What to check yourself
Step 1. Empty the tub and take the filter out
Same start as any drain fault: scoop the standing water, then lift the filter assembly out to expose the pump cover underneath.
Step 2. Look for what jammed the impeller
Under the pump cover is a small plastic impeller. With the machine unplugged, turn it with a finger. Glass shards, fruit stones, a fragment of bone or a plastic label are the usual culprits, and getting one out often solves this outright. If it turns freely and the water still will not go, the pump is electrically dead rather than blocked.
Unplug the machine at the wall first, and use a torch to see what you are touching before you reach in. Broken glass here is common.
Step 3. Check the pump cover is seated
If it has been off before and refitted loosely, the pump pulls air instead of water. It should sit flat and lock down.
Step 4. Listen at the start of the drain phase
A pump that hums without moving water is seized or failed. Silence at the point where it should run points at the wiring or the control board. Useful to know before you pay for a diagnosis.
What a technician will look at
Described so you know what you are paying for, not as steps to repeat.
Replace the pump
A failed drain pump is a common part-level repair on a machine of any age, and on Bosch it is reachable once the machine is out and on its back.
When to call a technician
If the impeller turns freely, nothing is jamming it, and water still will not leave. That is a failed pump or its circuit, and it needs the machine out and opened.
What the repair costs
| Repair | Part only | Fitted by a technician |
|---|---|---|
| Removing an object from the impeller | - | Free |
| Drain pump replacement | $20 to $100 | $100 to $400 |
| Diagnosis alone | - | $75 to $150 |
A new machine of the same class runs $500 to $1,500. Once a quote passes about a third of that on an older appliance, the repair stops making sense.
Codes people confuse this with
Questions people ask
- Is a new pump worth it?
- On a machine under about six years old, usually yes: a hundred to four hundred dollars against four hundred to a thousand for a replacement machine. Past that, and especially if the machine has already had other faults, the sums stop working.
- I found a piece of glass and removed it. Do I need anything else?
- Run an empty cycle and watch it drain. If it clears, you are done. Check the filter too: glass rarely arrives alone, and the rest of it is usually sitting in the mesh.
Which machines this applies to
Applies to
All Bosch dishwashers. Machines with newer electronics show E6101 for the same fault.
Last checked
2026-08-03