Error codes · LG · Washers

LG washer error codes: most of them are the drain, the fill, or a load that will not balance.

LG washers print a two-letter code and most of them point at the install or the load — a drain hose pushed too deep, a tap half open, one heavy rug alone in the drum. Find the code below, take the checks in order, and clear it with the reset in the strip above. The codes that need a technician say so.

Covers: 2015-and-newer front-load (WM3400, WM3600, WM3900, WM4000, WM4200, WM4500, WM6700, the WashTower's washer and the WashCombo all-in-one) and top-load (WT7000, WT7005, WT7150, WT7300, WT7400, WT7900, WT8000) washers.

LG · First

Before you clear it

LG prints two-letter codes (OE, IE, dE, UE). A lower-case letter is the display's own shape, not a different code.

1

LG prints two letters. The display's 1 reads as an I and its 0 as an O, so 1E and IE are the same code, 0E and OE the same. A lower-case u (uE) means the washer is still trying to balance the load; a capital UE means it gave up.

2

The reset: press Power to turn the washer off, unplug it (or switch the breaker off) for one full minute, plug it back in and run a Rinse + Spin. A code that comes straight back is real; a code that stays gone was a one-off.

3

A Wi-Fi model shows the code and the next step in the ThinQ app under the washer's tile. Any model with a Smart Diagnosis mark on the panel can send its fault to the app: open ThinQ, choose Smart Diagnosis, hold the phone to the mark and press and hold the button it names for three seconds.

4

tcL on the display is the Tub Clean reminder, not a fault — run the Tub Clean cycle with the drum empty and it clears.

5

The model and serial plate is inside the door rim on a front-load (open the door and look at the frame) and under the lid or on the back panel on a top-load. Every warranty call starts with those two numbers.

Section 1 of 3

Water in, water out

IE#1

Also printed as 1E

Fix at home
Code

No water coming in

What it means

The washer waited about eight minutes for the fill and the water level never rose. Nearly always the water is not reaching the valve.

Check first
  1. Both taps behind the washer are fully open, hot and cold — a tap a quarter turn open fills so slowly the control gives up.
  2. The fill hoses are not kinked or pinched behind the machine, and the little mesh screens where each hose meets the washer are clean (unscrew the hose, pull the screen with pliers, rinse).
  3. A faucet at the nearest sink runs with normal pressure; a well pump or a house filter that has dropped the pressure stalls the fill.
  4. In a cold garage or a porch: the hoses are not frozen — a frozen hose fills nothing and prints the same code.
The fix

Open the taps all the way, clean the inlet screens, straighten the hoses, then reset and run a Rinse + Spin. If every tap is open, the screens are clean and the pressure is good, the inlet valve on the washer is not opening — that is a part.

OE#2

Also printed as 0E

Fix at home
Code

Will not drain

What it means

The pump ran for about ten minutes and the water level did not drop. The water has nowhere to go, or the pump cannot move it.

Check first
  1. The drain hose is not kinked or crushed behind the washer, and it sits only 4–6 inches into the standpipe — pushed to the bottom, it siphons and cannot pump against itself.
  2. Front-load: the pump filter behind the small door at the bottom left front. Put a towel and a pan down, pull the little drain tube and empty it first, then turn the cap out and pull the coin, the sock, the hair tie. Rinse it and screw it back in snug.
  3. The standpipe itself drains — pour a bucket of water down it; if it backs up, the house drain is clogged, not the washer.
  4. Suds. Non-HE detergent or too much of it makes a foam the pump cannot move; run a Rinse + Spin with nothing added.
The fix

Clear the hose, the filter or the drain and run Spin. A pump that hums and moves nothing with a clean filter is the pump — a part, and on a machine under warranty a warranty call.

FE#3
Check, then call
Code

Overfilled

What it means

The water level sensor saw more water than the cycle asked for. Either the inlet valve is not closing or water is coming in from the drain.

Check first
  1. Turn both taps off. If the water keeps rising with the taps closed, it is coming back up the drain hose — the hose is pushed too far into a standpipe that backs up.
  2. If the water stops rising with the taps off, the inlet valve is not closing fully.
The fix

Fix the hose depth or the standpipe clog and the code clears. An inlet valve that will not shut is a part — leave the taps off until it is replaced so the floor stays dry.

Stop & call

Water that keeps rising with the taps closed and the drain clear is a valve that cannot shut. Keep the taps off and call it in; this one is never a wait-and-see.

PE#4
Service call
Code

Water level sensor

What it means

The control cannot read the water level. The sensor's air hose has come off or the pressure sensor itself has failed.

Check first
  1. Reset the washer (unplug one minute) and run a Rinse + Spin. A sensor fault that clears and stays gone was a power blip.
The fix

If it comes back, this is a part inside the control area — a technician reseats the hose or replaces the pressure sensor. Not a home repair.

Stop & call

A level sensor code that returns after a reset is a service call. Write the code down, note the model and serial, and file it.

AE#5
Check, then call
Code

Leak detected

What it means

The sensor in the base of a front-load found water under the tub. The washer reports this before the water reaches the floor.

Check first
  1. Turn off both taps and pull the washer out. Look at the drain hose connection at the back of the machine, then at each fill hose end.
  2. The pump filter cap at the bottom front — was it screwed back in straight after the last cleaning, and is the little drain tube's plug back in?
  3. The detergent drawer: a drawer packed with softener residue overflows down the front and into the base.
  4. Was the washer overfilled with suds? Foam pushed out the top of the tub lands in the base and trips the same sensor.
The fix

Tighten or reseat whatever was loose, dry the base (tip the machine back onto a towel with a helper), and run a Rinse + Spin. If the base fills again with every hose tight and the filter cap straight, the leak is inside — a tub seal, a hose off the pump, the door boot. That is a service call.

Stop & call

A leak the hoses, the filter cap and the drawer do not explain is inside the cabinet. Leave the taps off and call it in — a door boot or a tub seal is a technician's job.

FF#6
Fix at home
Code

Frozen

What it means

The washer found the water in the hoses, the pump or the tub frozen. Not a fault with the machine — a washer in an unheated garage or porch below freezing.

Check first
  1. Feel the fill hoses and the drain hose — stiff and cold is frozen.
  2. Front-load: open the pump filter door; ice in the filter well means the pump is frozen too.
The fix

Warm the room above freezing and wait a few hours, then run a Rinse + Spin with warm water. Do not pour hot water on the hoses or the pump. Through the winter, keep the space heated or drain the hoses and the pump after the last load.

Section 2 of 3

The door, the lid and the load

dE#7

Also printed as dE1 · dE2 · dE4

Fix at home
Code

Door or lid not closed

What it means

The washer tried to start and the door or lid switch did not report closed — or the door lock did not engage. dE1 and dE2 name the latch and the lock on a front-load; dE4 is the lid switch on a top-load.

Check first
  1. Front-load: push the door shut until it clicks. A towel caught in the gasket or a strap over the rim keeps the latch from seating.
  2. Top-load: close the lid with nothing on it. A lid with a basket or a bottle on top does not latch.
  3. The latch area is clean — detergent residue on the strike plate stops the lock from engaging.
  4. Reset (unplug one minute) and try again.
The fix

A door that latches and still shows the code after a reset has a lock assembly that is not reporting — on a front-load the door lock, on a top-load the lid switch or the lid-lock strike. That is a part.

UE#8

Also printed as uE

Fix at home
Code

Unbalanced load

What it means

The drum could not get up to spin speed without hitting the cabinet. A lower-case uE means the washer is still adding water and redistributing; a capital UE means it tried and gave up.

Check first
  1. Open the lid or door and spread the load. One heavy item — a bath mat, a comforter, a pair of jeans alone — needs two or three towels beside it.
  2. A packed drum cannot balance; take some out.
  3. A new front-load: are the four shipping bolts out of the back? The washer cannot balance with them in.
  4. The washer sits flat on all four feet. Rock it corner to corner; a foot off the floor is turned down until it stops rocking, then the lock nut is tightened.
The fix

Rebalance the load and run Spin. If a level washer with a normal load still throws UE on every cycle, the suspension rods (top-load) or the shock absorbers (front-load) are worn — a part.

SUdS#9

Also printed as Sud · 5ud · SUd

Fix at home
Code

Too many suds

What it means

The washer paused to let the foam settle. Too much detergent, or detergent that is not HE.

Check first
  1. The detergent is HE (the hE logo on the bottle) and the dose is the cap's lowest line — about two tablespoons for a normal load.
  2. The drawer is not caked in old softener.
The fix

Let it finish; the washer adds rinses by itself. Next load: HE detergent, half the dose. A Rinse + Spin with nothing in it clears the leftover foam.

CL#10

Also printed as cL

Fix at home
Code

Child lock is on

What it means

Not a fault. The panel is locked so a child cannot change the cycle; the display reads CL and the buttons do nothing.

Check first
  1. Press and hold the button marked Child Lock (the one with the small lock symbol under it — on most models a cycle-option button) for three seconds.
The fix

The lock turns off and the panel answers again. It stays on through a power cycle on purpose, so a washer that will not take a button after a storm is usually this.

tcL#11
Fix at home
Code

Tub Clean reminder

What it means

Not a fault. The washer counts cycles and asks for a Tub Clean every 30 or so loads.

Check first
  1. The drum is empty.
The fix

Run the Tub Clean cycle with the drum empty and no detergent (a tub-cleaner tablet is fine). The reminder clears when the cycle finishes; on most models holding the two buttons the panel marks for Tub Clean for three seconds clears it without the cycle.

Section 3 of 3

Heat, power and the motor

LE#12
Check, then call
Code

Motor fault

What it means

The motor did not turn when the control drove it, or its position sensor reported nothing. On a top-load a load so heavy the drum could not move prints the same code.

Check first
  1. Take half the load out and try again — a stalled drum on a packed top-load is the usual cause.
  2. A new front-load: the shipping bolts are out of the back.
  3. Unplug the washer for five full minutes, plug it in and run an empty Spin. If the drum turns freely by hand but the motor never runs, it is the motor, its sensor or the board.
The fix

An LE that shows with a normal load after a reset is the motor's hall sensor, the motor or the control board — a service call, not a home repair.

Stop & call

A drum that turns by hand but never under power is a motor or control fault. File it with the code, the model and the serial.

CE#13
Check, then call
Code

Motor overcurrent

What it means

The motor drew more current than the control allows. A jammed drum, or a motor or board on its way out.

Check first
  1. Take the load out and turn the drum by hand — it should spin freely with no scrape. A coin, a bra wire or a sock between the drum and the tub stalls it.
  2. Unplug for five minutes and run an empty Spin.
The fix

A free drum that still prints CE on an empty Spin is the motor or the drive board — a service call.

Stop & call

CE on an empty drum that turns freely by hand is a motor or board fault. Call it in with the code, the model and the serial.

E6#14
Service call
Code

Clutch error

What it means

On a top-load, the clutch that switches the drum between wash and spin did not move to the position the control asked for.

Check first
  1. Take the load out — a packed or lopsided load can hold the clutch from shifting.
  2. Unplug for one minute and run an empty Spin.
The fix

An E6 that comes back on an empty washer is the clutch or the motor assembly under the tub — a service call.

Stop & call

E6 after a reset is a service call. The clutch sits under the tub; nothing to check at home beyond the load.

tE#15

Also printed as tE1 · tE2 · tE3 · tE4

Service call
Code

Temperature sensor

What it means

The water temperature sensor is reading open or shorted, or the heater is not raising the temperature. The number names which sensor on a model with more than one.

Check first
  1. Reset the washer (unplug one minute) and run a cold Rinse + Spin. If cold cycles run clean and only warm or hot cycles print the code, the heater or its sensor is the fault.
The fix

A temperature code that returns is the sensor, the heater or its wiring — a part, replaced inside the tub. Service call; cold cycles still run meanwhile.

Stop & call

A tE code after a reset is a service call; the washer may still run cold cycles while you wait.

vS#16
Service call
Code

Vibration sensor

What it means

The sensor that reads the drum's shake is not answering, or it reported a shake the control does not believe.

Check first
  1. The washer is level and the shipping bolts are out.
  2. Reset (unplug one minute) and run an empty Spin.
The fix

A vibration-sensor code that returns on a level, empty washer is the sensor or its connector — a service call.

Stop & call

vS after a reset is a service call. Note whether it shows on every cycle or only in spin.

PF#17
Fix at home
Code

Power failure during the cycle

What it means

Not a fault. The power went out while the washer was running; the cycle stopped where it was.

Check first
  1. Press Start/Pause — most models pick the cycle back up. If not, select a Rinse + Spin to finish the load.
The fix

Nothing to fix. If PF shows with no outage, the plug is loose in the outlet or the outlet is failing.

Warranty · When to file

When it's a warranty call

Every unit leaves with the manufacturer's full factory warranty. The codes below name a part inside the machine — once the checks have ruled out the install, the power and the hoses, call LG's line with the model and serial, and text us if you want a hand with the claim.

All units are surplus inventory (open box, cancelled order, customer return, overstock, or minor scratch & dent). Every unit includes the manufacturer's full factory warranty. Please inspect thoroughly in person before purchasing — cosmetic imperfections or missing accessories are possible.

Still stuck?

Text us the model number and what it's doing — we'll point you at the next step.

A fix, a part, or a warranty call — the plate's model and serial plus one line about the symptom is all it takes to tell which.

These pages are educational. Every appliance is a little different — follow the manufacturer's manual and local code, and leave gas, water heater and 240V work to a licensed installer.