Washing machine repair statistics
The washing machine generates more repair requests than any other appliance: 299,013 interventions recorded in the Archimede management system from July 2019 to March 2026, accounting for 33% of all interventions (906,994 total). Nearly one in three.
This page takes a detailed look at washing machine faults: which problems occur most often, on which brands, and with which error codes. The data comes from the activity of service centres that use the proprietary Archimede management system.
Most common faults
The washing machine presents a remarkably fragmented picture: the top four faults all fall between 10% and 12%. There is no single dominant problem.
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| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Won't drain | 24,502 | 11.7% |
| Won't start | 24,412 | 11.6% |
| Water leak | 24,143 | 11.5% |
| Noise | 22,315 | 10.6% |
| Error code | 16,604 | 7.9% |
| Stalls / freezes | 14,417 | 6.9% |
| Won't spin | 12,871 | 6.1% |
| Drum won't turn | 11,568 | 5.5% |
| Door won't open | 9,191 | 4.4% |
| Door seal | 8,856 | 4.2% |
Most repaired brands
Samsung and Candy are the most repaired brands, virtually neck and neck. The distribution is even: no brand exceeds 10%. A brand's position reflects its market share, not its reliability.
Show all brands with full data
| Brand | Interventions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 28,290 | 9.5% |
| Candy | 28,288 | 9.5% |
| Bosch | 26,383 | 8.8% |
| Miele | 21,260 | 7.1% |
| LG | 20,975 | 7.0% |
| Ariston | 20,759 | 6.9% |
| Whirlpool | 20,555 | 6.9% |
| Indesit | 17,546 | 5.9% |
| Electrolux | 17,177 | 5.7% |
| Hoover | 12,916 | 4.3% |
| AEG | 11,366 | 3.8% |
| Beko | 9,075 | 3.0% |
| Rex | 7,140 | 2.4% |
| Ignis | 6,770 | 2.3% |
| Zoppas | 5,843 | 2.0% |
| Siemens | 5,194 | 1.7% |
| San Giorgio | 4,917 | 1.6% |
| Smeg | 4,186 | 1.4% |
| Hotpoint | 3,947 | 1.3% |
| Haier | 3,200 | 1.1% |
| Other | 23,226 | 7.8% |
Most frequent error codes
Unlike the overall ranking, where dishwashers dominate, washing machine error codes are spread across more brands and fault types. The most frequent is E18 Bosch (won't drain), followed by F05 Ariston (same problem).
| Code | Brand | Fault | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|
| E18 | Bosch | Won't drain | 1,044 |
| F05 | Ariston | Won't drain | 968 |
| E08 | Candy | Drum won't turn | 923 |
| F06 | Whirlpool | Door won't open | 603 |
| E03 | Candy | Won't drain | 570 |
| F05 | Whirlpool | Won't drain | 554 |
| E03 | Samsung | Stalls / freezes | 531 |
| F08 | Whirlpool | Won't start | 488 |
| F138 | Miele | Alarm | 468 |
| E08 | Hoover | Drum won't turn | 438 |
Worth noting: the same code can mean different things on different brands. E03, for example, means "won't drain" on Candy and Hoover, but "stalls / freezes" on Samsung. F05, on the other hand, means "won't drain" consistently across Ariston, Whirlpool, Indesit and Hotpoint — all brands within the Whirlpool group.
Fault profiles by brand
Each brand has a distinct fault profile. Samsung's top fault is "stalls / freezes", LG's is "water leak", Bosch's is "won't drain". The distribution says something about design characteristics — but also about how customers describe the problem when they call.
Samsung — 28,290 interventions
| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Stalls / freezes | 2,446 | 12.6% |
| Water leak | 2,310 | 11.9% |
| Won't start | 2,050 | 10.5% |
| Noise | 1,824 | 9.4% |
| Door seal | 1,737 | 8.9% |
Candy — 28,288 interventions
| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Won't start | 3,037 | 15.2% |
| Won't drain | 2,128 | 10.6% |
| Water leak | 2,109 | 10.5% |
| Error code | 2,058 | 10.3% |
| Noise | 1,668 | 8.3% |
Bosch — 26,383 interventions
| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Won't drain | 2,902 | 14.7% |
| Error code | 2,491 | 12.6% |
| Water leak | 2,206 | 11.2% |
| Won't start | 1,891 | 9.6% |
| Noise | 1,519 | 7.7% |
Miele — 21,260 interventions
| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Noise | 1,686 | 12.0% |
| Error code | 1,533 | 10.9% |
| Water leak | 1,396 | 9.9% |
| Alarm | 1,309 | 9.3% |
| Won't drain | 1,278 | 9.1% |
LG — 20,975 interventions
| Fault | Occurrences | % |
|---|---|---|
| Water leak | 2,824 | 21.0% |
| Noise | 2,079 | 15.5% |
| Won't drain | 1,573 | 11.7% |
| Door seal | 1,047 | 7.8% |
| Won't start | 1,034 | 7.7% |
Worth noting: LG has "water leak" at 21% — double the category average. Samsung has "stalls / freezes" as its top fault, which is unusual compared to other brands where "won't start" or "won't drain" typically leads. Miele stands out with "noise" in first place (12%), likely linked to the high spin speeds of its premium models.
Explore the Lab
Full overview: appliance types, brands and most frequent faults
Ranked by frequency, grouped by appliance type
The most frequent problems for each appliance, in the customer's own words
Source and methodology
The data covers washing machine interventions recorded in the proprietary Archimede management system from July 2019 to March 2026 (299,013 interventions out of 906,994 total). These figures do not represent the appliance repair market as a whole, but the activity of service centres that use the software.
Brand distribution reflects commercial market share. A brand with a high number of interventions is a widely sold brand — not necessarily a less reliable one. Fault classification is based on what the engineer records at the time of the intervention.
Other Lab pages: appliance repair statistics, appliance error codes, common appliance faults.