Bosch dishwashers: what CPSC incident reports show

What this page is counting#

Every number on this page is a share of CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Bosch dishwashers, 2011-2026, n=303.

The CPSC SaferProducts database records reports of harm, not a census of units in service. It is a safety reporting channel: people report what is dangerous, so fire, smoke and burn hazards dominate it. Nothing here is a failure rate, and nothing here says how often Bosch dishwashers break — only what was reported, and in what proportion of those reports each part is named. A narrative mention of a part is not that part failing. Method: /methodology.

What CPSC reports say about Bosch dishwashers#

Three hundred and three CPSC SaferProducts incident reports name a Bosch [dishwasher](/blog/repair-or-replace-dishwasher) between 2011 and 2026, and within those narratives two parts dominate. Wiring or the power cord is named in 29% of reports, 87 of them, and the control board in 28%, or 84. The motor trails far behind at 2%, five reports in all. These are shares of what people chose to write down when they filed, not measurements of how often a part gives out: the database counts reports, never the machines running quietly and never written about. The channel shapes what arrives in it — SaferProducts exists to collect harm, so accounts of heat, smoke and electrical trouble crowd it while ordinary breakdowns rarely appear. One recall notice sits on the record for this brand and appliance, published in 2009 and reproduced below as issued.

Which parts the reports name#

Share of CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Bosch dishwashers, 2011-2026, n=303 whose narrative mentions each part. A report naming a part several times counts once.

Method: /methodology.

Recalls on record#

Recall notices CPSC has issued for this brand and appliance, listed as published. This is a list of documents, not a rate: it says nothing about how many units were affected as a share of any population.

• Bosch Dishwashers: CPSC recall 09100 (2009-01-15) — Bosch and Siemens Model Dishwashers Recalled by BSH Home Appliances Corporation Due to Fire Hazard; source: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2009/Bosch-and-Siemens-Model-Dishwashers-Recalled-by-BSH-Home-Appliances-Corporation-Due-to-Fire-Hazard

What the certified listings say#

68 Bosch dishwashers are catalogued in the certified-product listings. A certified-product census is not a census of units in service, and these specs are unrelated to the incident reports above.

Method: /methodology.

What an owner can act on#

Wiring and the power cord lead this corpus, and that is the one area an owner can inspect without opening anything sealed. Pull the machine forward far enough to see where the supply enters it, then look at the cord jacket and the terminal block for discoloured insulation, a brittle or cracked sheath, or brown heat marks around the screws. On a hard-wired installation the same check belongs at the junction box behind the toe-kick. A breaker that trips partway through a heated cycle is telling you something specific, and the answer is not a bigger breaker.

The control board is named almost as often, and it announces itself through behaviour rather than appearance. A console that lights a random pattern, a cycle that restarts itself, a touch panel that answers some presses and ignores others, or any warm plastic smell around the door panel after a run — treat that group as one signal. Cut power at the breaker before investigating further, because a board behaving unpredictably is not a board to keep energised while you look for the manual.

The motor appears in only five of these reports, so read it as an indication rather than a pattern. Grinding, squealing or a low hum with no water moving, standing water left in the tub, or a cycle that ends with the dishes untouched all point at the pump and motor assembly. That is not an owner repair on an appliance that holds water and mains voltage in the same cavity.

One recall notice is listed above, from 2009. A recall list is a set of documents, not a rate, and it says nothing about how many machines were affected as a share of anything. Whether it reaches yours is a question only the model number answers, since coverage is defined by production ranges rather than by product line. The rating plate sits on the inner edge of the door.