Washer Unbalanced Load, Overfill and Leak Codes

Three faults that get lumped together

A washer that bangs, a washer that fills past where you expect, and a washer that reports water outside the tub are three codes. Homeowners often restart all of them the same way. The support pages do not.

Code	Meaning
LG UE	Unbalanced load: laundry is piled on one side and the washer could not even it out.
Samsung UE	Unbalanced load inside the tub. Ur is the rebalance attempt and is not an error. Some models show Ub, U6, 1 Ub or 1U6.
LG FE	Overfill: too much water has entered the drum. The drain pump runs to prevent leaks. Some models show E04 or E12.
Samsung LC	Water level or leakage: moisture where it should not be, or an issue with the sensor. Some models show 1E, LE, 1C or LC1.
Whirlpool F0 E5	Off balance on a front-loader. A load that cannot move, or one bulky item washed alone, can stretch the cycle and leave clothes dripping.

Samsung also warns, on the door-code page, that some models use dC for an unbalanced load. If your manual says that, this is the page to follow, not the door-lock guide.

On LG washers, the leak code is AE: water leaked inside the appliance and the anti-flood safety switch was activated. LG’s causes are a leak, a damaged inlet hose or a faulty safety switch, and its checks are the inlet hoses for loose connections or cuts, then a 60-second power reset.

Two LG sensor codes look like these faults but are not load or water problems. vS (shown as u5 or uS on some displays) is the vibration sensor itself: a contact problem or a sensor malfunction, not an unbalanced load. PE means the water level sensor is malfunctioning. For both, LG’s owner steps are a resume or a short power reset, and service if the code returns.

LG UE

LG’s causes are laundry that is not evenly distributed (including incorrect use of a laundry net), a load that is too large or too small, items that are not suited to machine washing, and a washer that is not level.

The items LG names as unsuitable: pillows, cushions, bathroom mats, carpets, electric blankets, curtains and rubber mats. Those are from the UE page, not a general laundry list. If the code appeared on one of those items, that is the cause LG gives.

Steps:

1. Pause, take the laundry out, and spread it evenly in the drum. Then choose an appropriate spin cycle.
2. Aim for a load of about two-thirds of the drum capacity. Too small can sit on one side just as too large can. LG lists both.
3. Wash blankets on the Duvet cycle and padded or down jackets on the Sportswear cycle, both at medium spin speed.
4. If you use a laundry net, fill it only to two-thirds, and wash two or three nets together with some clothes rather than one net by itself. A single heavy net is a classic one-sided load.
5. Check level. Rock the washer from the front, back and side. Adjust the leg on the side the unit tilts, with a wrench, until the legs sit firmly on the floor. Check with a level on the top plate.

If UE keeps returning on a washer that is level and a load that is normal, LG says to request service. The suspension and the shock absorbers are not in the homeowner steps.

The level check is the reason the level and wrench page exists. Adjust legs with the washer empty, the power off and the taps closed if you have to pull the machine out. Do not level it while it is spinning.

Samsung UE and Ur

Samsung’s cause list for UE is shorter: an unbalanced or tangled load in the tub.

Steps: untangle and rearrange the laundry so it is more balanced, close the door, and press Start.

Samsung is explicit about Ur. Ur means the washer will add water, try to rebalance, and retry the spin. Ur does not mean there is a problem. Let it. If you cancel Ur, you can turn a normal rebalance into a real UE.

If you keep getting the error, Samsung says to follow its “Washer won’t spin” guide. There is no leg-adjustment procedure on the Samsung UE page we publish. Do not import LG’s leg steps onto a Samsung unless Samsung’s own won’t-spin article tells you to. The code page is the boundary.

A washer that will not spin because it will not drain is 5C, and Samsung’s 5C page does say to check that the washer is level. Level on 5C is about draining, not about UE. Use the code on the display to pick the page.

Whirlpool F0 E5

Whirlpool’s front-load page calls F0 E5 an off-balance condition. A sizable unbalanced load can make the cycle longer than the display first showed, and a reduced spin leaves clothes dripping.

If the load is not dripping, Whirlpool says the cycle finished and only took longer to balance. No action. If it is dripping, take a few items out so the rest can move freely and run Drain & Spin. Do not wash one bulky item, such as a rug or a jeans jacket, by itself. Add a few garments and run Drain & Spin.

F0 E5 does not use LG’s two-thirds rule or LG’s leg adjustment. Those steps are on the LG UE page. Whirlpool’s slow-drain code is F9 E1, which is the hose and the standpipe, not the load.

LG FE, the overfill

FE is not “the load is lumpy.” It means too much water has entered the drum, and the drain pump runs to keep that water off the floor. Some models show E04 or E12. LG’s cause is extra water entering the drum, possibly through the detergent dispenser.

Steps:

• Check whether extra water is being supplied through the detergent dispenser. A faucet that is forced into the dispenser, or a house plumbing problem that pushes water through that path, matches the cause LG wrote down.
• Unplug the washer, wait 60 seconds, and restart it.
• Start a Quick 30 program. If the program does not start with a drain action, stop it and turn the washer off.

If FE, E04 or E12 persists, LG says the unit will require service. Do not keep adding water by hand to “see what it does.” The pump is already trying to lower the level. If water is on the floor, close the taps first so a stuck inlet valve cannot keep feeding the tub, then unplug the washer.

FE is also different from a drain code. OE means the washer cannot get water out. FE means too much got in, and the pump is running because of that. If the pump then fails to keep up, you may see OE afterwards. Note which code was first.

Samsung washer LC

This LC is the washer code, not Samsung dishwasher LC. The letters match. The appliances do not.

Washer LC means moisture is detected somewhere it should not be, or there is an issue with the sensor itself. Causes Samsung lists:

• A leak, sometimes so small it goes unnoticed.
• A kinked supply hose or drain hose.
• Too much detergent, or non-HE detergent, creating suds.

Steps:

• Look for a leak. Samsung says that if you find one, fixing the leak fixes the error.
• Check the supply hoses and the drain hose behind the washer for kinks. Do not remove the screw on the back that holds the drain hose against the washer. That screw is on the 5C page and the 4C page as well. It keeps the hose at the height Samsung specifies.
• Run an empty cycle with no detergent, softener or other additive, and watch for suds. If suds appear, too much detergent or a non-HE detergent has been used. Keep running empty cycles until the suds are gone, then see whether LC returns.

If no suds appear but the code continues, Samsung says to request service. That is the sensor case in the meaning statement. There is no homeowner test for the sensor on this page.

Detergent rules that prevent the suds path are in the suds guide. The shop button on this page searches for HE detergent because that is the product Samsung’s LC steps point at. It does not search for a leak sensor. Do not buy a sensor because LC was on the display once.

LG LE sits next to UE

LG LE is a motor error: the tub failed to spin, so the motor cannot operate properly. Causes: the washer was overloaded and the motor strained, a coin or other object is stuck in the tub, or the error is temporary.

Steps LG gives: unplug, wait 5 minutes, try again; reduce the load and use the bedding cycle for a heavy load or large blankets; turn the power off, unload, and look for a coin, removing it with pliers or tweezers.

If LE continues, unplug the washer and contact LG service. An unbalanced load that you redistribute is UE. A motor that still will not turn after the load is reduced is LE. The display tells you which procedure you are in.

Banging is not automatically UE

A washer can bang because it is not level (LG UE lists that), because one wet item is stuck to the drum (both UE pages), or because a drain hose is slamming against the cabinet (a hose problem on the drain pages). Watch the code. If there is no code, the support pages on this list do not apply yet. If the code is UE, do the redistribute steps before you buy shocks or a new washer. Those parts are not in the homeowner steps.

Safety first: Unplug the washer and close the taps before you pull it out to check hoses or adjust legs. A washer with water on the floor may still be trying to fill. Stop the water first. Do not open the door of a front loader while it is locked.