The short answer
A front-load washer that stops with water in the drum usually comes down to one thing: the drain pump filter is clogged. Next on the list: something is jammed in the pump impeller. The first check needs towels and a shallow tray and nothing else, and it resolves most of these.
What you observe
- The drum is standing full at the end of the cycle — The wash happened; the water never left.
- The drum is standing full and the cycle has stopped — Water that will not leave stalls the machine before spin.
- A buzz or hum from the base with no water moving — The pump is being asked to run and is not turning.
- It drains slowly rather than not at all — A restriction throttles; a blockage stops.
- NEAR MISS — it drains fine but never spins — That is a balance or interlock question, and it belongs on a different page.
Causes, most likely first on this machine
- The drain pump filter is clogged — First on this machine by a wide margin. A front-loading washer puts a coin trap in front of its pump precisely because lint, hair grips and coins get that far, and that trap is the one part on the machine the owner is expected to clean.
- Something is jammed in the pump impeller — Ranked here because a jammed impeller behaves exactly like a failed pump and costs nothing to rule out once the filter is already open.
- The drain hose is kinked or pushed too far down the standpipe — Ranked here because it is free to check and it is the cause that appears right after a machine has been moved.
- The drain pump has failed — Last, deliberately.
Check in this order, and why
- Open the filter flap at the base and check the trap — It is the part the machine expects you to clean and nobody does.
- With the trap out, turn the impeller by hand — A jammed impeller and a burnt-out pump sound identical from outside.
- Pull the machine out and follow the drain hose end to end — A crush behind the machine is invisible from the front.
- Listen at the base at the moment the machine should drain — Silence is a pump; a hum is something jamming it.
What an owner can safely check
- Switch the machine off at the wall and lay towels — A full drum will come out through the filter hatch, and it holds more than you think.
Tools: towelsAbout 10 min
- Lay towels, open the filter door and drain it down — Have a shallow tray ready — a full drum empties through that little hatch.
Tools: towels, shallow trayAbout 30 min
- With the machine unplugged and the trap out, turn the impeller — It should spin freely with a slight magnetic resistance.
Tools: torch, glovesAbout 15 min
- STOP HERE if the pump has to come off — That means the machine on its side with the power and water off. Service call.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the machine or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, and turn off the supply taps before touching a hose. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Never force or bridge the door interlock: it exists to stop a drum turning with the door open, and a slim cabinet puts your hand very close to it.
When to call a technician
Call once the trap is clean, the impeller turns freely and the hose run is clear, and the drum still will not empty. At that point the pump comes off, which means the machine on its side with the water and power isolated. Call immediately if you can smell burning from the base of the machine — a jammed pump motor can cook itself trying.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the brand and the machine class, not for one family or model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your machine, that page is the more specific answer. Deliberately absent: programme charts, spin speeds, pump and board part identifiers and wiring colours, which differ between the slim-depth and full-depth families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
