-efficiency filtering rate (99.97% of 0.3 microns particles), it will be able to do a good enough job to protect even users who suffer from allergies.

How to Replace the Filters

Replacing the Pre-Motor Filters

The first thing you have to do is remove the dust cup from the vacuum. You can do this by locating and unhooking the two latches on either side of the cup. They anchor the dust cup to the rest of the vacuum. Once the latches are off, grab the cup using the top handle and lift it away from the vacuum. The compartment holding the foam filter will be revealed underneath the spot where the cup had once sat. With clean hands, grab the foam filter by the corner and lift it out. Directly beneath the foam filter will also be the felt filter. There will be a small lifting tab on the surface of the felt filter. You can extricate it from the vacuum by grabbing onto the tab and pull. When both the old filters have been removed, install the new filters by reversing the process. Place the dust cup back into place once you are done changing out the two pre-motor filters.

Replacing the HEPA Filter

The HEPA filter sits in a different compartment than the pre-motor filters, so the replacement process will be drastically different. Fortunately, taking out and changing the HEPA filter is much simpler. First, you have to locate the door to the HEPA filter compartment. Look at the front of the vacuum and find the silver air vent with the words “Lift-Away Deluxe” emblazoned across the middle. Behind that portion is the HEPA filter. Look for a small latch at the bottom of this vent. It should be centered relative to the door. If it is too difficult to find, you can refer to the user’s manual. When the latch is located, you have to pull outward to release it. Unhooking the latch and the cover door will come loose. Remove the door and you will find the HEPA filter behind it. In order to remove the HEPA filter, grab onto the small, protruding tab in the middle of the filter’s grate. If you pull and it doesn’t budge for the first time, don’t worry. The HEPA filter is notoriously difficult to remove, so give it some time and some vigorous wiggling. When the old filter finally comes loose, put the new filter in place, install the cover door, and you’re finished!

Beside the confusion surrounding the Shark Navigator NV352 and the NV360, we have also received plenty of questions about the Shark Navigator NV360 and NV356E. If you don’t know what to choose between either of these vacuums, this next segment will help you out.

Now, unlike in the case between the Shark NV352 and the NV360, it is obvious from the get-go that the NV360 and the NV356E are different from one another. Though the old, industrial, and bulky design motif is still there, they each have a unique look to them. Thus, you can easily distinguish them from one another.

Next to the overall design, there are many other things that our testers have found the two vacuums to be at odds. From motor type, cleaning performance, to dust cup design.

Choosing between these two vacuums is going to be a little bit more difficult.

Suction Power

Immediately, there is a notable difference in suction power between the two vacuums. This is because they contain different suction motors than one another.

The Shark Navigator NV360 comes with a 1,200-watt and 10A motor. Meanwhile, the Shark Navigator NV356E has a less powerful 1,100-watt and 10A motor.

As you may have already expected, you will get far less suction using the NV356E than the NV360.

While this sounds pretty bad for the Shark Navigator NV356E, the reality may surprise you. Our performance tests have found that the two vacuums are equally as capable as the other on bare floors tests. The NV356E — along with the NV360 — did excellent jobs at pulling out stubborn debris from between the floorboards. They are also able to deal with tricky particles like pet hair.

These two vacuums also go head-to-head on carpeting. The NV356E seems to be able to pull just as much dirt and debris from out of high-pile carpets as the NV360 despite having a weaker suction motor.

In the end, it seems like the Shark Navigator NV360 and NV356E are equal in terms of performance.

This isn’t the result we expected, with the NV356E having an underpowered suction motor and all. But considering the fact that the NV356E is pricier than the other vacuum, this is very good news if you have been rooting for this vacuum all along.

Overall Design

It is in the design that the two vacuums begin to separate into distinct models.

First thing that we ought to talk about is the general appearance. The two vacuums do not look alike, with the NV356E a little bit sleeker and more compact than the NV360. There’s also the coloring, too. The NV356E has a cleaner, more luxurious silvery color while the NV360 has a dark blue tone.

That much is true. If you want a compact upright vacuum, the NV356E will do the job particularly well.

However, if it is a lightweight vacuum that you are after, the NV360 is going to be a better choice. The Shark Navigator NV356E is measured to be around 13.7 pounds heavy. Meanwhile, the NV360 is 0.7 pounds lighter at around 13 pounds.

Both vacuums — like all other Shark Navigator vacuum cleaners — have Shark’s special Lift-Away canister for more mobile and flexible vacuuming.

Then, there’s the power cord. With the Shark NV360, you only get a 25 feet power cord. This is enough for medium-size houses and apartments, but may not be enough to cover large houses. It is very likely that you will need to use the NV360 in conjunction with an extension cord.

If you get the NV356E, you get to have a far larger cleaning radius with its 30 feet power cord.

Dust Cup Capacity

This is the portion where the NV356E completely beats the NV360 and also explains why the former vacuum is heavier.

While the Shark NV360 only comes with a 1.2 dry quarts dust cup, the NV356E’s dust cup is two times larger with a capacity of up to 2.2 dry quarts. It is because of this double-sized dust cup that it is almost a pound heavier than the NV360.

The larger dust cup gives you the ability to clean for longer periods without having to empty the cup. It also means that you’re far less likely to have to empty the cup in the middle of a cleaning session, as well.

According to our testers and numerous reviews from consumers, the dust cup of both vacuums are easy to remove and interact with.

Filtration System

You get the same top-grade air filtration system on both vacuums with Shark’s Anti-Allergen Complete Seal technology and HEPA air filtration.

Accessories

The included accessories between the two models are quite similar, but the NV360 has more tools included in the box.

You get a power brush alongside a crevice tool with the purchase of a Shark Navigator NV356E. But if you get the NV360, you get both the power brush, the crevice tool, then a few extras including the duct cleaning brush and the extendable wand.

With a superficial glance, you may think that there aren’t many differences between the Shark Navigator NV360 and the Shark Navigator NV352. They have more or less the same design, the same name, and they are in the same price range, too.

The only notable difference between them from the outside would be the color. While the NV352 has a purple-lilac color, the NV360 comes in a pleasant dark blue.

In reality, they are not the same vacuum. There are key differences that set them apart from the other. They also have a different set of strengths and weaknesses.

Suction Power

The Shark Navigator series as a whole is well-known for having surprisingly strong suction power for the price. This sentiment holds true for both the Shark Navigator NV352 and NV360.

During performance tests, our testers and reviewers were both very pleased with the way the two vacuums sucked up dust and debris. Both of them are equally capable of cleaning on bare floors and carpeting.

Our test results showed that the two vacuums perform best on bare surfaces like hardwood and tiled floors. The NV352 and NV360 all did an excellent job at rooting out stubborn dirt and debris from between the floorboards using their strong suction.

Where conflict began is on carpeting. Though both vacuums visibly struggle with pulling out debris from high-pile carpeting, the NV360’s brush roll does a slightly better job at agitating debris.

Therefore, if you have a lot of carpets and rugs to vacuum, the Shark Navigator NV360 will be a better choice overall. If you only have bare surfaces to deal with, either vacuum will do.

Overall Design

Like we mentioned earlier, the Shark Navigator NV352 and NV360 are mightily similar to one another in terms of overall design. From the outside, if it is not for the difference color scheme (NV352 being purple-lilac, and NV360 being blue), you won’t be able to distinguish between them.

The two vacuums share the same bulky, heavy-looking design. And indeed, they are fairly heavy.

Here’s the thing, though. The NV360, according to our measurements, weighs 13 pounds. The NV352 weighs only 12.5 pounds. The half-pound difference can mean a lot for people who like to use lightweight vacuums.

The Shark Navigator NV352 and NV360 both have Shark’s special “Lift-Away” canister. This feature is the “bread-and-butter” of the Shark Navigator line-up, so to speak.

If you don’t know what it is, essentially, the Lift-Away canister can convert a Shark Navigator vacuum from an upright to a canister vacuum. You can push a button and the body (or the “canister”) of the vacuum will pop off. So rather than having to drag the full upright around the house, you can just carry the lighter, more mobile canister.

The Lift-Away canister found in both the NV352 and NV360 only weighs 7 pounds.

Aesthetic-wise, they aren’t the best looking upright vacuums on the market (far from it, in fact). Because they were designed years ago, the NV352 and the NV360 don’t have the minimalist, sleek-and-slender look of today’s vacuums.

Nevertheless, most people who are interested in getting them are more concerned with the performance (which is great, like we mentioned earlier) rather than the design. The look shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Dust Cup Capacity

The first difference lies in the dust cup capacity.

If you get the Shark Navigator NV352, you have a decent 1.1 dry quarts dust cup. On the other hand, if you decide to get the NV360, you will have a slightly larger, 1.2 dry quarts dust cup.

Yes, the difference is so small to the point of being negligible.

However, for a lot of people out there, even a dust cup that is 0.1 dry quart larger can be a decisive purchasing factor. If you have a large home or space to clean, you will be better off overall with an NV360.

There’s another issue, though: ease of removal.

According to many Shark Navigator reviews that we have found from past customers, many people experienced slight difficulties with using the NV352’s dust cup. Specifically, they found that it is rather difficult to re-insert the dust cup back to the vacuum once it’s been removed.

Meanwhile, the NV360’s dust cup seems to be easier overall for most people to put back into place.

Filtration System

You will find both the NV352 and the NV360 to be excellent in this department.

They both have Shark’s Anti-Allergen Complete Seal technology. It prevents allergen and dangerous contaminants from leaking out of the vacuum through cracks and seams on the vacuum’s body.

The second thing is that both vacuums have HEPA filtration.

If you don’t know what this is, just know that HEPA is quite literally the best type of filtration you can commercially purchase. It is capable of filtering out 99.97% of particles around 0.3 microns. This means that the filter is so effective, it can take out airborne bacteria and viruses.

Accessories

Each model comes with a different selection of accessories.

NV352’s Accessories

The NV352 comes with a brush tool, which is incredibly helpful for cleaning stairs and furniture. The brush can aid with picking out debris that the vacuum’s suction hose cannot dislodge.

The second piece of accessory is the 5-inch crevice tool. It helps extend the reach of the vacuum and is effective for cleaning the car. It can help you reach between the seats and other small nooks around the car to suck away the dirt and debris accumulated there.

If you need more range than the 5-inch crevice tool can provide, use the third accessory: the 24-inch crevice tool. Not only will it be helpful at cleaning out debris between car seats, it will also be helpful at gathering cobwebs on the ceiling or on tall shelves.

The fourth and last accessory of the NV352 is the power brush. This piece of accessory is for pet owners who regularly have to deal with pet hair. The brush won’t tangle up.

NV360’s Accessories

The accessories that come in the box with the NV360 include a power brush and a 5.5-inch crevice tool. Both of which are shipped alongside the NV352.

There are two special tools that can only be found with the NV360 and they are the duct brush attachment and the extendable wand.

The duct brush attachment makes it easier for you to clean air vents and air ducts. With the extendable wand, you can clean the underside of furniture such as the sofa or the bed without bending forward and potentially hurt your back.