In one paragraph
A washer that starts and then stalls is waiting for something it cannot get: water it cannot draw, a drain it cannot clear, a door it cannot lock, or a temperature it cannot reach. A drain that will not clear between steps is the first thing to suspect on a Criterion, because a value-tier build puts the cheap wearing parts — filters, hoses, seals, screens — in the path of everything the machine does, so they are where the fault usually is. Taps, hoses, the filter and the door are owner work; the pump, the heater and the control behind them are not.
What the machine is doing
- It fills and then sits without tumbling — Usually a door lock or a control condition rather than a motor fault.
- It stalls at the same point in every cycle — A repeatable stall names the step that is failing.
- The timer counts down but never reaches the end — Many machines hold the clock while they wait for a condition.
- NEAR MISS — It will not start at all — That is the will-not-start page; this one is about a cycle that begins and stalls.
The causes and their order
- A drain that will not clear between steps — Top of the list on this brand: a value-tier build puts the cheap wearing parts — filters, hoses, seals, screens — in the path of everything the machine does, so they are where the fault usually is. A cycle cannot advance to spin with water in the drum, so a partly blocked filter stalls the programme rather than stopping the machine.
- A slow or absent fill — Second most likely: A partly closed tap, a kinked hose or a silted inlet screen means the machine cannot reach its level in the time it allows, so it waits or stops.
- A load the machine cannot balance for the spin — Third most likely: A machine that repeatedly redistributes, refills and tries again looks stalled but is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
- A door lock dropping out mid-cycle — Fourth and the least likely here: A lock that reports open during the wash stops everything immediately, and the cause is usually alignment or residue at the catch. The door hardware is light, so it goes out of adjustment before anything electrical does.
The order to work in
- Look at whether water is still in the drum at the stall — Water present at the stall points at the drain path; a dry drum points elsewhere. It goes first because it is the cheapest thing to rule out and it decides which half of this list you are in.
- Listen for water entering when the cycle starts — Little or no sound of water is a fill problem, and the taps are the first thing to look at.
- Open the door at the stall and look at the load — A single heavy item balled against one side is the whole explanation.
Owner-side steps
- Clean the drain filter and check the hose for kinks — Drain through the filter hose first, with a tray and towels ready.
Tools: tray, towelsAbout 25 min
- Open both taps fully, straighten the hoses and clean the inlet screens — Close the taps before undoing a hose and keep a towel under the joint.
Tools: towels, pliersAbout 20 min
- Stop here if the next move needs a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Working safely on this machine
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Close the taps before any hose comes off, and never bypass a door or lid switch to run the machine open.
When to stop and call
Call when the taps, the hoses, the filter and the door have all been proven, the load is balanced and the machine still stalls at the same step — that points inside the cabinet.
Nearby pages
What is deliberately not here
This is the family-agnostic page for Criterion washers. No family- or model-specific page exists beneath it yet; when one is published it will be linked here and it will outrank this page for a named model. Deliberately not here: wiring colours, resistance values, torque figures and part numbers, which differ between families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
