AEG E20 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
The machine cannot get rid of the water it has collected. This is the one code AEG confirm has three faces — E20, C2, or two beeps and two flashes, depending on your display.
Take care
What E20 means
On a condenser or heat pump dryer, the moisture pulled out of your washing condenses back into water and a small pump lifts it into the container in the top of the machine, or out through a hose if you have plumbed it in. E20 means that is not happening.
AEG describe it as "a drainage, pump or software problem", and the checks they publish are all about the external drain hose — that it is connected, and that it is not twisted, clogged or looped. This code is also the single place where AEG confirm something they leave unsaid everywhere else. The article is titled "Tumble dryer displays error message E20, C2 or emits 2 beeps / 2 flashes", which tells you outright that those three are one fault shown three ways on three display types. It is the only such mapping they publish, which is a shame, because the same relationship almost certainly holds across the rest of the range and they never say so.
Worth knowing: AEG do not state which machine types this applies to, but everything in their remedy — the pump, the container, the drain hose — exists only on condenser and heat pump machines. A vented dryer has no pump and nothing to drain.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| The drain hose is kinked, looped or blocked | The three things AEG name themselves. If you have plumbed the machine into a waste pipe rather than using the container, a loop that holds standing water is enough to stop a small pump lifting anything. | Common |
| The hose has been left disconnected or fitted wrongly | Common after a machine has been moved or a kitchen refitted. AEG list checking the connection as the first step, which suggests they see plenty of it. | Occasional |
| The pump itself has failed or is jammed | A small pump moving lint-laden water eventually collects debris in the impeller. When it stalls, the water stays where it is and the machine has no way to continue. | Occasional |
| The float switch in the container circuit is stuck | The machine detects a full container with a float and a microswitch, and cuts power when it closes. A float held up by scale or fluff makes a machine behave as though it cannot drain when in fact it never started. | Occasional |
| A control fault | AEG name software alongside drainage and the pump in the same phrase, which covers the case where the plumbing is clear and the pump is sound but the board is not driving it. | Rare |
What to try yourself
Empty the water container. Do this first even if you think it is empty, because a machine that has stopped mid-cycle often has a full one.
If your machine drains into a waste pipe, follow the hose from the back of the machine to where it joins and check the whole run for a kink, a crush point behind the machine, or a loop sitting full of water.
Check the hose is actually connected at both ends and has not been pushed off when the machine was last moved.
Clean the fluff filter and, on a condenser or heat pump machine, the condenser block, since lint carried into the water circuit is what eventually blocks it.
Take the washing out and spread it somewhere airy, then unplug the machine for thirty seconds and plug it back in.
AEG ask for the reset but not for the unloading. We add it because their manual separately warns never to stop a dryer mid-cycle unless the load is taken out and spread so the heat can escape.Run a short cycle. If E20 comes back with the container empty and the hose clear, the pump or the float is the likely culprit and that is an engineer job.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your AEG E20
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–£180
Time on site
25 minutes
Nothing if it is the hose or a full container. A drain pump with labour is the upper end. AEG list the condensate pump among the parts they keep for at least ten years after a model is discontinued.
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 AEG fault codes
- Water tank lightUsually simple to fixThe container holding the water taken out of your washing is full, so the machine has stopped. Designed behaviour rather than a fault — though it can light with an empty tank.Related: water container and condenser
- E50Get it checkedAEG’s support site calls this a motor or software fault and sends you to an engineer. AEG’s own manual says it is usually just too much washing in the drum.Related: same brand
- E60Get it checkedThe dryer is not heating. AEG’s own page for this code is circular — it defines E60 by telling you the machine displays E60 — so here is what it actually covers.Related: same brand
- E70Stop — call an engineerThe dryer has lost the ability to measure its own temperature. AEG tell you to unplug it for two hours and not to use it until it is fixed.Related: same brand
- Condenser lightGet it checkedNot a fault code but a maintenance reminder, and the most important one on the machine. The condenser is furring up with lint and AEG tell you not to run it like that.Related: same brand
- E40Usually simple to fixThe machine cannot confirm the door is properly shut, so it will not start. Usually the door, sometimes the seal, occasionally the latch itself.Related: same brand
Own an AEG tumble dryer? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about AEG E20
What does two beeps and two flashes mean on a machine with no display?
The same fault as E20. AEG confirm it in the title of their own article, and it is the only place in the range where they map the three notations onto each other. On a machine with no display the first lamp flashes the family number, so two flashes is family two, which is the E20 group.
I have a vented dryer. Why am I seeing this?
You should not be. AEG do not state the machine types for this code, but every check they give concerns a pump, a container or a drain hose, and a vented dryer has none of those — it blows the moisture outside as vapour. If a vented machine is showing E20, the code is worth taking to an engineer rather than working through the published checks.
The container is empty but the light says it is full.
That is expected on the first cycle after installation, and AEG say so: before water reaches the container it is collected in a larger reservoir inside the machine, so the sensor can trip with an apparently empty container. It is not a fault on the first run. If it keeps happening, the float is sticking.
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
- Manufacturer technical and service documentation
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.