What a technician actually does
failed lid switch on a top-loader [S1]
high likelihood moderate $140–$427 installed about 60 min
the drum never spins at all the machine hums like it is trying to spin but the drum sits still
The most common no-spin cause on a top-load machine, and a safety device rather than a convenience: the switch tells the control that the lid is shut before high-speed spinning is allowed, and its contacts wear gradually over years until the machine stops recognising a closed lid and refuses to spin. Watch for the pattern that identifies it: wash and drain work, the spin does not. The spread between the two sources is honest and wide - one prices the part and the labour from its own work orders, the other from a general price guide - so treat the low end as the best case in a cheap market.
the two sources disagree and both figures are shown rather than averaged: S1 prices a completed lid switch replacement at $307-427, S2 at $140-220 installed
failed door latch assembly on a front-loader [S1]
high likelihood moderate $200–$426 installed about 60 min
the drum never spins at all it shakes violently and then stops before the spin
The front-loader equivalent of the lid switch, and it fails the same way: the latch stops communicating a secure door to the control board, and the machine will not spin because it believes the door is open. The door still closes and still feels shut, which is what makes it hard to see. The source notes this is common in buildings with heavy shared daily use, where the latch cycles far more often than a household machine would.
S1 prices a completed door latch replacement at $296-426; S2 prices the same job at $200-320 installed. No part-only figure is published by either
worn shock absorbers or suspension springs [S1]
medium likelihood advanced $334–$408 installed about 150 min
it shakes violently and then stops before the spin there is a grinding noise during the spin cycle UE UB F0 E5
The cause behind the pattern that catches people out: an unbalanced-load code that keeps coming back on a load that is properly distributed and a machine that is level. The source's damping components give the drum its resistance during the spin, and when they wear the drum swings too freely and trips the imbalance safety shutoff again and again. It is the most expensive of the three priced failures here because the drum assembly has to be partly dismantled, which is the labour the price is really made of.
S1 prices a completed shock absorber or suspension spring replacement at $334-408 and notes it is more involved than a lid switch because the drum assembly has to be partly accessed
worn or broken drive belt [S1]
medium likelihood advanced not priced about 60 min
the machine hums like it is trying to spin but the drum sits still
The signature is the motor running while the drum stands still: on a belt-driven top-loader the belt links the motor to the transmission, and a worn or snapped belt leaves everything else working normally. The source's caution is that this looks identical from the outside to a lid switch fault, so the diagnosis has to separate the two before a part is ordered - which is exactly what the $99 visit is for. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
neither source publishes a belt-only or belt-installed figure for a washing machine, so this record carries no invented price; S2 prices labour on this appliance at $110-175/hour, which is the basis for judging any quote
worn drum bearings [S1]
medium likelihood pro $334–$408 installed about 240 min
there is a grinding noise during the spin cycle it shakes violently and then stops before the spin
Bearing failure announces itself before it stops the spin: a grinding or rumbling noise that gets louder as the drum speeds up, and a drum that can be rocked by hand with the machine empty. This is the one cause on the page that is closer to a rebuild than a repair, because the bearings sit behind the drum and the inner tub has to come out to reach them. On a machine past its service life it is the fault that decides replacement rather than parts.
neither source prices a bearing job on its own; the failure is described by S1 as one of the five main no-spin causes and the source's priced repairs for this symptom top out at $408 for the suspension work
direct drive motor hall sensor or control board failure [S1]
medium likelihood pro not priced about 120 min
the drum never spins at all the machine hums like it is trying to spin but the drum sits still
Two electronic causes that end in the same place. On direct drive front-loaders the source describes a hall sensor that monitors drum rotation: when it fails the control board cannot confirm the drum is turning and refuses to run the spin, often with an LE code rather than an imbalance code. The board itself fails in the other direction, sending no spin signal at all. The source's own split is the useful diagnostic: spin that never happens and no code at all points at the switch, the latch, the board or the motor circuit, while a code that keeps returning points at the load or the suspension.
no per-component figure is published by either source for the motor or the board on this appliance; S2's installed ranges for the machine start at $180-360 and S1's priced repairs for this symptom reach $427, which is the band a quote should be judged against
Repair or replace?
Clear the free causes first: redistribute the load, level the machine, and read the code. With the load balanced and the machine level, a code that keeps returning is the suspension, and a spin that never happens at all is the lid switch, the door latch, the belt or the board. All three priced failures sit under $430, which is inside half the price of a new machine, so on a washer under ten years old repair wins on the arithmetic. Past that, the decision belongs to the fault: a lid switch or a latch on an old machine is still worth doing, while bearings or a motor on a machine at the end of its life is not. [S1]
- Typical completed repair: $296–$427 [S1]
- Comparable new unit: $700–$1,100 [S1]
- Planning life used for the decision: 11 years
- The half-of-new-price line falls at roughly $350-550 against a $700-1,100 machine, and every priced repair for this symptom lands below the top of that band. What flips the decision is not the part but which part: a $140-427 switch or latch is a repair, while bearings or a motor at the same price is the last money spent on a machine that is already failing elsewhere.
S2's rule is to replace when a quote passes half the price of a new machine, which on its $700-1,100 mid-range washer is roughly $350-550; the 10-13 year service life used across this site's washing machine pages comes from the same publisher's drain guide, and this page's own source publishes no separate design life
Run your own quote through the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule with your numbers.