Panasonic [Error]

Panasonic publish the word Error with two entirely different meanings separated by nothing but timing, and getting the two the wrong way round is either a wasted service call or an appliance that should have been taken out of use. Their wording draws the line clearly. If the error is received during microwave programming, it indicates an incorrect operation has been performed — the example they give is an incorrect button, or a button not available in the current programming — and the answer is the operating instructions.

If the same error is received during the cooking operation, this indicates a problem with the microwave, and their instruction is to stop use of the microwave and contact an authorised service centre. So the question to answer before anything else is not what the word means but when it arrived. Did it appear while you were pressing buttons and setting something up, or did it appear with the appliance already running? A programming error is common, harmless and specific to the model — combination appliances have functions that are unavailable in certain modes, and pressing for one of them produces this rather than a beep.

An error mid-cycle is Panasonic classifying the appliance as faulty, and it is the only display on their consumer list where they use the phrase stop use rather than offering a remedy. That same phrase appears against E01, which is also handled by stopping, unplugging and calling service. Treat a mid-cook Error as belonging to that group rather than to the harmless one, and note that Panasonic ask you to stop rather than to reset and retry.

1. 1

   Answer the timing question first. Did the word appear while you were setting the appliance up, or while it was already cooking? Everything else follows from that.

2. 2

   If it was during programming, clear it and start again, and check the instruction book for which functions your model allows in the mode you are using.

3. 3

   If it appeared during cooking, stop. Panasonic’s published instruction for that case is to stop using the microwave and contact an authorised service centre, not to reset and retry.

   Unplug it rather than leaving it available for somebody else to use in the meantime. Panasonic use the same stop-use wording against E01.
4. 4

   Note what the appliance was doing when it happened — which mode, how far in, whether anything sounded or smelled different. That is the useful information when you book, and the code itself carries none of it.