The short answer for the F models
On the AEG F dishwasher models, water that will not leave the machine leads somewhere the brand-generic article does not put first — a disposal knock-out or a blanked spigot. The brand-generic ordering opens instead with this: debris in the filter and the sump. It moves down behind the lead here, because this family is a short run on a common stem, so its behaviour is consistent in a way the brand as a whole is not.
What you observe on these models
- Gurgling at the sink while the machine drains — The drain path is shared and it is struggling.
- The machine stops part-way with water still in it — It is waiting for a level it never reaches rather than failing outright.
- The pump can be heard running with nothing leaving — Motor turning, no flow: that separates a blockage from a dead pump.
- NEAR MISS — the machine will not start at all — No cycle means no drain; start at the will-not-start page instead.
Causes, most likely first on the F family
- A disposal knock-out or a blanked spigot — When a machine is connected to a new waste disposer, the plug in the inlet has to be knocked out. Ranked first on the F models.
- Debris in the filter and the sump — Labels, seeds, bones and broken glass collect exactly where the water leaves. Second.
- The waste connection behind the joinery — A built-in machine drains through a hose clipped up behind the cabinet into a spigot on the sink trap. Third.
- The drain pump has failed — Every other item here is cheaper, faster and more often the answer, and a silent pump is the only real evidence for this one. Last, and that is the point of the order.
- Body: The spine for the F family records 4 model codes built on a common stem — a short run rather than a long one, which is why a single ordering covers all of them. Where this departs from the brand-generic ordering: the cause that moves up on these models is this one — a disposal knock-out or a blanked spigot — and the brand-generic lead moves down behind it.
Check in this order on the F models, and why
- Open the cupboard next to the machine and find the drain spigot — First: The whole drain path on a built-in machine is hidden, so it has to be looked at deliberately rather than glanced at.
- Pull the machine out far enough to see the drain hose run — Second: Look for a crush behind the cabinet, a missing high loop and a hose pushed too far into the standpipe.
- Listen at the start of the drain phase — Third: A pump that hums without flow points at a blockage; silence points at power or at the pump itself.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the machine or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, and turn the water off at the valve before disturbing a hose — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and this is a box that combines mains voltage with standing water. Never wedge the door catch open to watch a cycle run.
Models covered by the F family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| F8242FI | aeg:dishwasher:f |
| F8242FI-18 | aeg:dishwasher:f |
| F8642FI | aeg:dishwasher:f |
| F8642SS | aeg:dishwasher:f |
When to call a technician
Call when the filter and sump are clean, the sink drains freely, the hose runs without a crush and has a high loop, and the machine still finishes with water in it — that puts the fault at the valve or the pump, both under the sump. Call rather than continue if a glass has broken in the machine and you can see fragments in the sump, because clearing those blind is how people get cut. On the F models the line sits where the check stops being one you can make from outside the cabinet. When you book, say that the machine is built in if it is.
Other symptoms covered for the F family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
