Three of the causes behind a shaking machine are things you check rather than things you buy, and the two that cost money are told apart by asking when it started rather than what it does. Levelling feet and a floor that only looks flat is where 3 of the 6 causes on this page get settled without buying anything — about 20 minutes, no part needed [S1]. On a washing machine the complaint is the washing machine shakes, walks or bangs during the spin, and it arrives in these words: the machine shakes hard enough to move, it walks across the floor during the spin, it bangs on every load no matter what goes in, it grinds metal on metal when it spins up or it has been getting worse over the last year. Parts only come into it once those are ruled out: the completed repairs behind this symptom run $367–$372 [S1], against a replacement from $700.
What a technician actually does
worn shock absorbers or suspension rods [S1]
medium likelihood advanced $334–$408 installed about 150 min
it has been getting worse over the last year it bangs on every load no matter what goes in UE UB F0 E5
The paid answer behind a machine that fails on balanced loads with the feet level: the dampers that give the drum its resistance are worn, so the drum swings too freely and trips the imbalance shutoff again and again. The source's timing tell is the one to use, because wear is gradual by definition - it got worse over a year is wear, while it started yesterday is not. 195 of its logged jobs were this repair, which is why the price band is quoted from that group rather than from the whole page.
S1 publishes medians of completed jobs rather than part-only prices: suspension work ran a $367 median across 195 jobs, and the broader noise-and-shaking group it belongs to came to $372 across 584 visits
worn drum bearings [S1]
medium likelihood pro $367–$372 installed about 240 min
it grinds metal on metal when it spins up
The source's line is blunt: metal-on-metal grinding during the spin is past the balance question and into bearing territory. A drum that can be rocked hard by hand with the machine empty, or a rumble that rises with drum speed, is this rather than suspension. It 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 - which is why the source's own decision line treats it as the fault that ends a machine's life rather than a maintenance item.
neither source prices a bearing job on its own for this fault; S1's priced repairs for the shaking group top out at the suspension band, and the source treats bearing noise as a different decision rather than a different price
weak or flexible floor under the machine [S1]
medium likelihood moderate not priced about 30 min
it walks across the floor during the spin it bangs on every load no matter what goes in
The cause the source puts beside levelling and that a level check alone will not find: a machine can be perfectly level on a floor that flexes, and a spin at 1,200 rpm turns that flex into a bounce the machine cannot damp. The test is physical - press down on the floor at each corner while the machine is empty and listen for movement, and compare with a concrete floor if there is one in the house. Anti-vibration pads and a plywood platform under the feet are the cheap answers; reinforcing the floor is not an appliance job.
no published figure: this is a building repair rather than an appliance part, and the source treats flooring as a diagnostic category for exactly that reason
Repair or replace?
Level it, check the shipping bolts, and sort the load before anything is priced - those three findings are free and between them they account for most of the shaking this page is about. If the machine fails on balanced loads with the feet level and the floor solid, the repair is suspension at about $367, and that is inside half the price of a new machine, so on a washer under ten years old it is a repair. Grinding is the exception: bearings on a machine at the end of its life is the fault that decides replacement rather than the price. [S1]
- Typical completed repair: $367–$372 [S1]
- Comparable new unit: $700–$1,100 [S1]
- Planning life used for the decision: 11 years
- The comparison is $367 against $700-1,100, and the suspension job lands just under the half-of-new-price line - close enough that age decides it. That is why the source's timing question matters more than the price: a machine that got worse over a year is spending $367 to recover several years of life, while the same $367 on a twelve-year-old machine buys the next two years of 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 half-of-new-price line falls at roughly $350-550, which the suspension repair sits just underneath
Run your own quote through the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule with your numbers.
Do this first (free)
levelling feet and a floor that only looks flat [S1]
high likelihood easy no part needed about 20 min
the machine shakes hard enough to move it walks across the floor during the spin UE UB F0 E5
The source's first instruction and the fix it says is skipped most often, because a floor that looks flat rarely is. Empty the drum and put a spirit level on top of the machine, first front to back and then side to side. Most machines have adjustable front feet and self-levelling rear feet: tilt the machine forward a few inches and set it back down so the rear feet find their position, then level the front and lock them. A front-loader's tolerance is tighter than a top-loader's, so a machine that passes on the bubble can still be out on a spin. Free.
shipping bolts never removed, or removed and found again after a move [S1]
high likelihood easy no part needed about 15 min
it started the day it was delivered or moved the machine shakes hard enough to move
The source's tell is when it started rather than what it does: a machine that shook from the day it arrived has shipping bolts still in the back, which lock the drum to the cabinet so it cannot absorb anything, or a machine that was delivered and never levelled. On the other side of the same fault, bolts taken out and refitted after a move are the same problem in reverse. This is the cause that makes a brand-new machine behave like one with worn suspension, and it costs nothing to check.
load distribution: one heavy item with nothing to counter it [S1]
high likelihood easy no part needed about 5 min
it bangs on every load no matter what goes in
The source separates a load problem from a machine problem by asking which loads fail. A duvet, a bath mat or one pair of jeans with nothing of similar weight to balance it will make a healthy machine trip the imbalance detection every time, and the machine is behaving correctly in refusing to accelerate it. The source's own list of loads that cause this every time is the useful part: if the same items always fail and mixed loads do not, nothing has worn out.