The Bosch dishwasher E24 code means your dishwasher isn’t draining properly. Bosch blames a blocked drain filter first, then a blocked drain hose or a new garbage disposal that still has its knockout plug in.
Start inside the tub. Clean the filter, look under the pump cover, then follow the hose to the sink. I worked it in that order on service calls because each stop is closer and cheaper than the next.
You’ll usually find standing water in the bottom when E24 shows up. Does that mean the pump is dead? No. Bosch lists pooled water as a symptom of E24 itself, and it’s the water you’ll scoop out on the way to the pump.
Bosch dishwasher E24 or E25: which drain fault is it?
Bosch uses two codes for drain trouble. E24 means water can’t get out of the dishwasher, while E25 means the drain pump is blocked or its cover is loose, so they send you to different places.
Its E24 support page says water can’t get out: a blocked filter, a blocked hose or a disposal plug. Its E25 page says the drain pump itself is blocked, or its cover is loose or missing.
Bosch’s E24 page also lists the symptoms. Water pools in the bottom after a cycle, the dishwasher pauses or stops partway, and you may hear gurgling or humming.
Clean the filter first
Bosch names the drain filter as the usual cause, so it’s the first thing to pull. In the use and care manual for the SHP65CM5N, the filter comes apart into three pieces: a coarse filter, a fine filter and a micro filter.
The steps below come from that manual. Unplug the dishwasher or switch off its breaker before you start.
- Pull out the lower rack.
- Turn the coarse filter counterclockwise and lift the whole filter system out. Don’t let anything drop into the sump while it’s open.
- Pull the micro filter downward and off.
- Press the locking catches together and lift the coarse filter up and out.
- Rinse every piece under running water. Bosch says to clear the rim of debris that collects between the coarse and fine filters.
- Put the pieces back together until the catches click.
- Set the filter system back in, turn it clockwise and line up the arrow markings.
Bosch’s manual wants the filters looked at after every wash. If you’ve never pulled yours, expect a lot more in it than you’d think.
Lift the pump cover and look at the impeller
With the filter out, you can see the drain pump cover at the bottom of the sump. Bosch’s E24 page says to make sure it isn’t loose, and its E25 page goes further and has you take it off. I took fewer Bosch calls than Whirlpool-family ones, so I kept the manual open for this part.
- Keep the power off. Take out both racks and the filter system.
- Scoop out the standing water. A sponge gets the last of it.
- Pry the pump cover up with a spoon and grip it by the crosspiece.
- Lift the cover diagonally inward and out. Now your hand can reach the impeller.
- Pick out any food, glass or plastic from around the impeller.
- Press the cover back down until it clicks into place.
- Put the filter system and racks back.
Bosch warns that some of what’s down there may be sharp, like broken glass. Go slowly with your fingers, or use tongs. I always reached in with a headlamp on so I could see what I was about to grab.
Then press the cover once more. A cover that hasn’t clicked is one of the causes Bosch lists for E24, so a quick cleaning can leave you with the same code if you skip it.
Follow the water out of the dishwasher
If the filter and pump are clean and E24 comes back, the blockage is past the dishwasher. Bosch lists three places to look.
The garbage disposal plug
If your drain hose runs to a garbage disposal, look at when it was installed.
A new disposal comes with a knockout plug in its dishwasher inlet, and Bosch says installers sometimes leave it in.
After a disposal swap, that plug was the first thing I looked for. If it’s still there, nothing can drain through it, no matter how clean the filter is. Take it out, as Bosch says, before you go any further.
The hose and the siphon connection
Pull the dishwasher forward a little and look along the hose behind it. Bosch’s page has you make sure the hose isn’t kinked or damaged and that the siphon connection under the sink is sealed.
If you find a kink, straighten it out, push the dishwasher back without pinching the hose again, then run a short cycle.
Models without a code display
Some Bosch models don’t show letters and numbers at all, and on the SHP65CM5N the manual lists the same drain causes under a light pattern instead: all four vertical LEDs lit at once.
Bosch’s manual calls that “not an appliance error.” It points you to the disposal plug, a kinked drain hose, a loose pump cover or something stuck in the pump. Those are the same places as above.
Bosch dishwasher E24 questions
How do I clear the E24 code?
Fix the cause first, then reset.
Bosch’s error-code page says most codes clear if you switch the breaker off for 30 seconds. On the SHP65CM5N, holding ON/OFF for about 4 seconds cancels the cycle and pumps the leftover water out in about a minute. Check your own manual, since the buttons differ by model.
What does E24 mean on a Siemens dishwasher?
Siemens is made by the same group as Bosch, BSH. Its Austrian support page lists E24, F24, 6103 and E61-03 as the same fault and points to a blocked pump. The same filter and pump steps apply.
What if there’s no blockage anywhere?
If the filter, pump cover, hose and disposal plug are all clear and E24 keeps coming back, call Bosch service at 1-800-944-2904.
The pump or a part you can’t reach from inside the tub is next, and that’s where guessing gets expensive. For more drain symptoms, see Bosch dishwasher not draining. For other codes, the Bosch dishwasher error codes list has them.
Until then, treat E24 as a path problem. It’s the filter, the pump cover, the hose or the disposal plug, in that order, and none of them needs a new part.
