Dishwasher door won't stay open

The dishwasher stores a huge amount of dirty dishes. Many people have adapted to storing dishes in the washing bin, and then, when it is full, they start the sink and wash all the dishes at once, it’s cheaper. After every meal, you have to open the dishwasher door and carefully place the dirty dishes there.

Imagine a situation where the machine door, under the action of a return spring, constantly strives to close. You have to fold the dishes with one hand and hold the door with the other. This is both inconvenient and dangerous; if your hand falls off, you can get your fingers pinched by the door and break a mountain of dishes. Why does the door close spontaneously? Is this a breakdown or a serious design flaw? How to fix it? It might be worth looking for answers to these questions.

Why does the door tend to close?

The dishwasher door of any brand and model can be locked fully open. In some models, fixation is possible in a half-open state. This is very convenient when you do not need to open the door wide, but open it slightly for ventilation, so that mold does not grow in the bunker.

It is generally better to keep the dishwasher door ajar for as long as possible, especially if the humidity in the room is high.

However, you and I have no time for fat, because the door of our dishwasher does not lock in the open or half-open state. So, if you need to put dishes inside the machine, you need to hold the door with your free hand or even your knee, straightening up so that you don’t drop the dirty dishes or slam the door. What is the reason for this?

Most often in such a situation it is necessary to talk about a malfunction of the door locking mechanism, but in some cases the door behaves this way in the absence of proper adjustment. The fact is that the door of a built-in dishwasher does not come from the factory adjusted, so that the technician can easily attach the façade to it during installation. After installing the facade, the locking mechanism is tightened and the door begins to lock normally. The adjustment elements are located at the base of the door hinges.

Parts responsible for fixation

If we look inside the dishwasher door, we will see:

• metal spring;
• a cable attached to it;
• plastic locking element;
• loop.

When we open the dishwasher door all the way, the hinge starts to move. In this case, the cable is tensioned, stretching the spring. When opening the door, you apply some force. It is enough to stretch the spring as much as possible, and a plastic locking element fixes the cable, preventing the spring from returning to its original state. It will remain there until you begin to return the door to the closed position. The blockage will immediately be removed, and the spring will begin to compress, dragging the cable along with it.

At this moment, if the door is not held, it will quickly close, slamming quite hard.

Let's imagine that the locking element has failed. In this case, keeping the door open becomes entirely your problem, since the spring will strive to return to its original state, and only your effort can prevent it.It is impossible to operate the dishwasher door without a locking device, as the mechanism will quickly break and another breakdown will be added to this.

Repair features

If the dishwasher door does not lock, and it was not possible to adjust it, you need to start repairing it. Let's perform a number of simple steps.

1. Open the dishwasher door all the way and hold it with your knee.
2. We unscrew the screws that are located around the perimeter of the end of the door or on its inside.
3. Let's disassemble the door. As soon as you unscrew the screws, you will understand that the door is made “like a sandwich”: two halves and a mechanism between them. As soon as we remove the inner half, the mechanism will appear before our eyes.
4. We temporarily weaken the spring so that the door does not close.
5. Remove the cover from the cable.
6. We remove the old locking element and put a new one in its place.

A broken locking device cannot be repaired.

After installing a new locking element for a Bosch machine or any other, do not rush to assemble the door. First, carefully holding the cable and spring, check how the door will close and open, and whether it will stay in the open position. If everything is in order, you can assemble the Bosch or any other car door and start using the updated equipment.

We have dealt with the problems of poor door fixation when open, but the mechanism can break in another way, and accordingly, the symptoms of the breakdown will be different.

• The door falls and opens spontaneously. This means that the cable has broken or the spring has burst. Most often problems arise with the cable. The problem can be resolved by replacing the cable or spring.
• The door does not lock and the sink does not start.There was a problem with the door locking device. In this case, the device is either repaired or replaced. A modern dishwasher will report problems with the door locking by displaying the appropriate error code. Which? You will learn about this by reading the article Error codes for different dishwashers.
• The door leaked. The rubber seals are damaged and need to be replaced. Sometimes the cause of this problem is a broken cable.
• The door squeaks a lot. In this case, you need to carefully inspect the hinges; they may need lubrication. If the hinges are damaged, they need to be replaced.

Repairing the dishwasher door yourself should not cause problems. Very often, housewives can cope with such simple repairs, even without the help of their husbands. If you still have difficulties, do not take risks, contact a specialist. Good luck!

4 reader comments

1. 02/14/2019 at 01:48

   Vadim:

   And I was stupid, I already wanted to take the dishwasher back and return it. But it turns out that there are adjustments, although there is not a word about them in the instructions. Thanks a lot!

   Answer
   • 03/29/2019 at 20:18

     Natalia:

     Oh, I can't adjust...

     Answer
     • 09.18.2019 at 23:05

       Sergey:

       Did you manage to adjust it yourself? It doesn't register for me either.

       Answer
   • 04/01/2020 at 15:24

     Dimka:

     Where is the adjustment? I never found it!

     Answer