Bosch appliance repair
A brand we specialise in
Almost always worth repairing up to eight or nine years old, and often well beyond that. The exception is a bearing failure on a sealed-tub model, where the tub, drum and bearings come as one assembly and the part alone can approach the price of a new machine. Anything pump, valve, element, interlock or board related is comfortably economic.
we repair
documented
Bosch is the brand we are called out to more than any other in Cambridge and the surrounding villages, largely because there are so many of them in local kitchens. Build quality is genuinely good: the Serie 4, 6 and 8 machines use sensible, serviceable engineering, the plastics are thick, the wiring looms are labelled, and a competent engineer can strip most of a washing machine down without special tools. That matters more than people realise, because it keeps labour time — and therefore your bill — down.
They are not faultless. Newer washing machines use a sealed outer tub on many models, so a bearing failure is effectively a write-off on a mid-range unit. Drain pump blockages, door interlocks and heat-exchanger fouling on dishwashers make up the bulk of our Bosch work, and all of those are economic repairs. Parts supply through BSH and the independent network is the best in the UK — most components are next-day. As a general rule, a Bosch under about eight years old with anything other than a failed sealed tub bearing is worth fixing.
Parts and availability
Bosch parts availability is the best of any brand we deal with — BSH holds functional spares for at least ten years and most pumps, interlocks, elements and PCBs arrive next day. Prices are mid-range: expect roughly £25–£45 for a pump or interlock and £120–£220 for a main control board.
How Bosch shows faults
E and F codes shown on the display (E18, F16, F21, E15)
Pick your own slot in the diary — appliance, address and a time that suits you, in about a minute.
Book online (opens in a new tab)or
07849 033758Same-day slots when we have one. Call-out from £90, labour included.
from £90 call-out — that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. Parts are the only extra, quoted for your approval before we fit anything. No hourly rates. 6 months guarantee on parts and labour.
What goes wrong with Bosch appliances
E18 drain fault on Serie 4 and 6 washing machines
The machine stops mid-cycle with water still in the drum and displays E18. In the vast majority of cases the pump filter is clogged with coins, hair grips and lint, or the corrugated pump hose behind the kickplate has silted up. Where the filter is clean, the drain pump impeller has usually seized or the pump winding has gone open circuit.
Failed carbon brushes and F21 on older belt-driven models
Universal-motor Bosch machines built before the widespread move to EcoSilence Drive wear their carbon brushes out at around 1,500 to 2,000 cycles. The symptom is a machine that fills and drains but will not turn the drum, often with F21 or F43 displayed. Brushes are cheap; the risk is that worn brushes have already scored the commutator, which turns it into a motor replacement.
E15 water in the base tray on dishwashers
Bosch dishwashers have a polystyrene float in the base that trips the AquaStop as soon as any water collects underneath. The usual sources are a perished sump gasket, a leaking heat pump seal or a split spray-arm feed pipe. Simply tipping the machine to drain the tray clears the code temporarily but the leak always returns.
Blocked heat exchanger and poor drying on condenser dryers
Condenser and heat-pump dryers clog their secondary filter and evaporator fins with fine lint, and the machine slowly stops drying while running longer and hotter. Owners clean the door filter but never the sponge filter or condenser block behind the kickplate. Left long enough it takes out the NTC sensor or the fan motor.
Door interlock failure (F16) on front loaders
The PTC interlock sticks or the plastic hook wears, and the machine either refuses to start or will not release the door at the end of the cycle. It is a very common failure at around the seven-year mark and is a straightforward, low-cost fix, but the door must never be forced — the hook snaps and takes the frame with it.
Oven and hob touch-control panels going unresponsive
On built-in ovens and induction hobs, steam and heat degrade the ribbon connection between the touch panel and the control board, producing dead zones or an E011 stuck-button error. Cleaning the glass fixes nothing; the panel or board needs replacing, and on older models the part is where the cost sits.