How to Reset Maytag Washer Error Codes

Maytag washers are Whirlpool-platform machines, so their reset story is the family story: a full power discharge for everything, the POWER/CANCEL clear for codes still on the display, and stored fault history that survives a display reset. This page gives the Maytag procedure as Maytag itself publishes it, and the codes owners most try to reset (F9E1 drain and the F5 lock family) with their actual fixes linked.

The Maytag reset procedure

Unplug the washer for at least a full minute — Maytag's own reset guidance is a power disconnect of one minute or longer. Restore power and run a Drain+Spin test cycle. To clear a code still showing on the display, press POWER/CANCEL once; press it again to restart the cycle. Maytag's manuals are explicit about the limit of resetting: if the code appears again, the answer is to call for service, not to reset again. One caution this page owes you: Maytag publishes no lid-lift reset sequence in its reset guidance or Use & Care manuals — the lid-lift motor reset circulates as a Maytag step because the VMW platform is shared with Whirlpool, but it is not a Maytag-documented procedure, so it is not presented as one here.

Reset-curable vs reset-proof

Curable: post-outage states and one-off sensing glitches. Proof: F9E1 (the trap/pump still can't drain), F5E2/F5E3 (the lock still can't prove itself), UL (the load/suspension still can't balance). If your reset 'worked' until the same cycle stage, the stage is the diagnosis.

Stored codes

Like Whirlpool, Maytag controls keep a fault history readable in diagnostic mode — a machine with a repeating reset story should have its history read before parts are bought.

Before you reset: write the code down — Maytag's manuals clear displays, not faults

Every Maytag reset starts with thirty seconds of not resetting. Photograph or write down the exact code — F9 E1 is not F8 E1, and the second half of the code is half the diagnosis — along with where the cycle stopped and whether water is standing in the drum. The reason is in Maytag's own Use & Care wording: for a system error code, you touch POWER/CANCEL once to clear the code, then touch POWER/CANCEL again to restart the washer — and if the code appears again, you call for service. In other words, Maytag designs the panel clear as a question ('was that a glitch?'), and the returning code is the answer. A reset performed before the code is recorded throws away the evidence the question was asked about. This is also why Maytag's reset guidance never promises a repair: a reset can clear a code that a power surge, an interrupted cycle or a one-off sensing upset left behind, while any code whose condition still exists — a drain that is still slow, a door that still will not lock — is re-measured and re-displayed on the next cycle, by design.

The Maytag front loader reset, exactly as Maytag publishes it

Maytag's own reset method for a front load washer is a power reset, and Maytag is explicit that there is no dedicated reset button to find: most washing machines do not have one, and unplugging the washer (or following the manual's model-specific instructions) serves the same purpose. Maytag's steps: unplug the appliance, wait — Maytag's guidance says at least one minute, and its fuller explanation says a few minutes, to allow residual power to clear and help prevent glitches — then plug the washing machine back into the outlet and restart it. Two of Maytag's refinements belong in the routine. First, if possible, let cycles complete and empty the washer and switch its power off before unplugging, rather than pulling the plug mid-cycle. Second, select Maytag front load washers with a touchscreen offer a genuine factory reset: select 'Info' on the touchscreen, then select 'Restore Factory' and follow the prompts — a settings restore, which Maytag distinguishes from the power reset by sending you to your specific model's owner's manual for its exact steps. Worked through a code, the order is: POWER/CANCEL once to clear the display and again to restart (Maytag's manual step for system codes); if the code returns or the panel itself is misbehaving, the unplug-and-wait power reset; the factory restore only for settings and control-state problems on models that offer it. One more Maytag point worth internalising: Maytag frames the unplug reset as the response to a washer that was suddenly unplugged or hit by an outage or surge — the control is being given a clean start, not a repair — so a front loader that needs this reset repeatedly, in ordinary weather on an ordinary circuit, is telling you the glitch is recurring for a reason the reset cannot reach.

The Maytag top loader reset — the same power method, and no secret lid ritual

Owners searching for a top loader reset usually arrive carrying a sequence they read somewhere — a set number of lid lifts in a set number of seconds. Here is the Maytag-documented position, stated plainly because this page only publishes what Maytag documents: Maytag's own reset guidance gives top load washers the same power method as front loaders. Unplug the washer, wait a few minutes so residual power clears and glitches are less likely to carry over, then plug the washer back in. Select Maytag top load washers with a touchscreen control panel can also be factory reset the front loader way — select 'Info', then 'Restore Factory', and follow the prompts — and Maytag directs you to your model's owner's manual for the model-specific instructions in every case. No lid-lift reinitialisation sequence appears in Maytag's published reset guidance or in the Maytag Use & Care instructions this page is built from, so none is printed here as a Maytag procedure. If a sequence from a forum or video appears to 'work' on your machine, what actually cleared the code was almost always the accompanying power interruption — the step Maytag does document — and you can have that benefit without the choreography: unplug, wait, plug back in, and prove the result with a test cycle.

Maytag's own code examples: which displays clear, which come straight back, and why

Maytag's Use & Care guides name the behaviour code by code, and the pattern is the most useful thing on this page. Sud (excess suds) is a routine, not a failure: the washer runs a suds reduction routine, Maytag instructs you to let the machine continue, use only HE detergent and measure it — and if you intervene, press POWER/CANCEL once to clear the code and again to restart. F8 E1 (water supply error) returns until its checks pass: both hoses attached with water flowing to the inlet valve, both hot and cold faucets on, inlet valve screens unclogged, kinks removed from the inlet hose; on models displaying Lo FL, Maytag notes the unit will drain for 8 minutes while the door remains locked, which a reset cannot shorten. F9 E1 (drain pump system error) returns until the drain path passes Maytag's installation checks: drain hose not extended into the standpipe farther than 4-1/2 inches, hose not kinked, pinched or blocked, clogs removed, hose form used and secured, and the hose end no higher than 96 inches above the floor. F5 E2 (door will not lock) is cleared the manual's way — POWER/CANCEL to cancel, door closed completely and latching, nothing in the drum keeping it from closing — and returns if the lock still cannot prove itself. F7 E1 (motor drive error) follows an overloaded drum or, on a new machine, shipping materials not fully removed. Read across the five and Maytag's rule writes itself: the reset clears the report; only the corrected condition clears the code.

Displays that are not faults: Control Lock, Int and dEt on a Maytag washer

Three Maytag displays send owners hunting for a reset they do not need. LOC or LC means the Control Lock is activated — a deliberate feature state, cleared by touching or holding the Control Lock control as your model's manual directs, not by unplugging; Maytag lists an engaged control lock among the reasons a washer may not operate at all, so check it before resetting a 'dead' machine. Int means the cycle was paused or cancelled: Maytag's guide explains the washer can take 20 to 30 minutes to stop spinning and drain while Int is displayed, and the correct response is patience, then POWER/CANCEL once to clear and again to restart — a power reset performed during that window interrupts a drain the machine was already doing for you. dEt means the detergent dispenser cartridge is not detected: reseat the cartridge and shut the dispenser drawer completely — and if you dose detergent per load instead of using a cartridge, Maytag says to ignore the message entirely. A related dispenser display, the three detergent-level lights, is Maytag's dispenser sensor error: touch POWER/CANCEL to reset the system, and if that fails, unplug the washer or disconnect power for one minute, then reconnect. None of these four is a fault code, and none of them is evidence for a parts order.

After the reset: prove it with a cycle — and know Maytag's stopping rule

A Maytag reset is verified by a cycle, never by a blank display. Restart the washer and run the stage that faulted — a Drain & Spin for an F9 E1 story, a normal fill for an F8 E1 story — and watch it complete. Maytag's own list of legitimate reset occasions tells you which returns to expect: power outages and surges, error codes whose underlying problem has been addressed, an unbalanced load that has been redistributed (Maytag notes top loaders may stop for balance; redistribute first, reset if it persists), a washer stuck in test mode, an unresponsive sensor needing recalibration, and general electronic glitches. Outside that list, Maytag's Use & Care guides give the stopping rule in so many words: once possible issues are corrected, touch POWER/CANCEL once to clear the code and again to restart — if the code appears again, call for service. Two appearances of the same code across honest resets is Maytag's definition of a machine that needs diagnosis rather than another reset, and arriving at service with the code, the cycle stage and the dates of both appearances turns a vague 'it keeps erroring' into a diagnosis that starts several steps ahead.

Key takeaways

• The model number (under the lid) decides which diagnostic entry method your Maytag uses — see the diagnostic guide.
• Two resets for the same code in a month = stop resetting, start diagnosing.

Resetting the Maytag washer

Whirlpool-built washers clear most codes with a power reset: unplug for 1 minute (top-load models with a cycle-status display sometimes need the lid opened and closed 6 times within 12 seconds after power is restored — the well-known lid-sequence calibration/clear procedure on VMW top-loaders). Codes stored in the control's fault history remain readable in diagnostic mode even after they stop showing on the display, which is why a code that 'went away' can still be found by a technician.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Facts on this page were checked against manufacturer documentation: producthelp.maytag.com · producthelp.maytag.com · manualsdump.com · manualmachine.com · hugepdf.com