What E17 actually means
The temperature sensor on the drying side of your washer-dryer isn't giving a sensible reading, so the machine has shut the drying function down.
E17 on a Willow washer-dryer points to the dryer NTC — the small sensor that tells the control board how hot the drying air is. If its reading goes out of range, or the board loses the signal from it altogether, drying is stopped rather than allowed to run blind, because uncontrolled heating is a fire risk. In most cases the wash side of the machine still runs normally; it's the drying part of the cycle that fails, often part way through.
What usually causes it
- The dryer temperature sensor itself has failed
- A loose or corroded plug on the sensor
- Damaged wiring between the sensor and the control board
- A control board fault that misreads the sensor
- Heavy lint or fluff build-up around the drying air path affecting readings
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.
- Turn the programme knob to off, wait a few seconds, then switch the machine off at the wall for a minute and restart — an occasional one-off reading will clear
- Run a wash-only programme with no drying to confirm whether the wash side is unaffected
- Don't overload the drum when drying; a heavily packed load makes heat and airflow faults show up sooner
When to call someone
This one usually needs an engineer once you have tried the checks above. 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.
Other Willow washing machine codes
- Willow E01 — The machine can't confirm the door is locked, so it won't st…
- Willow E02 — The machine isn't getting enough water in, so it has stopped…
- Willow E03 — The machine can't get the water out of the drum, so it has s…
- Willow E04 — The machine thinks it has taken in more water than it should…
- Willow E05 — The machine can't get a sensible reading from the temperatur…
- Willow E06 — The machine has lost the signal that tells it how fast the d…
- Willow E07 — The washing machine's control board has lost or mismatched i…
- Willow E08 — The control board can't drive the drum motor properly, so th…