Dishwasher Door Will Not Close or Latch – How To Fix?

My dishwasher door will not close! Here are the top reasons why your dishwasher door will not latch or close. The 5 parts listed are the parts that will need to be inspected to see if they are damaged. If any dishwasher door parts are bent, broke, or faulty, your dishwasher door will not shut, close, or latch properly. The parts below are the parts that most every dishwasher has to assist in closing the door properly.

Dishwasher Door Will Not Close or Latch - How To FixDishwasher Door Will Not Close or Latch – How To Fix?

HINT 1: Before checking any parts on the dishwasher door, check to be sure that the dishes on the racks do not protrude out past the front of the dishwasher rack. If there are items sticking out, the dishwasher door will not close. Rearrange items in the dishwasher so that they do not block the door from closing.

HINT 2: Another simple fix could be that the dishwasher door is hitting the installation cabinet or the screws holding it in place. Check to be sure the door is not hitting the cabinet or screws under the counter. Many times a screw may come loose and get in the way of the dishwasher door. If this happens the dishwasher door cannot close. Simply tighten the screw back into place and test to be sure the dishwasher door closes properly.

Which parts on a dishwasher can cause the door to NOT close or latch properly?

1 – Dishwasher Door Latch
The dishwasher door latch has 2 purposes. The lock latch pulls the door tight and keeps it closed so no water leaks. The lock latch also pushes in the safety switch so the dishwasher knows the door is closed. If the dishwasher lock latch is out of alignment, reposition it and try to shut the door. The latch may have an electrical issue or a mechanical problem, troubleshoot the latch to be sure. If the latch is broken or faulty, replace it with a new latch.

Dishwasher Door latchDishwasher Door Latch

2 – Dishwasher Door Hinge
The dishwasher door hinges pivots on the bottom of the dishwasher frame. It holds the dishwasher door on and the pivoting allows the dishwasher door to open and close. If the dishwasher door hinges are bent or loose then the door cannot close properly. Replace the dishwasher door hinges if you find them to be bent or damaged.

Dishwasher Door HingeDishwasher Door Hinge

3 – Dishwasher Door Strike Plate
The dishwasher strike plate is located on the dishwasher frame. This is the part that the dishwasher door lock latch hooks into when the door is closed. Check to be sure that the strike plate is properly aligned. If out of alignemnt, the dishwasher door latch cannot connect to it and the door will not close. If the door strike plate is cracked or broken, replace it with a new one.

Dishwasher Door Strike PlateDishwasher Door Strike Plate

4 – Dishwasher Door Gasket (Seal)
The dishwasher door gasket is the rubber fitting that goes around the dishwasher door. This seal or gasket is on the dishwasher door so the dishwasher does not leak water when running. If this gasket is ripped, worn, not aligned, or indented, it should be replaced, as the gasket can make it so the dishwasher door doesn’t close properly.

Dishwasher Door Gasket (Seal)Dishwasher Door Gasket (Seal)

5 – Dishwasher Door Spring
The dishwasher door springs are used to assist the dishwasher door to close. If a dishwasher door spring falls off or is damaged, the door may not close. Check that the dishwasher door springs are secure, not damaged, and working properly. A spring on the dishwasher door may have come loose. If a dishwasher door spring has come loose, put it back into place. If a dishwasher door spring is broken, replace it with a new dishwasher door spring.

Dishwasher Door SpringDishwasher Door Spring

NOTE: There are many types of dishwashers with different types of door designs. Some dishwasher doors use springs, pulleys, tension cords, latches, locks, cables, links, and other parts to assist the dishwasher door to close or latch. (If your dishwasher has any of these parts, be sure to inspect them for damage and replace if needed.)

Dishwashers that have the door parts above include GE, Whirlpool, LG, Samsung, Bosch, Frigidaire, Electrolux, Amana, Hotpoint, Kitchenaid, Asko, and more.

3 thoughts on “Dishwasher Door Will Not Close or Latch – How To Fix?”

  1. Something silly just happened on our new dishwasher.
    The door latched clicked into the closed or latched position while the dishwasher door was open. Now we cannot close the door. We can run the cleaning cycles, but with the door open and the latch engaged this is a problem. Is there a way to disengage the latch?

  2. I had the same problem on a whirlpool dishwasher. I worked out that there should be a spring to hold the latch under tension in a position to guide the striker into place. The latch will rotate and lock the striker when the door is pushed closed. My spring was 2.5cm long of which 1.5cm were the spring coils, with a 0.5cm loop on each end. this should be held in place by 2 metal bars (2cm) which secure the loops in plastic latch and put the spring under tension.

    I unplugged the dishwasher and removed the front panel and control panels. I then removed the wires from the micro switch and unscrewed the latch and realised the spring was missing. This caused the latch to wiggle without any effort, stopping the striker from entering the latch and locking. I found the spring and one bar under the dishwasher. The loop on one end of the spring had sheared off. I was able to bend the end coil into a loop and secured it with the locking bar.

    During assembly, make sure the latch is in the correct position before securing it (and micro switch) in place otherwise the dishwasher will run without the door locked.

  3. Indesit DIF 041B Door won’t close ?? Suddenly when I try to close the dishwasher door, it won’t stay closed. I have checked the mechanism which is working, as it starts to wash when I put a screwdriver in ;switched it off to do thus obviously) BUT it looks like that the latch on the unit is about 4mm lower than where the catch should lock on to the door (I used lipstick in the catch to see if it was meeting with the mechanism). I have adjusted the legs up & down, but to no avail ?? Does anyone have any ideas pretty please ??

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