The short answer
On an AEG Electrolux dishwasher, unusual noise most often comes back to a worn wash-pump bearing, with a hard object in the sump or the chopper area close behind. Age, not electronics, sets the ranking here: hardened door seals, worn pump impellers, scaled heating elements and a chafed door harness fail long before the board does, and they fail in the order wear predicts. The first checks below are owner work, but the ranking here points at a repair that ends in a service call, so do them to confirm rather than to fix.
What you are seeing
- What this fault looks like, and which observations point somewhere else.
- a hard knock at the start or end of a fill
- a buzz or whine during the drain that was not there before
- a rhythmic tap that follows the spray arm as it turns
- Not this fault: if the noise ends with the cycle stopping, read the cycle page
Ranked causes on this platform
- Ranked for an AEG Electrolux dishwasher, which runs an earlier-generation controller whose indicator sequence, not a numeric display, reports the fault on many models. No measured frequency exists for this address, so the order is platform judgement rather than a share.
- A worn wash-pump bearing — Why: Bearing noise is constant through the wash phase and rises with the pump, which separates it from anything intermittent.
- A hard object in the sump or the chopper area — Why: A fruit stone, a shard of glass or a bone fragment is the single most common cause and it is free to fix.
- Debris in the drain pump — Why: The drain pump runs briefly and often, so a piece of grit in it makes a noise that arrives on a schedule rather than continuously.
- A spray arm striking the load — Why: Tall items in the lower basket and handles hanging through the upper basket stop the arm, and the machine sounds mechanical while the cause is loading.
What to check, in order
- The order follows the ranking above: most likely and cheapest first, nothing needing a meter until everything else is eliminated.
- A worn wash-pump bearing — Because: bearing noise is constant through the wash phase and rises with the pump, which separates it from anything intermittent.
- A hard object in the sump or the chopper area — Because: a fruit stone, a shard of glass or a bone fragment is the single most common cause and it is.
- Debris in the drain pump — Because: the drain pump runs briefly and often, so a piece of grit in it makes a noise that arrives on.
Checks you can safely do yourself
- Isolate the appliance before any panel comes off, and stop at the first step that explains the fault.
- Listen through a full wash phase and note whether the noise is steady rather than periodic. — Tools: nothing — Time estimate: a short observation
- Lift out the filter, sponge the sump dry and feel around the impeller cover for anything hard. — Tools: a sponge and gloves — Time estimate: a quarter of an hour
- Remove the filter assembly and clear the pump inlet by hand with the machine isolated. — Tools: a torch and gloves — Time estimate: allow half an hour
- Spin each arm by hand with the baskets loaded and see what it touches. — Tools: nothing — Time estimate: a few minutes
- Stop condition: Stop there: the next step means metering live terminals or opening a sealed system.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, because a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Isolate the circuit before reaching into the sump, and treat the water in a machine that has just run as hot enough to scald. Never defeat the door latch to run the machine open; the latch switch exists to stop the wash the moment the door moves.
When to call a technician
Call a technician when the noise is a steady bearing whine from the wash pump, when something is audible inside the pump that cannot be reached from the sump, or when the machine has to come out of its cabinet to be opened. Anything that means disconnecting the supply and the drain behind the machine is service work.
The fact bundle for this address was empty, so no warehouse figure appears. Every number on the page is a program safety constant, cited to its publisher. — Sources
General guidance- 1910.147 — The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) — Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fetched 2026-09-06
Other faults documented for this brand and appliance. — Nearest pages of the same kind
What this page does not cover
This page is generalized across every AEG Electrolux dishwasher family and model number: no family fault list, no model parts list, and no measured figure from the program warehouse. Where a family- or model-specific page exists it goes deeper, and it should be preferred over this one.
Links: - [Common AEG Electrolux Dishwasher Problems](/blog/aeg-electrolux-dishwasher-problems) - [AEG Electrolux Dishwasher: Does Not Clean or Dry](/blog/aeg-electrolux-dishwasher-cleaning-performance) - [AEG Electrolux Dishwasher: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/aeg-electrolux-dishwasher-control-fault)
Adjacent pages for what this one rules out. — Where to go next
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
