The short answer
This page covers the Bosch SBV-series dishwasher, the models whose number carries the SBV prefix. A Bosch dishwasher that leaks needs two questions answered in order: is the water coming from the door or from underneath, and has the machine's own leak protection already noticed. On this platform a float in the base pan will stop the machine and run its drain pump continuously when it detects water below the tub - so a machine that drains without being asked is reporting a leak.
What you observe on these models
- Water on the floor at the front, appearing during the wash — The door seal or the detergent dispenser. Front-of-door water is the reachable category.
- A damp cabinet base or warped flooring beside the machine — A slow leak under the tub that has been running for a while - the most damaging and the least visible category.
- Water appearing only at the end of the cycle — The drain connection under the sink rather than the machine itself.
- NEAR MISS - condensation escaping when you open the door mid-cycle — Steam, not a leak. It stops when the cycle is allowed to finish.
Causes, most likely first on this family
- The door seal fouled, displaced or torn — First. Debris on the sealing face and a seal that has come out of its channel both leak from the front during the wash.
- Water already in the base pan, with the float triggered — Second to establish, whatever the cause: if the machine drains continuously and refuses to fill, the leak is under the tub and the machine has found it before you did.
- The inlet connection, the drain hose or the sink connection — Third on frequency, first on urgency for the inlet side: that connection is under mains pressure whenever the supply is on.
- The detergent dispenser or the door's own vent — Fourth. Detergent residue holds the dispenser door open a fraction and water tracks down the inside of the outer door panel.
- The sump seal, a hose clamp under the tub, or the pump housing — Last. These are the leaks the float is designed to catch, and they need the machine out of its opening to find.
- Where this ranking departs from the brand-generic page — The cause that moves is the door seal fouled, displaced or torn: it leads here because the door on these models seals against a gasket that runs around the tub rather than around the door itself, so a displaced seal is visible without a tool and is worth ruling out first.
Check in this order, and why
- Run a finger round the seal and look for debris, tears or a section out of its channel — On these models the door on these models seals against a gasket that runs around the tub rather than around the door itself, so a displaced seal is visible without a tool and is worth ruling out first, which is why this check leads.
- Note whether the machine drains on its own when you switch it on — Continuous draining with no cycle running means the base pan has water in it - stop and treat it as a leak under the tub.
- Look under the sink at the inlet and drain connections with a dry tissue — Blot rather than look. An inlet weep you can only find with tissue is still a mains-pressure leak.
- Open the dispenser and check it closes cleanly with no residue — Caked detergent stops the door seating, and water then runs inside the outer door panel.
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch the machine off at its breaker and shut the supply valve before investigating - water under a built-in appliance sits beside live connections, and a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Do not tip a dishwasher to look underneath; the base pan will empty into the cabinet.
When to call a technician
Call as soon as the evidence says the water is under the tub - a continuously draining machine, a damp cabinet base, or nothing visible at the door - because that repair needs the machine out of its opening. Call immediately, with the supply shut off, for anything wet at the inlet connection.
Nearest pages of this class
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Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
