Symptom guide / Bosch dishwasher
Bosch puts a code on the panel for the drain faults it can see itself, and the E-series codes are worth reading before the machine is pulled out from under the counter. The display is the fastest way in: E15 on a Bosch dishwasher means safety switch detected water in the base of the dishwasher [S3] (the panel may show E24, E25, E23 for related conditions). Completed jobs carrying it average $301 (n=22). The symptom that brings people here is standing water at the bottom of the tub — in the wild it shows up as standing water at the bottom of the tub, won't drain, hums but doesn't drain or water left after the cycle finishes. Below, every cause is priced and timed, cheapest first.
hums but doesn't drain standing water at the bottom of the tub E25 E23
E25 and E23 both point at the pump; humming with no drainage is the classic sign
the source publishes an installed price for a drain pump replacement ($210-360), not a part-only price; no part-only figure is claimed here
won't drain controls seem dead E15
the pump drains the tub, not the base pan, so the machine can pump forever and never clear the water that tripped the float
the base-pan job is priced as a completed repair ($301 median, $266-390 middle half), not as a part
won't drain controls seem dead E15
the source recommends draining the pan and testing the switch for continuity before replacing anything; on some models the float sticks even with a dry pan
OEM float switch part number is documented (00165256) but no verified part-only price was found for this record; not claimed
OEM part number: 00165256.
The verdict
Under 5 years old: repair almost always wins. Over 8 years old AND the quote is more than half the price of a comparable new unit: replacement is usually the better value. [S2]
The publisher behind the codes here publishes a median for only two of the Bosch fault codes, and it publishes no per-cause completed-job count at all for the six causes on this page: the E15 figure of 22 jobs and the E24 figure of 13 are the samples behind those two code medians, which is why they appear in the codes table above and nowhere in the job table. Its own limit is explicit - medians are published only where at least ten completed repairs support the figure, and for every other code it publishes the meaning and the likely part rather than a number it cannot stand behind. The same publisher also carries a job count for the drain pump as a part (99), but that counts a pump that was installed, not a pump that was blocked, so it is not a count of the blocked-pump cause on this page. Nothing here is estimated to fill the gap. The same page does carry one dataset at machine level rather than at code level, and it is bound to this record: across 195 completed Bosch dishwasher repairs its median invoice is $315 for the part, the labour and the service call together, and the same publisher prints four part rows behind those codes with their own counts (a drain pump at $335 across 99 jobs, a wash pump at $367 across 118, a control board at $369 across 57 and a door seal at $292 across 29). None of those rows carries a published middle half, so each is carried here with that limit declared rather than with an interval this page would have had to compute from an unknown spread.
the replacement threshold used by the cost source (over eight years old + quote above half the price of a comparable new unit -> replace). This is a decision rule, not a manufacturer lifespan specification.
Have a quote?
Put your quote and the age of the unit into the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule, with your own numbers.
standing water at the bottom of the tub water left after the cycle finishes E24
the E24 code points at exactly this: drain filter blocked
won't drain water left after the cycle finishes
the cost guide groups filter, air gap and drain hose clearing into one $130-200 job
won't drain
| Cause | Cost | Time | DIY? |
|---|---|---|---|
| clogged filter | no part needed | 20 min | easy |
| blocked or kinked drain hose | no part needed | 30 min | easy |
| clogged air gap (only if one is fitted) | no part needed | 25 min | easy |
| float switch stuck in the up position, or failed | not priced | 45 min | advanced |
| drain pump blocked, or pump cover loose or missing | $210–$360 installed | 75 min | advanced |
| water in the base pan, anti-flood lockout | $266–$390 installed | 60 min | advanced |
A technician visit starts with a diagnostic fee of $75–$110 [S2]. Completed repairs run $130–$360 [S2].
This applies to the 300, 500, 800, Benchmark series. Model numbers seen in this group: SHE53TL2UC, SHE863WF2N, SHE53C82N.
Last verified: 2026-09-27. Prices are US market figures from the sources above; your quote may differ.
Completed repairs run $130–$360 according to the sources cited on this page, after a diagnostic fee of $75–$110.
The decision rule used on this page works from a planning life of 8 years.
Under 5 years old: repair almost always wins. Over 8 years old AND the quote is more than half the price of a comparable new unit: replacement is usually the better value.