--- title: "Dishwasher drain & pump repair" description: "KitchenAid dishwasher drain and pump repair — water standing in the tub at the end of a cycle, or a machine that reports and stops." url: "https://kitchenaidmiami.support/services/dishwasher-drain-and-pump-repair/" date_modified: "2026-08-23" Appliance type: "Dishwashers" --- # KitchenAid dishwasher drain & pump repair ### Most of a draining problem is not the pump The water leaves a KitchenAid dishwasher through a filter, a pump, a hose that should rise in a loop, and then either an air gap on the counter or a spigot on the disposal. Every one of those can stop it, and only one of them is a part. That is the reason this visit begins with four checks you could have made yourself — we would rather tell you it was the disposal plug than sell you a motor. ### What actually goes wrong - **The tub filter**, which comes out by hand and wants rinsing every month or two in this water. - **The disposal knock-out plug**, still in place on a machine installed after the disposal. The commonest cause of a brand-new dishwasher that will not empty. - **The drain hose**, kinked, or with its high loop lost when something was pushed under the sink. - **The drain pump** itself, and the check valve that stops the water coming back. - **The control**, on a machine that never commands the pump at all — which looks identical from the kitchen and is a different repair. ### Water underneath is a different urgency A tub that will not empty is an inconvenience. Water arriving under the machine is reaching your cabinet base, and on this platform the diverter shaft seal, the sump gasket and the hose clamps are the places it comes from. It is worth a same-day call rather than a bucket. ### What it costs From $165, moving with the part and with the access — an integrated machine carrying your own panel is slower to bring out than a stainless one. The exact cost is confirmed after the on-site diagnostic, in writing, before anything is opened. What this involves The tub filter, air gap and disposal plug checked first Drain pump and check valve tested under load Leaks from underneath traced to the source, not mopped Find out whether the pump is running A machine that hums and holds water and a machine that is silent are two different searches. You can hear the difference from the kitchen, and it is worth telling us on the phone. The four free checks, in order The tub filter under the lower rack, the air gap on the counter if there is one, the knock-out plug in the disposal if the dishwasher was installed after it, and the high loop on the drain hose. Three of those four are not the appliance, and between them they end a real share of these calls. Then the pump and the valve The drain pump is tested under load rather than by continuity, and the check valve is looked at with it — a pump that empties the tub and lets it fill back is a valve, not a motor. Prove it on a full cycle The machine runs a complete cycle with somebody watching it drain before the appointment ends, because the second half of a draining problem often only shows on the second fill. Most of a draining problem is not the pump The water leaves a KitchenAid dishwasher through a filter, a pump, a hose that should rise in a loop, and then either an air gap on the counter or a spigot on the disposal. Every one of those can stop it, and only one of them is a part. That is the reason this visit begins with four checks you could have made yourself — we would rather tell you it was the disposal plug than sell you a motor. What actually goes wrong The tub filter, which comes out by hand and wants rinsing every month or two in this water. The disposal knock-out plug, still in place on a machine installed after the disposal. The commonest cause of a brand-new dishwasher that will not empty. The drain hose, kinked, or with its high loop lost when something was pushed under the sink. The drain pump itself, and the check valve that stops the water coming back. The control, on a machine that never commands the pump at all — which looks identical from the kitchen and is a different repair. Water underneath is a different urgency A tub that will not empty is an inconvenience. Water arriving under the machine is reaching your cabinet base, and on this platform the diverter shaft seal, the sump gasket and the hose clamps are the places it comes from. It is worth a same-day call rather than a bucket. What it costs From $165, moving with the part and with the access — an integrated machine carrying your own panel is slower to bring out than a stainless one. The exact cost is confirmed after the on-site diagnostic, in writing, before anything is opened. ### It will not drain and I can hear it trying. Then the motor is turning and something is in its way. In order: the tub filter, the air gap on the counter, the disposal plug, the drain hose loop under the sink. Three of those are outside the machine and all four are free to look at before anybody is called. ### There is water on the floor under the machine and the tub looks fine. Water arriving from underneath is worth taking seriously the same day, because it reaches the cabinet base and the flooring before it reaches you. The seal on the diverter shaft is one of the known sources on machines of this era across several badges from the same corporate group — it has been reported to start leaking four to six years after manufacture — and the hose clamps, the sump gasket and the door seal are the others. Which one it is comes from looking, not from guessing. ### The display shows F8 E4. That is the maker's own code for a water level problem, and the float assembly under the tub floor being stuck or obstructed is the first thing it points at. Write the code down and leave it on the display if you can — it is the only evidence the machine has produced. ### How much is a drain pump? This job starts at $165 and moves with the part and with how the machine is fitted — a fully integrated machine behind your own cabinet panel takes longer to bring out than one with a stainless front. The exact cost is confirmed after the on-site diagnostic and agreed with you before we start. --- **[Read full article: Dishwasher drain & pump repair](https://kitchenaidmiami.support/services/dishwasher-drain-and-pump-repair/)**