Siemens E07 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
A fault in the drying system. Worth knowing what your machine uses to dry before you spend anything, because on BSH machines there are three quite different answers.
Take care
What E07 means
Siemens give E07 as a fault in the dishwasher’s drying system, and publish E10 with the same sentence and E31 with the same sentence plus more symptom detail — that the water does not heat up during operation, the dishwasher does not dry, and the fault can only be remedied by customer service. So this is one report with three numbers rather than three faults. What makes it worth a page is that drying on a modern dishwasher is not one mechanism, and which one your machine uses decides whether this code means anything expensive. The oldest approach is simply heat: the load finishes hot and the water evaporates off it.
Then came condensation drying, where the stainless tub is cooler than the load so moisture condenses on the tub wall and runs down instead of sitting on your plates, which needs no energy at all and no component to fail. The most recent is Zeolith, a mineral in a chamber under the tub which gives off heat as it absorbs moisture and is regenerated by the next cycle; a fan moves air over it. BSH use all three across their range, and Neff market Zeolith by name. So a drying complaint on a machine that dries by condensation has almost nothing that can break, and the answer is very often rinse aid or an unhelpfully cool programme.
On a machine with a fan and a heated drying stage there are genuine components, and this code has something to point at. Before spending anything, check the two free explanations. Rinse aid is what stops water beading on glass and clinging to plastic, and an empty dispenser produces a wet load with nothing wrong with the machine. And plastics do not dry in a dishwasher of any design as well as china does, because they hold too little heat to evaporate what is on them.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Rinse aid empty or dosed too low | The commonest reason a load comes out wet on any machine, and it costs nothing to eliminate. The dispenser has its own setting as well as its own reservoir. | Common |
| Drying fan or its wiring failed | Only present on machines with active or Zeolith drying. Where there is a fan, it is the part in the drying system most likely to stop. | Occasional |
| Temperature sensing in the drying stage out of range | The machine judges the stage by temperature, so a drifting sensor reports a drying fault while the mechanism itself is intact. | Occasional |
| Eco or short programme with no real drying stage | Lower-temperature programmes finish with a cooler load and dry markedly worse by design. A complaint that only appears on eco is usually not a fault. | Occasional |
| Heating fault presenting as a drying fault | Where drying depends on the load being hot, a heater problem shows up as wet dishes. Siemens’ own E31 wording pairs no heating with no drying for exactly this reason. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Fill the rinse aid and turn its dose up a step. On a machine that dries by condensation this is the single most likely fix, and it costs a couple of pounds.
Work out how your machine dries. If it has a fan you will hear it at the end of a cycle, and Zeolith machines are marketed as such. A machine with neither dries by condensation and has very little in it that can fail.
Run the same load on a hotter programme rather than eco, and judge the result on china and glass rather than on plastics, which dry badly in every dishwasher ever made.
Open the door a few minutes after the cycle ends rather than an hour later. Steam left shut in a cooling cabinet condenses back onto the load, which looks exactly like a drying failure.
Not immediately, though. BSH warn that hot water can splash out if the door is opened while the programme is still running.If the load is still wet after all of that, and particularly if it is also not getting properly clean, book a repair — that combination is what Siemens describe under E31, and they treat it as a service job.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Siemens E07
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 it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£280
Time on site
20 minutes
Usually free — rinse aid and a hotter programme fix most of these. A drying fan or a temperature sensor is typically £90 to £170 fitted. Where the fault is really the heater, expect £180 to £280 because of the integrated pump assembly.
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 Siemens fault codes
- E09Get it checkedA fault in the heating system. On these machines the element is usually built into the pump housing, which is what makes this a bigger job than it sounds.Related: heating and drying
- E20Get it checkedThe rinsing circuit has reported a fault, and Siemens point at the circulation pump. This is the pump that drives the spray arms, not the one that empties the machine.Related: same brand
- E08Usually simple to fixThere is too little water in the machine for it to rinse properly, and Siemens’ first suggestion is not a repair at all — it is how you loaded it.Related: same brand
- E06Get it checkedSiemens report a faulty door sensor or faulty electronics. The door switch is what tells the machine it is safe to throw water about, so nothing runs until it is happy.Related: same brand
Own a Siemens dishwasher? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Siemens E07
My machine shows E10 or E31 rather than E07.
Siemens publish the same sentence for E07 and E10, and E31 adds that the water does not heat up, the dishwasher does not dry, and only customer service can remedy it. They are one report about the drying system rather than three separate faults, so this page covers all three.
How do I know which drying system I have?
Listen at the end of a cycle. A fan is audible; condensation drying is silent because there is nothing running. Zeolith is marketed by name on the machines that have it, Neff especially. It matters because a condensation machine has almost no drying components to fail.
Why does the plastic always come out wet?
Because drying depends on the item holding enough heat to evaporate the water on it, and plastic holds far less heat than china or glass. That is true of every dishwasher regardless of price or drying system, and it is not a fault worth a call-out.
Should I try rinse aid even though my detergent says all-in-one?
Yes, as a test. All-in-one tablets include a rinse aid component but at a fixed dose, and topping up the dedicated dispenser gives you more of it. If a wet load dries properly afterwards, you have your answer for the price of a bottle.
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.