Fisher & Paykel · DishDrawer
Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer Repair
Single and double DishDrawers, from the DD603 to current models, prefinished, Designer flat-door and integrated behind your own panels. The usual faults are a lid seal or lid motor, a rotor jammed by glass or a pit, a drain or fill problem, the heater, or a leak into the base, and you approve the written price before work starts.
$79 service call, applied to the repair. Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM.
- $79service call, applied to the repair you approve
- In-housesealed-system work: compressors, evaporators, leaks
- Since 2022CA BHGS #50388, EPA-certified
- 90 daysno-fee return visit if the same fault comes back
In short: each drawer has its own lid, motor, heater and wash controls, so a double can have one good drawer and one bad one (on Phase 9 both share the motor controller and water valve in the base). Before you call, clean the drain filter, make sure nothing tall stops the lid, open the valve under the sink, and use only dishwasher detergent. If F1 shows and the drain pump keeps running, switch it off at the breaker and close the valve. We are an independent service, not affiliated with Fisher & Paykel.
Which DishDrawer you have
The data label is on the front of the cabinet frame, seen with a drawer pulled open. DD means DishDrawer and 24 the 24-inch width, then D for a double or S for a single, then build letters: C Classic or A Aspire on Phase 9 prefinished models, I integrated, DF Designer flat door, H built-in water softener, T tall tub, and X, W or B for the finish. The last digit is the generation, so a DD24DCTX9 is a Phase 9 double, Classic, tall tub, stainless.
- Early DishDrawers, from about 2003. The DD603 and its relatives: one controller per drawer runs everything, with a small screen in the handle on prefinished models and a row of lights on integrated ones.
- Phase 6, around 2009 (numbers ending in 6). One controller per drawer and a power board in the base with the flood sensor. The heater is an enameled plate under the filter with its sensor and thermal fuse built in, and part of the controller's power runs through that plate. A failed plate on a Phase 6 can look like a dead controller.
- Phase 9 (numbers ending in 9). A wash controller in each drawer and one motor controller in the base that drives the motors, lids, valves and heaters of both. The heater is a separate round element with its own sensor. Integrated drawers pause with two knocks on the panel, and Designer flat-door models have a single start button on the front. Later models are covered too.
How a DishDrawer works
- The lid does the sealing. A plastic lid with the seal molded in sits above each tub. Two small motors pull it down through a pair of arms when the wash starts and lift it at the end beep.
- One motor washes and drains. The rotor under each tub carries a wash impeller on top and a drain impeller below. It turns one way to wash and the other way to drain, so debris in it stops both.
- Very little water. Under a gallon per fill, measured by when the pump picks up a steady load, so foam or a loose spray arm fools it. Doubles share one valve body, top drawer first, and their two drain hoses usually join before the air gap.
- Two sensors stop everything. A wet flood sensor in the base stops the wash and runs the drain pump. An infrared beam through the side of the tub confirms the drawer is closed; no beam, no start.
What fails, roughly in order
Lid seal, lid motors and lid arms
What it usually is: a common DishDrawer failure. The seal hardens or splits with age, or tears when a drawer that stopped with its lid down is pushed shut. A lid motor stalls, or an arm comes off its clip. You see water on the floor in front, a lid code, or a drawer that never locks.
What you can check: nothing taller than the rack, utensil handles down in the basket, and no plate rim caught at the tub edge.
What we do: run each lid motor on its own and check both arms. Because the seal is molded into the lid, a torn seal means a new lid assembly.
Rotor jammed or worn
What it usually is: broken glass, an olive pit, a small bone or a label in the rotor. The drawer hums or grinds, will not drain, or shows a motor code. Worn rotor bearings rattle.
What you can check: with the power off, lift out the rack, spray arm and filter plate as the owner's guide shows.
What we do: clear the jam, test the rotor, motor windings and the sensor that reports the rotor turning, and replace what failed.
Not draining
What it usually is: a clogged drain filter, a kinked hose, a blocked air gap, a new disposal with its knockout plug still in, debris under the one-way flap at the pump outlet, or the drain side of the rotor. Drain faults are not unique to DishDrawers; we wrote one up on an Asko in Irvine in October 2026: Why Is My Asko Dishwasher Not Draining?
What you can check: clean the filter, run the disposal, and clear the air gap cap on the sink. On a double, one slow drawer points at its own hose or rotor; both slow points at the shared air gap or drain.
What we do: drain the hose into a bucket to separate the house drain from the machine.
Not filling, or filling slowly
What it usually is: a half-closed supply valve, a clogged screen at the hose connection, a weak valve coil, or low pressure while other water runs. Softener models need more pressure than the rest.
What you can check: open the valve fully, look for a kinked hose, and try a wash when nothing else is using water.
What we do: run the valve on its own, clean the screen and measure the flow.
Leaks into the base
What it usually is: most often the lid seal or foam pushed past the lid, then a seal or hose connection under the tub. See F1 on the DishDrawer error codes page.
What you can check: the detergent, since hand soap and spilled rinse aid foam fast in a tub this small, and that the rinse aid cap is closed tight.
Cold water, wet dishes
What it usually is: on Phase 6, the heater plate, which carries its own sensor, so either fault means a new plate. On Phase 9, the element, its limiters or the separate sensor. Wet dishes can also be empty rinse aid, the Eco program, plastics, or a stopped drying fan.
What you can check: refill the rinse aid and run Normal or Heavy.
What we do: test the element, sensor and fan under load before ordering.
Controls, displays and sensors
What it usually is: a drawer that will not start because the closed-drawer beam is blocked by a dirty or cracked light pipe, a failed wash or motor controller, a top drawer that lost contact with the bottom one, or a knock sensor loose behind an integrated panel.
What you can check: the breaker, and that keylock or child lock is off.
What we do: read the fault log and check each board. See DishDrawer error codes by generation.
Things that look like a fault and are not
A few things worry owners and are normal. The fan keeps running for a while after the wash to dry the dishes. A Phase 9 fill can start and stop a few times. A drawer left unused for months can sound loud on its first wash until water reaches the motor; a little water in the tub first quiets it. A drawer that will not open with nothing running is usually locked, and the owner's guide shows how to unlock it. A display that cycles through programs without washing was left in showroom mode, which we clear on a visit.
How we work on a DishDrawer
The chassis stays in the cabinet. We cover the floor, take off the drawer front with your panel, and slide the tub off its rails, which reaches the motor, heater, hoses and lid parts. The flood sensor and the Phase 9 motor controller are in the base, so on a double the bottom drawer comes out. Before we close up, a cycle runs with the covers off.
Repair or replace
For Phase 9 and later drawers, a repair is usually worth it: parts are available, and a motor or board costs a fraction of a new double plus refitting the panels. A Phase 6 is usually worth repairing too, unless the controller is no longer made, which we check by product code first. On an early DD603, lids, seals and hoses are often still obtainable while some electronics are not. One failed drawer is no reason to replace both.
What DishDrawer repair costs
You pay the $79 service call only once: it is applied to the repair when you approve the written price.
Luxury dishwasher repair (Miele, Cove, Thermador, Fisher & Paykel)
| Repair | Typical price, parts and labor |
|---|---|
| Drain pump | $350 to $600 |
| Water inlet valve or protected hose | $300 to $600 |
| Door hinge or spring | $300 to $550 |
| Flow-through heater | $450 to $850 |
| Circulation pump | $600 to $1,100 |
| DishDrawer motor or lid actuator | $400 to $800 |
| Electronic control board | $700 to $1,300 |
Typical Orange County ranges for parts and labor. The $79 service call is applied to any of them. Parts that ship from the manufacturer and older or discontinued models can run higher. You get the exact written price after the diagnosis and before any work starts.
All tables are on the pricing page. Other brands: luxury dishwasher repair, Miele dishwasher repair and Cove. See also Fisher & Paykel refrigerator repair and all Fisher & Paykel repair.
Talk to the technician first
Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM. The $79 service call is applied to the repair.
DishDrawer repair: questions
Why is my Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer not draining?
Most often a clogged drain filter, a kinked hose, a blocked air gap or debris in the rotor, which drains as well as washes. Clean the filter and the air gap first; if water still sits in the tub, the rotor or drain path needs a look.
Why is water coming out of the front of my DishDrawer?
Usually the lid is not sealing: a worn or torn lid seal, a lid motor that did not pull it fully down, or something tall in the way. Foam from hand soap or spilled rinse aid can push water out too.
Why does only one drawer of my double DishDrawer work?
Each drawer has its own lid, motor, heater and wash controller, so most faults stay in one drawer, and the other one can usually keep running. A flood, or on Phase 9 a fault in the shared motor controller in the base, stops both.
Can you replace just the lid seal?
The seal is molded into the lid, so a torn seal is fixed by fitting a new lid assembly. It is a common repair and the DishDrawer stays in the cabinet.
My DishDrawer grinds or rattles. What is it?
Usually debris in the rotor, such as glass or a pit, or a rotor with worn bearings. On a drawer unused for months, a dry motor area is noisy until water is added.
Is it worth repairing an older DishDrawer?
Phase 9 and Phase 6 drawers usually are. On the early DD603 models it depends on whether the failed part, mostly electronics, can still be sourced, and we check before you commit.