Bosch E18 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
The machine could not pump out in the time allowed. Bosch point at the filter and the drain hose, and warn that the water you are about to release may be scalding.
Take care
What E18 means
Bosch use E18 for a drain fault: the pump ran, the water did not go, and the machine stopped rather than trying to spin a full drum. Neff word the same fault as "pump time exceeded", which describes the mechanism more precisely — it is a timeout rather than a detected breakage, and that is why a partial restriction produces the code just as reliably as a dead pump. Bosch are explicit that the code has three display forms. E18, F18 and d02 are the same fault, and which one you see depends on the machine rather than the problem. The thing Bosch stress that most guidance skips is the temperature. Their own instruction carries a warning that the leaking water may be very hot with a risk of scalding, and tells the owner to set the programme to Off and pull out the mains plug before starting. That matters here more than on most machines, because a Bosch cycle interrupted at temperature can leave a drum of water at sixty degrees sitting behind a filter you are about to unscrew.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Pump filter blocked | Behind the flap at the bottom front. Bosch expect owners to clean this and it is the first thing their own guidance names. | Common |
| Drain hose blocked or kinked | Bosch name the cold drainage hose specifically. Kinks usually appear after the machine has been pulled out and pushed back. | Common |
| Blockage in the household waste | A silted standpipe or a greasy sink trap on a shared waste. The machine is healthy and the house is not. | Occasional |
| Drain pump worn or seized | The pump itself, established once the filter and hose are proven clear. Often preceded by a period of noisier draining. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Set the programme selector to Off and pull the mains plug out. Bosch give this as the first step and it is not a formality — you are about to open a water-retaining component.
If the machine stopped on a hot wash, wait. Bosch warn specifically that the washing water gets very hot at high temperatures and that you may be scalded if you touch it. An hour is enough for it to come down.
This is Bosch’s own warning rather than general caution. Do not open the filter on a machine that has just aborted a 60 degree cycle.Open the flap at the bottom front and use the small drain hose behind it to empty the machine into a shallow tray. A bucket will not fit underneath; a roasting tin will.
Unscrew the filter, clear it, and check the impeller behind it turns freely by hand. Refit it firmly — a loose filter leaks on the next cycle and looks like a new fault.
Pull the machine out and check the drain hose for kinks and crushing along its full length, then run a rinse and spin to confirm.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Bosch E18
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What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£170
Time on site
35 minutes
Nothing if it is the filter or a kinked hose. A replacement drain pump is around £100 to £170 fitted on a Bosch, slightly more than the budget brands because the parts cost more.
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 Bosch fault codes
- 5EGet it checkedThe machine could not empty within the time it allows. On a Samsung this is the single most common code, and the filter behind the front flap is the usual answer.Related: drainage and pump
- F05Get it checkedThe machine cannot pump out, so the door stays locked with water inside. Hotpoint treat this as an owner job and point you at the pump filter first.Related: drainage and pump
- OEGet it checkedThe machine could not drain the water it used. LG point at the drain filter and the drain hose, and both are owner-accessible.Related: drainage and pump
- E20Get it checkedA draining fault, and on a machine with no display it is the one that beeps twice. Blocked filter, blocked hose, or a failed pump, in that order.Related: drainage and pump
Common questions about Bosch E18
My machine shows F18, not E18. Is that a different fault?
No. Bosch state that F18 and d02 are identical faults, and Siemens say the same about E18 and F18. Which prefix you see depends on the display generation, not on what has gone wrong. Treat all three as the same problem.
What about E:00 and -18 on a newer machine?
That is the same drain fault in the five-digit display format used by newer machines. The two-part code splits the subsystem from the specific cause, but the answer is the same: filter, hose, waste.
How hot can the water actually be?
As hot as the programme you interrupted. Bosch put an explicit scalding warning on this repair, which they do not do for most codes. If it stopped during a hot wash, leave it an hour before you touch the filter.
The filter was clean. What now?
Then the restriction is downstream — the hose, the standpipe, or the household waste — or the pump has failed. Check the hose and the sink trap before booking, because those are free and they are common.
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
Checked by Appliance technical reviewer (Qualifications to be displayed on appointment) on 5 August 2026.