LG washing machine fault codes
LG washing machines report faults as two-character codes such as OE, IE and UE, and their UK owner’s manual publishes fifteen of them under the heading "Before Calling for Service". The heading is more honest than it looks. Nine of those fifteen have no owner remedy at all — LG’s published answer to dE, tE, FE, PE, uS and AE, and on washer-dryers to the drying code dHE, is to ring the service centre; on tE, FE and PE they say unplug the machine first, and on FE and PE to close the water tap as well. Only IE, UE, OE, LE, FF and PF come with something to try. That makes LG close to the opposite of Samsung, who offer an owner remedy for nearly everything, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you start: on more than half of these codes, an evening of troubleshooting is not what the manufacturer is asking for. Their machines use a Direct Drive motor bolted straight to the drum, with no belt and no carbon brushes, which changes what can go wrong and comes with a ten-year motor warranty worth understanding properly before you pay for a repair.
Where the code shows on a LG
Codes appear in the main display in place of the time remaining, and the display itself causes some of the confusion. LG treat 1E and IE as the same code — the printed manual shows IE in the display font and LG’s online edition of the same manual writes 1E — so you do not need to work out whether you are looking at a one or a capital i, and on their global list they make the same point about P5 and PS because S and 5 render almost identically on seven segments. The same problem produces uS, vS and u5 as three renderings of one vibration sensor fault. Two things people look up here are not faults. CL blinking means the control lock is on — LG note it is easily switched on by accident, that the method varies by model, and that the usual one is holding the Control Lock button for three seconds. tCL is the tub clean reminder: not an error, dismissed by selecting any cycle, and LG ask for the Tub Clean cycle about once a month, warning that natural and soap-based detergents leave residue and that a machine which has gone six months without one should have three consecutive cleans. If tCL persists after a completed Tub Clean, LG say request service. Numeric forms such as E10, E21 and E12 appear only on LG material outside the UK.
How to reset a LG
LG’s UK manuals publish no general reset; the remedy column either names a check or says call for service. Their global front-load list does use a power cycle, and the times vary by code: unplug for 10 seconds on CE, PE and tE, wait 60 seconds on the leak code and on a power-supply fault, and 5 minutes on LE. Press Power off, unplug at the socket, wait, plug back in and start a new cycle. Where LG want more than that they say so directly: on FE and PE the UK manual says close the water tap, unplug the power plug and call for service. They use that pairing on those two codes only — the overflow and the level sensor — and it is worth taking literally rather than as boilerplate, because in both the machine has lost the thing that would normally stop water arriving. On tE it is unplug and call; on the leak code AE it is simply call for service. One reset attempt is reasonable on any code; repeated resets on a code where LG have published a phone number are not working towards anything.
Most common LG faults
The LG codes people look up most.
- 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.
- IEGet it checkedThe drum did not fill to the level it wanted in the time allowed. LG treat IE and 1E as the same code, so you do not need to tell them apart.
- UEUsually simple to fixThe load is heaped on one side of the drum. LG describe it as laundry piled to one side, and it is normal behaviour rather than a breakdown.
- LEGet it checkedThe drum failed to turn. LG name overloading and a foreign object first — and if it is the motor, the ten-year warranty may cover the part but not the labour.
Every LG fault code
14 published codes. Filtering happens in the page — every one is in the HTML.
Showing 14 of 14 codes
LG models
Codes can differ between generations. Check yours.
Guides that help with LG faults
How to reset a washing machine, and what it will not fix
What each manufacturer says about resetting, how long to wait, the codes where a reset is the wrong move, and the displays that only look like faults.Read the guideWashing machine repairs you can do yourself — where to stop
No law stops you repairing your own washing machine, so the line is drawn by what is inside the cabinet. Where it falls, and the recall to check first.Read the guideHow to find your washing machine’s model and serial number
The rating plate is in one of three places, and the brand decides which. Where each manufacturer says to look, and which of the numbers on it you need.Read the guide
Looking for LG’s own support? www.lg.com. We are not affiliated with LG.