What F16 actually means
The machine has found too much foam in the drum and has halted the programme rather than carry on.
Miele washers watch the water level and foam build-up during the wash and rinses. When foam rises beyond what the machine can rinse away or pump out, it flags F16 and stops, usually part way through rinsing or before the spin. Excess foam stops the drum spinning properly and can push suds out through the detergent drawer or the door seal.
What usually causes it
- Too much detergent for the load size or water softness
- Hand-wash or non-machine detergent used in the drum
- Very small load with a normal dose of detergent
- Detergent doubled up with a liquid capsule or extra fabric additive
- Repeat low-temperature washes leaving detergent residue in the drum
What you can safely check yourself
Work through these in order. Anything beyond this — panels off, testing parts, anything to do with the wiring — is an engineer's job, and not one to attempt with the machine plugged in.
- Run an extra rinse (or a rinse-and-spin) with no detergent at all to clear the suds
- Wait for the foam to collapse, then restart the programme
- Next wash, cut the detergent dose by roughly half and see if the fault returns
- Check you are using detergent meant for automatic washing machines, not hand-wash liquid
- Match the dose to the load size and to your local water hardness
When to call someone
This often clears with the checks above, and rarely needs an engineer. We cover Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and it's £66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it — £84 in total if it's repaired on the visit with no parts needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.
Outside our area? The explanation above still stands — take it to a local engineer and tell them the code. Knowing it saves them time and you money.
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