The short answer
This page covers the Bosch SGV-series dishwasher, the models whose number carries the SGV prefix. A Bosch dishwasher that stands with water in the bottom is usually blocked rather than broken, and on this platform the blockage is nearly always in the filter or in the household drain connection under the sink. A shallow pool covering the sump is normal between cycles; water above the filter at the end of a cycle is not.
What you observe on these models
- Standing water covering the filter at the end of the cycle — The tub did not empty. Anything above the filter is water the machine should have removed. On the SGV models this is the observation to trust first: it can be made from the front of the appliance without moving anything.
- The machine hums at the drain stage with no water leaving — The drain pump running against a blockage, or an impeller jammed by a fragment of glass or a fruit stone.
- Water in the tub and a smell after a day or two — Standing soil. It is the consequence rather than a separate fault, and it clears once the machine drains.
- NEAR MISS - a film of water in the sump alone — That is normal and deliberate: it keeps the seals wet.
Causes, most likely first on this family
- A blocked filter and sump — First. Everything the machine removes from the dishes ends up here, and a filter that has not been cleaned closes the path the pump needs.
- A disposer knockout plug never removed — Second, and the classic failure on a newly installed machine: the drain hose was connected to a disposer inlet that is still closed.
- The sink trap, disposer or air gap blocked — Third, and frequently not the dishwasher at all: if the sink drains slowly, the machine is reporting the household plumbing.
- A kinked drain hose, or a high loop that has slipped — Fourth. The hose is routed to stop siphoning; when it sags or kinks behind the cabinet, the machine either cannot push water out or takes it straight back.
- The drain pump jammed or failed — Last. Glass fragments and fruit stones do jam the impeller, but this is diagnosed once the accessible path above has been cleared.
- Where this ranking departs from the brand-generic page — The cause that moves is a blocked filter and sump: it leads here because the filter and the sump on these models are removed by hand from inside the tub, so the whole accessible drain path can be examined without moving the machine.
Check in this order, and why
- Bail out the water, twist out the filter and clear the sump — On these models the filter and the sump on these models are removed by hand from inside the tub, so the whole accessible drain path can be examined without moving the machine, which is why this check leads. A cup and a sponge for the water, then look at what the filter is holding. This is where the blockage usually is.
- If the machine is newly installed, check the disposer knockout — A machine that has never drained since installation almost always has a closed knockout plug at the disposer inlet.
- Run the sink tap and watch it drain — A slow sink tells you the blockage is shared plumbing rather than the appliance, and that is a different trade.
- Look under the sink at the drain hose for kinks and its high loop — The loop stops the sink's water siphoning back into the machine; when it slips down, dirty water returns.
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch the machine off at its breaker before reaching into the sump - a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Assume broken glass in the filter and wear gloves.
When to call a technician
Call when the filter and sump are clear, the sink drains freely, the hose is unkinked with its loop restored, and the tub still holds water. What remains is the pump, the check valve or the control, all of which mean moving the machine out with water and power connected.
Nearest pages of this class
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