The short answer
Standing water in a SHXN tub is a blocked path far more often than a dead pump. The table below carries a single model code for this family, so everything on this page describes one build: the panel layout and the part positions do not shift under you.
What you observe on these models
- Water comes back into the tub after the cycle ends — That is siphoning: the drain hose has lost its high loop or the air gap is blocked, and sink water is finding its way back in.
- The disposal gurgles or the sink backs up when the dishwasher drains — The restriction is on the sink side. The dishwasher is fine and the plumbing is not.
- A rattling or grinding sound during the drain step — Something hard is in the pump — glass, a fruit stone, a bone chip.
- NEAR MISS — water under the machine rather than inside it — That is a leak, not a drain fault, and it has its own page for this family.
Causes, most likely first on the SHXN family
- The filter and sump are packed with soil — First, and it is free to check. The filter twists out by hand; if the sump under it is holding soil, the pump has been trying to push it through and failing.
- The disposal knockout plug was never removed, or the disposal is full — Ranked second on a family this young, because it is the classic new-installation fault: the dishwasher hose was connected to a disposal whose knockout plug is still in place, and the machine has never drained properly.
- The drain hose is kinked, trapped or has lost its high loop — Third. Check it before anything electrical: a hose with no high loop siphons the sink back into the tub, and a kink behind the cabinet stops the drain dead.
- The drain pump impeller is jammed by debris — It shows itself as a hum with no water movement, and it is the point on this list where the job stops being a rinse and starts being a repair.
- The drain pump has failed electrically, or the control is not calling it — Last. A pump that makes no sound at all when the drain step should run points at the pump winding or at the control that drives it, and either one is a service call.
Check in this order, and why
- Run the drain or cancel function first — It forces one clean drain attempt with nothing else happening, so you can hear whether the pump runs, hums or stays silent.
- Bail the tub out and pull the filter — Scoop the standing water with a cup and a towel, then twist the filter out and look in the sump with a light.
- Free the hose where it leaves the machine — The crush point is almost always where the hose passes the cabinet wall or sits behind the machine after it was last pushed back into place.
- Check the sink side before the machine side — Run the disposal, check the hose behind the cabinet for a kink, confirm the hose rises into a high loop or air gap, and clear the air gap cap if one is fitted.
- Stop here if the pump is silent — A drain step that produces no sound at all, with a clear filter and a clear hose, is an electrical fault at the pump or the control — and that is where the owner-side list ends.
Models in the SHXN family — One code stands for this family, so the table is a single line and there is nothing to cross-check beyond it.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| SHXN8U5### | bosch:dishwasher:shxn |
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch the breaker off before you reach into the sump or take the toe-kick off — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and you will be working with your hands in water. Assume there is broken glass in the sump, because there usually is: use a glove and a light, not bare fingers.
When to call a technician
The owner side of this fault ends at the pump inlet. Filter, sump, drain hose, air gap and disposal are all reachable with a towel and a torch, and they account for most of these calls.
Other symptoms covered for 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.
