Dishwasher Leak Detected / Water Under the Unit

Every major brand builds a float switch or moisture sensor into the base pan under the tub, and when it senses standing water it stops the machine outright rather than risk flooding your kitchen — that safety shutdown is what a leak-detected code actually means.

What this looks like

Sometimes it's obvious: water pooling out from under the toe-kick, a damp cabinet floor next to the dishwasher, or a puddle discovered only when you pull the unit out for an unrelated reason. Other times the first sign is the dishwasher simply stopping mid-cycle with an alarm and a code, before any visible water has made it out from under the unit. Both are the same underlying mechanism — a float switch in the base pan has risen enough to trip, and the control board cuts the cycle short as a safety measure rather than continuing to add or circulate water.

Most likely causes, ranked

1. Oversudsing from regular dish soap or too much detergent. Liquid dish soap foams far more than dishwasher detergent and can overflow the tub; too much of even the right detergent can do the same on a hard-water load.
2. A cracked, warped, or dislodged door gasket letting wash water past the seal during the cycle instead of staying inside the tub.
3. A loose hose clamp at the inlet or drain hose fitting on the back of the unit.
4. A dishwasher that isn't level, letting water pool to one side or run past the gasket instead of draining normally.
5. A worn circulation pump shaft seal or an internal tub leak — once detergent, gasket, hoses, and leveling are all ruled out, this is what's left, and it's the one that most reliably needs a technician.

Which error codes this can show as

• Bosch: E15 — the Aquastop leak sensor found standing water and locked the inlet valve shut
• Samsung: LE, Samsung's leakage error
• LG: AE (also shown as E1 on some units) — the base pan's float switch has tripped
• Whirlpool: F8E4 — water detected in the drip tray beneath the unit
• KitchenAid: F8E4 — the same drip-tray leak detection as Whirlpool

What you can check yourself

1. Shut off the water supply valve under the sink before doing anything else
2. Confirm you're using dishwasher-specific detergent, not liquid dish soap, and the correct amount for your water hardness
3. Carefully pull the unit out and check the base pan and toe-kick area for standing water, then dry it completely
4. Inspect the door gasket for cracks, gaps, or trapped food debris and clean or reseat it
5. Check that the inlet and drain hose clamps at the rear of the unit are tight, and that the float switch connector underneath is fully plugged in
6. Confirm the dishwasher is level with a bubble level and adjust the feet if it's rocking or tilted to one side
7. Cut power at the breaker for about a minute before restarting a cycle once everything above is checked

Related

• Dishwasher not draining — a tub that can't drain will sometimes overflow into what looks like a leak
• Dishwasher stuck or stopped mid-cycle — leak detection is one of the more common reasons a cycle stops without finishing
• Bosch codes · Samsung codes · LG codes · Whirlpool codes · KitchenAid codes