Siemens dishwasher door will not close

What is actually happening

An integrated dishwasher door carries the weight of a cupboard door on its hinges and springs, and those take a lot of use. When a hinge spring or cable breaks the door drops slightly, stops meeting the catch square, and will not latch — which the machine reads as an open door and refuses to run.

The Siemens fault codes that point at this

A Siemens dishwasher will usually tell you what it thinks is wrong before anyone opens it up. These are the codes we hold for this make that relate to door will not close:

• E20 — The dishwasher has found an electrical fault in the main wash pump — the motor that pushes water round the spray arms — and has stopped rather than run it.
• E21 — The main wash pump that pushes water up to the spray arms is jammed or can't move water properly, so the machine has halted rather than run a wash with no spray.
• E23 — The dishwasher has lost the electrical signal it expects from the drain pump, so it won't carry on with the cycle.
• E24 — The water isn't leaving the machine fast enough, so the dishwasher has stopped and flagged a drain problem.
• E25 — The dishwasher can't get the water out, and the machine has stopped because the drain pump isn't shifting it.
• E28 — The dishwasher's water-clarity sensor isn't giving a sensible reading, so the machine can no longer tell how dirty the water is.

If yours is showing one of those, that is a much shorter conversation than a general fault — tell us the code when you book and the engineer can often carry the part.

The usual causes on a Siemens dishwasher

• A broken door hinge spring or cable on an integrated machine
• A misaligned or dropped cupboard door front
• A worn or broken door catch
• Racks or a tall item fouling the door as it closes
• The machine not sitting level in the housing

What you can safely check yourself

1. Pull the racks out and check nothing is protruding to catch the door
2. Watch the door as it closes — a door that falls the last few inches rather than closing smoothly has a broken spring
3. Check the cupboard front is still square on its fixings

Common questions

Why is my Siemens dishwasher door will not close?

The door will not latch shut, so no cycle can be started. An integrated dishwasher door carries the weight of a cupboard door on its hinges and springs, and those take a lot of use. When a hinge spring or cable breaks the door drops slightly, stops meeting the catch square, and will not latch — which the machine reads as an open door and refuses to run.

Can I fix a Siemens dishwasher door will not close myself?

Pull the racks out and check nothing is protruding to catch the door. Watch the door as it closes — a door that falls the last few inches rather than closing smoothly has a broken spring. Check the cupboard front is still square on its fixings. Beyond those checks this one normally needs an engineer.

What Siemens error codes mean door will not close?

Siemens dishwashers report this through their own fault codes. The ones that point at door will not close are E20, E21, E23, E24, E25, E28. If your machine is showing one of those, that narrows it down considerably — each has its own guide on this site.

How much does a Siemens dishwasher repair cost?

£66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.

Other Siemens dishwasher faults

• dishwasher not draining
• dishwasher will not switch on
• dishwasher not cleaning the dishes
• dishwasher not drying the dishes
• dishwasher leaking
• dishwasher not heating the water

Repairs we cover near you

• Dishwasher Repairs — what we charge and how it works
• Dishwasher Repairs in Nottingham
• Dishwasher Repairs in Arnold
• Dishwasher Repairs in Beeston
• Dishwasher Repairs in West Bridgford

Written by the engineers at ASAP Repairs from our own repair notes. See also our general guide to dishwashers door will not close and our Siemens repairs page.