LG Washer U5 Error Code: Meaning, Causes & Fix

Vibration sensor error — LG's code is vS; on the display it appears as u5 or uS. LG: the error may occur if there is a contact issue with the vibration sensor or if the sensor malfunctions.

Start with the letters themselves, because they explain most confused searches: LG names this code vS, and its own guides warn that the vS error may appear as u5 or uS on the display — the seven-segment rendering of vS is what owners transcribe as 'U5'. It is one code, not three. LG's definition is narrow and consistent across its US WashTower guide and its top-load code list: the vS (u5, uS) error indicates a potential issue with the vibration sensor, and this may be due to a contact issue or a sensor malfunction. LG's remedy is equally narrow, in two steps: if the error is temporary, press Start/Pause to resume; if the error persists, turn the power off and restart the washer; if those steps do not resolve it, the sensor requires inspection by a technician. Note what LG does not say: it does not blame the load, the levelling or the suspension for vS — those belong to UE, the unbalance code — and it publishes no owner procedure for removing, refitting or testing the sensor. Earlier versions of this page offered mounting and suspension diagnoses for U5; they were not LG's and have been removed. LG documents vS on both loader platforms, which is why the code confuses owners who find contradictory 'washer type' claims online: its front-load help library carries a dedicated page titled '[LG front load washing machine error code] The vS (u5, uS) error is displayed', and its top-load code list carries 'vS, uS [Vibration sensor]' in the platform's code table. The US source most owners will meet is the WashTower guide — fitting, since stacked laundry-centre washers are heavy vS reporters in owner forums — and its wording matches the other platforms exactly: a potential issue with the vibration sensor, due to a contact issue or a sensor malfunction, remedied by Start/Pause, then a power restart, then inspection. One code, one definition, three renderings (vS, u5, uS): that uniformity is itself the useful fact, because it means the platform arguments that dominate AE and dE simply do not apply here.

What causes the vS (shown as u5 / uS) code on a LG washer?

Vibration sensor contact issue

LG's first named cause: the sensor's contact/connection is at fault — the sensor may be healthy while its electrical contact is not.

Vibration sensor malfunction

LG's second named cause: the sensor itself has malfunctioned and is reporting wrongly or not at all.

A temporary glitch

LG's remedy structure implies the third case: some vS events are temporary, which is why its first step is simply to press Start/Pause and resume, and its second is a power restart, before any inspection is booked.

A contact disturbed by moving or servicing the machine

LG's first-named cause is a contact issue, and contacts get disturbed by events: a house move, an installation, a panel removed and refitted, or the machine pulled out and pushed back. A vS that appears immediately after any of those is the contact branch introducing itself — report the timing when you book the inspection, because it reorders the technician's checks.

An intermittent contact that only fails under vibration

The same contact cause explains the most confusing vS pattern: fine at wash speeds, faulting as the spin ramps up. A marginal contact is a vibration-sensitive component by definition, so a vS that keeps the same appointment with the spin cycle is not contradicting the sensor story — it is the contact branch of it. This is also why redistributing the load sometimes seems to 'fix' U5 once: a gentler spin let a marginal contact hold, once.

Checks to run before you replace anything

1. Read the display as vS even if it shows u5 or uS — LG states the error may appear in either rendering, so 'U5' and 'vS' searches are about the same fault.
2. Apply LG's two-step test in order: press Start/Pause to resume; if vS returns, power the washer off and restart it. Whether the code survives both steps is the diagnostic result — a vS that clears and stays clear was the temporary case.
3. Separate vS from UE while you watch: UE arrives with a load the machine is actively trying to redistribute (you see the tumbling retries); vS is a sensor report. If the machine is shaking violently, stop it — but record that as a mechanical observation for the technician, not as an LG-listed vS cause.
4. Transcribe the display exactly — vS, u5 or uS — and note it alongside the model number. LG's inspection is booked against the code, and an accurate rendering saves the technician a platform detour.
5. Run LG's two steps once each, in order, and record the result of each: resumed on Start/Pause? cleared on power restart? returned during the next spin? That three-line history is the difference between the temporary case and the inspection case, and it is the first thing support will ask.
6. Do not improvise the checks this code attracts online — levelling marathons, empty-drum spin tests, sensor refits. LG publishes none of them for vS; its documented outcome after the two steps is inspection, and DIY panel work before a warranty inspection helps no one.
7. If the machine is also physically violent — banging, walking, striking the cabinet — stop it and say so when booking: LG does not list mechanical violence among vS's causes, so treat it as a second, mechanical report that the technician needs to hear about separately.

How to fix lg washing machine error code u5?

1. Temporary case: press Start/Pause to resume (LG step 1). Nothing further is needed if vS does not return.
2. Returning case: turn the power off and restart the washer (LG step 2).
3. Persistent case: if these steps do not resolve the error, LG's instruction is that the vibration sensor may require inspection — contact LG Support / request service. Sensor-versus-contact separation happens during that inspection, against the model's service information.
4. Step one, LG's: the unit is paused — press the Start/Pause (start/stop) button to resume. If vS never returns, the temporary case is closed and nothing else is required.
5. Step two, LG's: if the error occurs again after Start/Pause, turn the unit off and then restart it. A vS cleared here gets one watched normal cycle to prove itself.
6. Step three, LG's: if these steps do not resolve the issue, the vibration sensor may require inspection — contact LG Support and request service, taking the model number, the exact display rendering, and your step-one/step-two results with you.

The part that usually fails: Vibration sensor (and its contact)

LG names the sensor and its contact as the two suspects and assigns their separation to technician inspection; it publishes no owner test or refitting procedure for the part.

Lg washer u5 error code reset

LG's reset for vS is its remedy sequence itself: Start/Pause to resume, then a power off-and-restart if the error persists. There is no separate 'u5 reset' procedure, button combination or unplug interval published by LG for this code — a vS that survives the restart is defined by LG as an inspection case, not a reset case.

LG's standard reset is a power cycle: press Power off, unplug the washer for about 5 minutes, then — with the machine still unplugged — press and hold the Start/Pause button for 5 seconds to drain residual charge from the board. Plug back in and run a test cycle. There is no hidden reset button on LG washers; any code that reappears after this procedure is an active fault the control is still detecting, not a glitch that needs a deeper reset.

Why does the vS (shown as u5 / uS) code keep coming back?

A vS that returns after passing LG's two steps is telling you the temporary case is excluded — book the inspection rather than accumulating restarts. A vS that returned once, cleared on Start/Pause, and never reappeared needs no follow-up. A vS that returns after the power restart is the code's own escalation point: LG's remedy ladder has no fourth rung, so further restarts are repetition, not diagnosis. When you book the inspection, the pattern that helps is timing — vS from the first spin after a move points at the contact branch, vS that began unprovoked on an unmoved machine points at the sensor itself. And if a new vS arrives together with genuinely violent shaking the machine never used to make, report both facts: the sensor code is documented, the violence is not part of it, and the technician should hear the two as separate symptoms.

How to stop vS (shown as u5 / uS) coming back

• Vibration sensor contact issue: LG's first named cause: the sensor's contact/connection is at fault — the sensor may be healthy while its electrical contact is not.
• Vibration sensor malfunction: LG's second named cause: the sensor itself has malfunctioned and is reporting wrongly or not at all.
• A temporary glitch: LG's remedy structure implies the third case: some vS events are temporary, which is why its first step is simply to press Start/Pause and resume, and its second is a power restart, before any inspection is booked.

Retrieving stored fault codes on LG washers

LG front-loaders have a test mode used by technicians: with the machine off, a specific three-button combination (commonly Soil Level + Spin Speed + Power held in sequence on many models, and a button-pair hold on others) steps the machine through fill, wash, drain, spin and heater tests while the display shows stored error history. The exact combination differs by model year, so technicians read it from the service manual for the model; if you enter a mode where the tub starts filling or the motor jogs, that is the test mode working — press Power twice to exit.

Other LG washer error codes

See the full list on the LG Washer error codes hub.

Codes vS (shown as u5 / uS) gets confused with

AE — Two different LG faults share this code, by platform. On LG top-load washers AE is a rotation error: the gears responsible for rotating the drum cannot operate properly. On LG front-load washers (global/EU manuals) AE is a water leakage error: water leaks — call for service. AE is the LG washer code where reading a single meaning off the internet does real damage, because LG itself publishes two.

tE — Temperature sensor error — LG's front-load manuals head this code 'Temperature Sensor Error' and give its cause, in one word pair, as a control error; LG's top-load list describes a problem with the temperature sensor inside the tub. tE is the code LG's documentation treats most tersely, and this page follows LG rather than the internet's expanded version of it.

DE — Door error — the washer door was unable to lock (LG US wording). The door is open, not fully closed, or the lock has not engaged/reported. dE means LG's control cannot confirm the door is closed and locked, so the washer won't start or it pauses.

dE1 — Door error (variant 1) — the door is not closed properly (LG's own wording). The washer cannot confirm the door is fully shut, so it will not start or it pauses. LG splits its front-load door family by which step failed, and dE1 is the first step: the door is not closed properly.

Working from a symptom instead? Read our troubleshooting guide for this problem.

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Facts on this page were checked against manufacturer documentation: www.lg.com · www.lg.com · lg.com · www.lg.com