Home › Dishwashers › Parts › Heating element

Dishwasher Heating element: What It Does and Signs It's Failing

Heats the wash water and, on many US machines, warms the air for heated drying. On most American-style dishwashers it's the round or U-shaped metal rod lying in the bottom of the tub, sometimes under a plastic cover. Bosch and many other European designs build the heater into the circulation pump instead, so you won't see one in the tub.

How it works

Current flows through a resistance wire sealed inside a metal sheath, and the sheath gets hot. The control switches it on and off from the temperature sensor's readings, and a separate high-limit thermostat under the tub cuts the heat if things get too hot.

Signs it is failing

• Dishes come out cold or wet at the end of a heated-dry cycle
• Cycles drag on longer than normal on models that wait for the water to reach temperature
• A heating error code
• A visible blister, crack or burned spot on an exposed element
• Grease and detergent not breaking down on dishes

Heating and 'water not getting hot' codes point here first, along with the temperature sensor. Drying complaints with no code are more often a rinse aid issue.

Can you replace it yourself?

Start by running the kitchen faucet until the water is hot and checking that the rinse aid dispenser is full. An exposed element can be swapped by a handy owner with the breaker off: its two terminals come through the tub floor and are reached by removing the lower access panel. A heater built into the pump is part of that pump, so it's a tech job.

Buying the right part

Match the part by full model number; elements that look alike can have different wattage and terminal spacing. Stick to OEM for anything that carries line voltage.

Error codes linked to the heating element

• E09Heating fault (meaning varies by region)Bosch
• i60Water heating problemFrigidaire
• F4E2 / F4E3Heating system errorKitchenAid
• Sanitize light flashingSanitize temperature not reachedKitchenAid
• HEWater not heating properlyLG
• F25Target temperature not reachedMiele
• F26Boil-dry protection trippedMiele
• 1E / IEClogged filter or overheating (depends on model)Samsung
• HC / HEHeater or overheating errorSamsung
• F4E2 / F4E3Heating errorWhirlpool
• Sanitize light flashingLoad was not sanitizedWhirlpool

Last reviewed 2026-10-19.