The agitator is the part people blame and usually not the part that failed: across thousands of washer repairs the honest answer is that a machine which stops agitating is normally a belt, a coupler, a lid switch or a motor. The visit is what the money goes on here: $99 [S1] covers the diagnostic alone, and every one of the 5 causes on this page needs a part. The complaint is the drum fills but the agitator does not move the clothes, described as the drum fills with water and nothing moves, the clothes come out dirty after a full wash, the top half of the agitator spins freely by hand, there is a grinding noise during the wash or the agitator moves but the clothes do not. Worn directional cogs in a dual-action agitator is where to start — not priced, about 45 minutes [S1].
What a technician actually does
worn directional cogs in a dual-action agitator [S1]
high likelihood moderate not priced about 45 min
the top half of the agitator spins freely by hand there is a grinding noise during the wash the clothes come out dirty after a full wash
The most common real failure, and much smaller than the part it stops: in a dual-action agitator a set of hard plastic cogs lets the upper half ratchet in one direction only, and when they wear the top of the agitator turns freely in both directions or grates during the wash. That hand test is the diagnosis, and the source gives it as the tell. The cogs cost very little; the job is taking the agitator apart, which is why the honest price here is labour rather than a part number.
the part is a set of thumb-sized plastic cogs, and the source is explicit that its own records contain no agitator category large enough to publish a median for, so no figure is claimed here; S2 prices labour on this machine at $110-175 an hour, which is what a fitted job would be made of
the agitator is the messenger, not the fault: failed drive belt [S1]
high likelihood advanced $307–$427 installed about 75 min
the drum fills with water and nothing moves
The finding that makes this page different from the rest of the internet on the subject: across 4,763 completed washer repairs, the source has no agitator category large enough to publish a median for, because when a top loader stops agitating the bill is usually a belt, a coupler, a lid switch or a motor. Whether the agitator is the fault or just the part that stopped moving changes the price by a factor of four. That is the argument for the $99 diagnostic rather than a parts order.
S1 names the belt among the parts that are usually behind a top loader which stops agitating, and publishes no figure for it; S3 prices completed lid switch work at $307-427 on the same machine, which is the band a belt job is judged against
failed motor coupler [S1]
medium likelihood advanced not priced about 90 min
the drum fills with water and nothing moves there is a grinding noise during the wash
The second of the source's four usual culprits and the one that fails loudly: a coupler between the motor and the transmission strips or cracks, and the machine fills, drains and does everything except move the clothes. The noise is the tell that separates it from a belt, and on most top loaders the machine has to be tipped or opened to see it, which is why an inexpensive part ends up as a labour-heavy job.
no source behind this page publishes a coupler-only or coupler-installed figure; S2's installed ranges for this machine run $180-360 and its labour rate is $110-175 an hour, which is the basis for judging a quote
failed lid switch stopping the wash phase [S3]
medium likelihood moderate $140–$427 installed about 60 min
the drum fills with water and nothing moves
The safety switch that tells the control the lid is shut before the machine is allowed to agitate or spin. When it stops reporting a closed lid the machine fills and then does nothing, which looks exactly like a failed agitator from the outside. It is the third of the source's four usual culprits, and the reason a no-agitation complaint is priced from the switch and the belt before a new agitator is considered. See the no-spin guide for the same part seen from the other symptom.
S3 prices a completed lid switch replacement at $307-427; S2 prices the same job at $140-220 installed, and both figures are used across this site's washing machine pages rather than averaged
worn transmission or drive motor [S1]
low likelihood pro $360–$650 installed about 180 min
the drum fills with water and nothing moves the agitator moves but the clothes do not
The fourth culprit in the source's list and the one that ends the decision: a transmission that has failed internally, or a motor that turns without driving the drum, costs enough to put the repair on the wrong side of the half-of-new-price line on an older machine. The symptom detail worth having is the source's: an agitator that moves while the clothes do not is a transmission or a worn drive, not a set of cogs.
neither source publishes a transmission or motor figure for this machine; S2's installed repair range tops out around $360 and its machine prices start at $700, which is the comparison the decision turns on
Repair or replace?
Test the agitator by hand before pricing anything: the upper half should ratchet in one direction and resist in the other, and if it turns freely or grates, the cogs are worn. If it does not, the fault is almost certainly one of the source's four usual culprits - belt, coupler, lid switch or motor - and that is the repair that gets priced, at roughly $307-427 on the same machine. Past ten years old, with a transmission or a motor behind it, the arithmetic turns and replacement wins. [S1]
- Typical completed repair: $307–$427 [S1]
- Comparable new unit: $700–$1,100 [S1]
- Planning life used for the decision: 11 years
- The comparison is a belt, a coupler or a switch at $307-427 against a $700-1,100 machine, which sits inside the half-of-new-price line and makes it a repair on anything under ten years old. What flips it is the fourth culprit: a transmission or a motor at the same order of price on a machine at the end of its life is the last money spent on it.
S2's half-of-new-price rule against its $700-1,100 mid-range machine, combined with the 10-13 year service life used across this site's washing machine pages; the point on this page is that the rule applies to the messenger repair, not to the agitator itself
Run your own quote through the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule with your numbers.