What Dishwasher Repairs Cost, Fix by Fix

We diagnose the fault on site for $99, credit that amount toward the repair, and provide the actual repair price in writing before work starts. The market ranges below explain why the failed part and access matter; they are not our quote.

Which dishwashers we service

We do not service LG, Samsung, Bosch, KitchenAid, Whirlpool, or Jenn-Air dishwashers. We repair household, panel-ready, and commercial dishwashers from other brands. We still repair refrigerators, ranges, ovens, and laundry from the six excluded dishwasher brands. The breakdown below shows why the failed part and access matter before anyone can quote the job.

Pump and motor

The wash pump and drain pump cause most “not cleaning” and “standing water” calls. A drain pump swap usually runs $150 to $300. The wash pump or full motor assembly sits deeper in the machine and takes longer, so figure $350 to $600 or more depending on brand.

If the machine hums but won’t fill, or runs but won’t drain, look at the pump first. We pull the lower spray arm and filter, check for blockages (plenty of “pump failures” turn out to be a packed filter), and test the motor. Clearing a clog might cost you nothing past the diagnostic. An actual pump swap is a couple hours of labor plus the part.

Door latch

A machine that won’t start, or quits mid-cycle, is often the latch. The switch inside it tells the board the door is shut. When it fails, the machine just sits there.

This is one of the cheap ones. The part runs $20 to $50 and the swap is quick on most brands, so the whole repair lands around $100 to $200. Worth fixing. If yours clicks but won’t run, or throws a code about the door, start here.

Control board

The board is the brain. When it goes you see a display acting up, dead buttons, a machine stuck in a loop, or nothing at all.

This is the expensive end. Boards run $100 to $400-plus for the part alone depending on brand and whether it is OEM, and labor brings the total to $300 to $600 or more. Before we call a board, we rule out the cheap stuff a bad board mimics: a blown thermal fuse, a dead latch switch, a wiring fault. Any tech who jumps straight to “new board” without checking those has earned a second opinion. On a machine past eight years, a board often does not pencil out. A basic new dishwasher starts around $400 to $500, and that math matters.

Heating element

The element does two jobs, heating the wash water and drying at the end. If dishes come out clean but wet, or the water never seems hot enough, the element is a likely cause.

A swap usually runs $150 to $350. The part itself is often $25 to $75, but access is all over the map by brand. Some are a 20-minute job. Others mean pulling the unit and opening the tub. We meter the element before touching it. Out-of-spec resistance means it is done. We also check the high-limit thermostat and the thermal fuse, cheap parts that fail for the same reason and block the element.

Spray arms and inlet valve

Spray arms are cheap. Cracked or clogged past cleaning, replacement runs under $50 for parts and maybe $75 to $125 total. Clean the arm holes with a toothpick first, that is a real fix. The inlet valve controls the fill. No fill or a slow fill points here. Parts are $20 to $60 and the total repair is usually $120 to $200.

About the diagnostic

We charge $99 to come out, find the fault, and give you a written repair-or-replace call and a price. That $99 is credited to the repair if you move forward. There is no price before the visit, because a real number depends on what we actually find. Anyone quoting a fix sight unseen is guessing.

Fix it or replace it

Rough rule: if the fix costs more than half a new machine and yours is past eight years, look at replacing. On a well-built premium machine like a Miele or Fisher & Paykel, a $400 repair on a $1,200 unit still makes sense. Pump, latch, element, and inlet valve repairs are nearly always worth it under ten years on that tier. A board on an older unit is the hard one to justify.

When to bring us in

Past cleaning the spray arms and the filter, you are in tech territory. Pump work, elements, and boards all need proper disassembly and testing, and a wrong guess gets costly fast. Swapping a board when the real fault was a $15 thermal fuse is a thing that happens.

For an accepted dishwasher brand, call (925) 999-4095 or schedule a visit. The $99 diagnostic identifies the fault and gives you the repair price in writing, and it is credited to the repair if you go ahead. Heating or cooling also on the list? That’s our sister brand, Bay Area HVAC Service, and the assessment visit is free if you’re facing a replacement.