Hotpoint F15 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
A cross-check between the wash pump and the drain pump does not add up. Hotpoint’s published remedy names both pumps, which is worth questioning.
Take care
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Hotpoint F15
We do not pass enquiries to a repair firm, so there is no form here. When you book a qualified appliance engineer, tell them the make, the model and the exact code or message on the display, and ask whether they carry parts for this make — that is what turns one visit into a repair rather than a quote.
What F15 means
F15 is the highest code Hotpoint publish for a dishwasher and the most abstract. They call it a virtual sensor error, and explain that the reading between the wash pump and the drain pump is not consistent. The phrase virtual sensor is the interesting part, and it is not marketing. It means the machine is not reading a dedicated sensor at all: it is inferring a condition by comparing what two other components are doing. Modern appliances do a lot of this, because a value you can calculate from things you already measure is a value you do not have to fit a sensor for.
Here the machine knows what the wash pump is doing as it drives water up to the spray arms, and what the drain pump is doing as it pushes water out, and from the relationship between the two it can work out whether water is moving through the machine the way it should be. This code means that relationship has stopped making sense — the two pumps are telling a story that cannot both be true.
What is worth flagging is Hotpoint’s own remedy, because it is unusually blunt. Their published response is to replace the wash pump and replace the drain pump. Both. That is a large recommendation to draw from an inferred reading, and on most machines two pumps and the labour to fit them is a serious fraction of what a new dishwasher costs. A cross-check failing does not by itself establish which side of the comparison is wrong, or indeed that either pump is faulty rather than something in the water path between them being blocked. So this is a code to get a diagnosis on rather than a parts list to accept: the reasonable question is what has actually been tested, before anybody orders two pumps.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Wash pump underperforming | One side of Hotpoint’s comparison. A pump losing pressure without having failed outright makes the cross-check stop adding up. | Common |
| Drain pump underperforming | The other side of it. Hotpoint name replacing this one too, and a partially obstructed impeller produces the inconsistency as readily as a dead motor. | Common |
| Restriction in the water path between the two | Blocked filters or a silted sump change what each pump sees without either being faulty, which is exactly the case Hotpoint’s remedy does not cover. | Occasional |
| Sensor or wiring feeding the comparison | The inference is only as good as its inputs, so a bad connection on either pump circuit can produce a reading that cannot be reconciled. | Occasional |
| Control board misreading | The board doing the comparison rather than the components being compared. Rare, and established last. | Rare |
Can you fix it yourself?
Stop — this needs an engineer
What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£380
Free if it turns out to be a blocked filter or a restriction in the sump. Hotpoint’s own remedy of two pumps and labour runs to £250 to £380, at which point on most machines replacement deserves a serious look.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated September 2026. Your quote may differ.
Own this appliance and had this code? . Nothing is published until a person has read it.
Related Hotpoint fault codes
- F11Get it checkedWash pump failure. The dishes come out dirty because water is never reaching them with any force.Related: spray arms and circulation
- F03Get it checkedDrain failure or timeout — one of only two codes Hotpoint invite you to look at yourself, and usually a blockage.Related: same brand
- F10Get it checkedHeating element fault — and the page to read the safety notice on if your machine was built between 2005 and 2015.Related: same brand
- F06Get it checkedWater fill timeout. The other code Hotpoint hand back to you, and their own checklist covers pressure as well as the tap.Related: same brand
- F01Stop — call an engineerAnti-flooding overflow. The one code in the Hotpoint list that offers no owner check at all — it goes straight to an engineer.Related: same brand
- F08Get it checkedTemperature timeout on the two-digit system. Check the shape of your code first, because a single-digit F8 belongs to a different code set and is not about heat at all.Related: same brand
Own a Hotpoint dishwasher? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Hotpoint F15
Do I really need two new pumps?
That is Hotpoint’s published remedy and we would want it justified before agreeing to it. A cross-check that stops making sense does not identify which of the two things being compared is wrong, and it does not rule out a blockage between them. Ask what has been measured on each pump before two are ordered, and ask for the total figure — on many machines it is close to replacement cost.
What is a virtual sensor?
A value the machine works out rather than measures. Instead of fitting a sensor for it, the control board infers the condition from what other components are already doing — here, by comparing the wash pump and the drain pump. It saves a part, at the cost of a fault code that points at a relationship rather than at a thing.
Is anything worth checking before I book?
Clean the filter assembly properly, separating the coarse cup from the fine mesh, and check the sump recess for glass or debris with a torch. A restriction in the water path changes what both pumps see, and it is the one cause on this list that costs nothing to eliminate.
What is the LED pattern for F15?
All four lights on — 1 plus 2 plus 4 plus 8 makes 15. It is the only pattern in the set with nothing off, which at least makes it unmistakable, and unlike F08 and F09 it does not collide with anything.
Technical review
Not reviewed by an engineer
No engineer has read this page. Severity follows what the manufacturer publishes, and we would rather tell you that than let a byline imply a sign-off.
Sources and how we verified this
We establish the facts from the sources below and then write the explanation ourselves. We do not copy manufacturer wording and we do not host their manuals.
- Manufacturer support portal
This page has not been reviewed by an engineer, and we would rather tell you that than imply otherwise. The severity rating follows what the manufacturer publishes: where they say isolate the appliance and call someone, so do we.