Miele Flashing barswhat it means
Bars flashing in the time display after you cancel a programme mean the water is above 55 degrees and the door is held shut. Wait for them to stop.
Before you start
What this means
This is the display a reader is most likely to see at the exact moment they are about to force a door open, which is why it deserves a page even though it is not a code and has no alphanumeric form at all.
Miele’s operating instructions describe it under "The door will not open": after the programme is cancelled, flashing bars appear in the time display, and for safety reasons the drum door cannot be opened if the suds temperature is higher than 55 degrees. Their instruction is to wait until the temperature in the drum has decreased and the bars have stopped flashing. It is a scald interlock and it is doing exactly what it should. Fifty-five degrees is hot enough to cause a serious scald in a couple of seconds, and a cancelled programme can leave a drum holding twenty litres of water at ninety.
The temptation to get the washing out is strong and the machine is deliberately not letting you. How long it takes depends on how hot the water was and how cold the room is, but ten to thirty minutes is typical. There is no override worth knowing about, and the emergency door release fitted for power cuts is not intended for this situation — it is designed to be used once the drum has been drained.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Programme cancelled while the water was hot | Miele’s stated situation. The interlock holds until the suds fall below 55 degrees. | Common |
| A hot programme interrupted by a power cut | Same physics. The water is still hot when the machine comes back and the interlock still applies. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Wait. Miele’s instruction is to let the temperature in the drum decrease until the bars stop flashing.
Expect ten to thirty minutes depending on how hot the wash was and how cold the room is.
If you want it faster, select and run a rinse and spin instead. That pumps the hot water out, which is what the machine is waiting for.
Do not force the door and do not use the emergency release for this. That release is intended for power failures and for use once the drum has been drained.
Water above 55 degrees scalds in seconds. The interlock is the only thing between the drum and your arm.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Miele washing machine
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
Time on site
20 minutes
Nothing. This is a safety interlock behaving correctly.
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 Miele fault codes
- F34Get it checkedThe door could not be locked. Miele’s manual says close the door again and restart; their website adds an overloaded drum and a two-minute power-off. Try those before calling.Related: door and interlock
- F252Usually simple to fixThe door contacts near the hinge are dirty. Miele tell you to clean them, and only to call if that does not do it.Related: door and interlock
- F11Get it checkedThe drain is restricted. Miele publish a maximum drain height of one metre, and they warn that straightening a kinked hose can weaken it enough to split later.Related: same brand
- F10Get it checkedWater is not getting in. Miele point at the stopcock and the inlet filter, and both are owner jobs on their own guidance.Related: same brand
- F20Get it checkedMiele publish two readings of F20: the Thermostop pausing the programme until the water is at temperature, which is not a fault, and a genuine heating fault with a two-minute power-off before booking.Related: same brand
- F138Get it checkedThe Waterproof system has found water in the floor tray. Close the stopcock and unplug — the drain pump keeps running until you do.Related: same brand
Own a Miele washing machine? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
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 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.