LG IE fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
Water inlet problem. It is IE with a letter I, not 1E — the washing machine convention does not apply here.
Take care
What IE means
IE means a water inlet problem, and LG’s remedy is short: check for a clogged, kinked or frozen water supply hose, and check the water supply. Before anything else, settle the character. LG washing machines are widely documented as showing 1E and IE interchangeably, and people carry that across. The LG UK dishwasher manual uses IE with a letter I and 1E appears nowhere in it. On a seven-segment display the two are nearly indistinguishable, so it makes no practical difference to what you are looking at, but it matters when you are searching, because searching for the digit will land you in washing machine results for a different fault. LG mention a frozen hose in the same breath as a kinked one, and that is worth taking seriously rather than reading as boilerplate. Dishwashers get installed in garages, outhouses and utility rooms that run cold, and a supply hose against an uninsulated external wall will freeze before anything else in the house does. If the code appeared during a cold snap on a machine that had been faultless, that is the first thing to check and it costs nothing.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Tap or stopcock closed | Free to check and the first thing to eliminate, particularly if anyone has been working under the sink. | Common |
| Inlet hose kinked | Usually crushed against the wall when the machine was pushed back into its housing. | Common |
| Inlet filter clogged | The gauze where the hose meets the machine, silted with grit from the mains. Cleanable in a few minutes. | Common |
| Supply hose frozen | LG list this explicitly. Real in unheated spaces and against external walls, and it resolves itself once things warm up. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Check the tap feeding the machine is fully open. Turn it right off and right back on rather than judging by the handle position.
Pull the machine out far enough to see the inlet hose along its length and straighten anything crushed.
In cold weather, feel the hose. If it is rigid and the machine sits in a cold space, let it thaw naturally before doing anything else.
Do not use a heat gun or boiling water on a frozen hose. Warm the room and give it time.Turn the tap off, disconnect the hose and clean the inlet filter. Check the flow from the tap into a bucket while you are there.
Reconnect, turn the water back on and run a short programme, watching the connection for weeping.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your LG IE
Vetted local appliance engineers. No obligation.
What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£150
Time on site
30 minutes
Usually free. A replacement inlet valve is typically £80 to £150 fitted.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated August 2026. Your quote may differ.
What other owners found
Nobody has shared what worked for them on this code yet. If you have had it, you would be the first — and it genuinely helps the next person.
Related LG fault codes
- E18Get it checkedWater is not getting in. Bosch publish a full owner procedure including a flow rate you can measure with a jug.Related: water intake
- 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: water intake
- i10Get it checkedNo water is coming in. One beep on a model without a display, and AEG publish a pressure range you can test against.Related: water intake
- F12Get it checkedThe water inlet is blocked or restricted. Miele use the same wording for F13, F15 and F173, and warn that the hose connection houses an electrical valve.Related: water intake
- E02Get it checkedWater outage error — the machine asked for water and none came. Beko send you to the supply and the filters first.Related: water intake
- E2Get it checkedThe dishwasher does not fill with water. Some models show CHECK WATER or NO WATER in words instead of a code.Related: water intake
Common questions about LG IE
Is it IE or 1E?
On an LG dishwasher it is IE with a letter I. The 1E form belongs to LG washing machine documentation and does not appear in the LG UK dishwasher manual at all. The two look almost identical on the display, so the distinction only matters when you go searching.
Can my supply hose really freeze?
LG list frozen alongside clogged and kinked, so they clearly see it. It happens where machines are in garages, outhouses or utility rooms on an outside wall. Let it thaw on its own rather than applying heat.
The tap is on and the hose is clear. What now?
Then it is the inlet valve or the supply pressure. Disconnect the hose at the tap end and run it into a bucket — a weak flow points at the plumbing, a strong flow points at the machine.
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 technical and service documentation
Checked by Appliance technical reviewer (Qualifications to be displayed on appointment) on 5 August 2026.