The short answer
Noise from a MAV washer is a load and a footing problem far more often than it is a bearing. These are light machines that are asked to spin a wet load, and a light machine only stays quiet if every foot is carrying weight on a floor that does not give.
What you observe
- Loud only during the spin — Balance, footing or something loose. The spin is the only part of the cycle with enough energy to make the rest audible.
- A rhythmic thump at low speed — A load gathered on one side. It is the machine telling you it could not redistribute, not that a part has failed.
- A rattle from the panel or the lid — Trim and fasteners rather than the mechanism. Common once a light machine has been moved a few times.
- A squeal that rises with drum speed — A belt or a bearing, where the model uses a belt.
Causes, most likely first
- The machine out of level or standing on a floor that gives — First on this family. A light chassis has nothing to damp a spin that is even slightly out of true, so one foot off the floor turns an ordinary load into a machine that walks and drums.
- Debris at the drain pump impeller — The pump sits low and takes everything the drum lets go. A hair pin or a fragment of a garment against the impeller gives a grind or a buzz only while the machine is draining.
- A load gathered on one side — Second. A small drum concentrates an unbalanced load far more than a large one, so a single heavy item or a sheet that has wrapped will produce a thump the whole house hears without anything being wrong with the machine.
- A coin, wire or button loose between drum and tub — Hard objects escape a pocket, pass the drum lip and then ride around scraping. It is a distinctive metallic sound that follows the drum exactly, and it will damage the tub if it is left there.
Check in this order
- Turn the drum by hand, slowly, listening for a scrape — Finds a foreign object between drum and tub without any tool, and it should be done before running anything else.
- Note which part of the cycle is noisy - fill, wash, drain or spin — Each belongs to a different part of the machine, so this one observation removes most of the list before you touch anything.
- Open the pump filter or access flap and look at what is in it — Worth doing while the machine is off anyway, because debris here explains a noise heard only during draining.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A compact washer full of wet laundry is much heavier than an empty one - drain and empty it before moving it, and keep it upright.
Models in the MAV family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. This family is a single model, so there is no variant to rule out before you start.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| MAV180-A2404PS/01FM-US | black-decker:washer:mav |
When to call
Call if the noise is a squeal that rises with drum speed, or if there is a smell of hot rubber after a spin. Both point at the drive rather than at the load.
Other faults on this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
