Miele tumble dryer fault codes
Miele document their dryers better than anyone else in this category — 28 fault codes with a published cause for each, and honest labelling of which ones you can do something about. Most you cannot: 24 of the 28 carry the same sentence telling you it is a technical fault you cannot remedy yourself. The handful that are yours to fix are the ones worth reading, and the most common of them is routinely misdescribed elsewhere as an engineer job when Miele themselves treat it as filter cleaning and a replaceable part.
Where the code shows on a Miele
Miele use F followed by a number, and the numbers run higher than most manufacturers — F1 through to F252, with big gaps. There is no pattern to decode in the numbering, so read the whole number rather than assuming F156 relates to F15. Alongside the codes Miele use named lamps and short words, and two of those are worth knowing before you go looking for a fault. A Locked lamp shining steadily during a programme is completely normal — the door locks while the drum is turning and the lamp goes out at the end. A Locked lamp flashing when you switch the machine on is something else entirely: the child lock is engaged and the programme will not start until you turn it off. Miele publish those as two separate articles because they mean opposite things, and confusing them sends people looking for a broken door lock that is working perfectly. Similarly, three LEDs lighting or flashing together means the power was interrupted mid-programme and you simply start it again, 888 means the machine is in shop demonstration mode, and 0:00 or CHE means the load has rolled into a ball and needs untangling. None of those are faults.
How to reset a Miele
Miele’s reset instruction varies by code rather than being one universal move, which is a mark of how specifically they document things. For the software fault version of F50 they say to switch the appliance off and back on again straight away, with the timing mattering. To clear the Clean out airways lamp their instruction is to open and close the door while the dryer is switched on, rather than to cycle the power. For a load that has tangled they ask you to disentangle it, remove a few items if needed, switch off and on, and start again. Before any of those, take the washing out and spread it. Miele’s own manuals carry the standard warning about not leaving a load in a stopped drum, and the reason behind it is that a heaped warm load holds heat rather than losing it. Where Miele give no reset at all — which is most of their codes — that is deliberate. Their sentence is "This is a technical fault that you cannot remedy yourself", and repeatedly cycling the power on a code they have classed that way achieves nothing.
Most common Miele faults
The Miele codes people look up most.
- F66Get it checkedThe airflow fault, and the code most often described wrongly elsewhere. Miele publish eight causes and seven of them are yours to fix — including a filter that is simply worn out.
- F55Get it checkedThe machine gave up after three hours with the washing still damp. Miele name a cause most people would not think of: the spin speed on your washing machine.
- F50Get it checkedThree quite different things share this number, and one of them is a software glitch that appears about a minute after you open the door to add something.
- F158Stop — call an engineerThe appliance has overheated. Miele give no owner remedy for this at all — not even cleaning the filters — and for them that silence is deliberate.
Every Miele fault code
5 published codes. Filtering happens in the page — every one is in the HTML.
Showing 5 of 5 codes
Miele models
Codes can differ between generations. Check yours.
Guides that help with Miele faults
How to reset a tumble dryer: the load comes out first
Every manufacturer’s reset is a version of unplug and wait. The step most leave out is the one that matters on a dryer: get the washing out and spread it.Read the guideWhy a tumble dryer overheats, and what to do about it
A dryer keeps a heater, a fan and fine dry lint in one box, and the codes that matter let them meet. The airflow path to clean, and the codes that mean stop.Read the guideTumble dryer recalls and safety notices: check yours
Three fire safety campaigns are live on UK tumble dryers, one the largest in British history. Which machines, how to check the plate and serial, the remedy.Read the guide
Looking for Miele’s own support? www.miele.co.uk. We are not affiliated with Miele.