Tks for that Josh. This - and other of your videoes - very informative. Greetings from Denmark.

Well, that was informative: as a non-technical, I'll leave the defective cord retraction reel where it was, since it's clearly not something I can fix with a little shake to get rid of the dust or some possible clog. I had thought it operated on a self-winding-spring principle: i.e., pulling the cord out would wind the reel up to pull itself back in. It would be good if the principle was explained. Why does it need power, when it gets wound back in after the machine is shut off? Puzzling. I have had our Miele Blizzard for two years plus a month. After one year, the cord retraction failed and I sent the vacuum back for replacement under warranty. Eleven months later, when I was out of the country and my family was using it, the reel began to retract very sluggishly, and when I got back the warranty period was over. So that's two defective cord retraction reels in two years. Made in China seems to be the problem. Glad to have that clarified.

Josh do you have any videos how to take apart a kenmore canister 400. There are 6 screws i took out....but the back wont come apart...and I dont want to break it

So then what was the issue if not the cord reel?