Indesit F05 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
Water is left in the drum. Indesit’s manual says the pump is self-cleaning and needs no maintenance, and then tells you how to clean it.
Take care
What F05 means
F05 on an Indesit is water still in the drum at the end of a cycle, or a door that opens with the water still there. Two things in Indesit’s own paperwork are worth putting side by side. Their support site tells you to check the pump filter — with the qualifier, in their words, if applicable to model, please see user handbook, because not every machine has one you can reach.
Their manual opens its cleaning section by saying the machine is fitted with an auto-cleaning pump that does not require any maintenance, and then explains that small items such as coins or buttons may fall into the protective pre-chamber at the base of the pump, and how to get them out. Both statements are true and they read as a contradiction: the pump looks after itself, the chamber in front of it does not. The part that matters most is how you get to it, because Indesit and Hotpoint differ here and the instructions are not interchangeable.
Indesit tell you to remove the front cover panel by first pressing it in the centre and then pushing downwards on both sides to extract it. Hotpoint tell owners of some models to lever theirs off with a screwdriver. The Indesit book never mentions a screwdriver, and a panel designed to be pressed and pushed down is not one to lever.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Coins or buttons in the pump pre-chamber | Exactly what Indesit’s manual describes: small items falling into the protective chamber at the base of the pump. Free to clear once the cover panel is off. | Common |
| Drain hose kinked | Named in the manual’s own troubleshooting alongside a blocked filter. Usually happens when the machine is pushed back into place after cleaning. | Common |
| Under-sink plumbing blocked | Indesit specifically send you to check any under-sink plumbing as well as the waste hose, because a silted sink trap stops the machine emptying with nothing wrong inside it. | Occasional |
| Pump failure | Indesit’s own conclusion where none of the checks work: it is likely you have a pump failure and will need further assistance. The paid outcome and a modest one. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Make sure the cycle has ended and unplug the appliance — the first line of Indesit’s own procedure — then check whether your model has an accessible filter flap at all. Indesit qualify their own advice with "if applicable to model", and on machines without one the pump is reached through the front cover panel instead.
Put towels across the floor in front of the machine and have a shallow tray ready. The water comes out at floor level and there is more of it than a bowl will hold.
To take the front cover panel off, follow Indesit’s method rather than a generic one: press the panel in at the centre first, then push downwards on both sides to release it. Do not lever it with a screwdriver — that is the instruction in a Hotpoint book for a different panel, and the Indesit book does not describe it.
Loosen the pump cover by turning it anti-clockwise — Indesit say it is normal for some water to leak out at this point. Then, in their words, clean the inside thoroughly: this pre-chamber is where the coins and buttons they describe end up.
Water from an interrupted hot wash scalds. If the cycle stopped at temperature, let the machine cool before you open anything.Check the waste hose along its length for kinks, and check the under-sink plumbing it discharges into. Indesit name both, and a blocked sink trap produces this code with a perfectly healthy machine.
Screw the pump cover back on, then put the panel back making sure the hooks slot into place before you push it onto the machine — that is Indesit’s fifth step, and it matters because the panel you pressed off goes back hooks-first. Run a rinse and spin to confirm. If the code repeats with everything clear, Indesit’s own conclusion is a pump failure.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Indesit F05
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–£170
Time on site
45 minutes
Nothing to clear the pre-chamber, a kinked hose or a blocked trap. A drain pump fitted is £100 to £170, at the top of that on an integrated machine that has to come out of its housing.
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 Indesit fault codes
- F11Get it checkedA pump circuit fault, and the one code where Indesit’s own remedy is unusable — their page prints a broken template tag where the phone number should be.Related: drainage and pump
- F06Get it checkedA door lock fault, on a brand that recalled around half a million machines for door locks. Check the recall before you pay anyone to fit a part.Related: same brand
Own an Indesit washing machine? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Indesit F05
Indesit say the pump is self-cleaning. So why am I cleaning it?
Because two different things are being described. Their manual’s claim of an auto-cleaning pump that does not require maintenance is about the pump itself. The next sentence explains that coins and buttons fall into the protective pre-chamber in front of it, and gives you the procedure for emptying that. The pump looks after itself; the chamber ahead of it collects whatever your pockets held.
Can I use a screwdriver to get the front panel off?
Not on an Indesit. Their manual says to press the panel in at the centre and then push downwards on both sides to extract it. The screwdriver-as-lever instruction belongs to certain Hotpoint models, and the two brands genuinely differ here even though they share the code table. Levering an Indesit panel breaks the clips that hold it.
My machine has no filter flap. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Probably not — Indesit’s advice carries the qualifier "if applicable to model, please see user handbook" precisely because not every machine has an accessible filter. On those, the route to the pump is the front cover panel, which is the procedure above.
What if the machine drains into a bucket but not the standpipe?
Then the machine is working and your plumbing is not. Indesit list under-sink plumbing as one of the things to check for this code, and a blocked trap or standpipe gives exactly this symptom. That is a plumber rather than an appliance engineer.
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.