People have complained about Miele customer service in the US lately. All brands have issues these days - if you want to save money, look at Whirlpool or KA - you'll find some detractors as with any brand but many of us are happy with ours.

Someone posted on the Kitchen Table forum last week that her 9 year old Bosch DW was recalled because it might catch fire. But what was interesting is that one of the subsequent posters had her Bosch DW recalled and found out that it was either made by Maytag or had parts from Maytag. I don't know if that is any reflection of the quality of a current Bosch DW.

I knew that when I purchased my Rowenta iron several posters told me to check the box to make sure it was made in Germany. Some of the cheaper models are made in China.

I'm not trying to talk you into any brand- I have 2 GE Profile dishwashers and both of them were recalled because of a fire concern. Just thought I'd pass this along.

Here is a link that might be useful: dishwasher

OK now I'm really getting turned off by Bosch. They make excellent power tools and have used them for years. I have always liked the Bosch quality in their tools. Apparently their quality does not translate to other Bosch products.

We never have a lot to wash and liked the Bosch Ascenta Series SHE6AP05UC because it has the "half load" option for small loads.

We spent a long time deciding on that model for many reasons including price as well as many other options listed for this model.

What other brand of DW would be comparable in features and price? If Whirpool is making the Bosch DW's than I would get the same problems with Whirpool as reported by Bosch owners?

FWIW, Bosch, Whirlpool, Hotpoint, Miele, Kenmore and Amana are the top 6 for reliability in Consumer Reports' most recent test. Whether or not that is realistic in the real world is anyone's guess.

I rolled the dice and went with Bosch for many of the same reasons you listed.

I've had the SHE5800 for almost 3 years. Never had a problem with it. It has the "half load" option as well. I really like this dishwasher, it's quiet, cleans well, and is easy to load. There are complaints about dishes not drying, I've not had any issues with things not drying. Especially if left for several hours or if I cannot wait, I just prop the door open with the top rack. Plastics are as dry as they were in my other DW. I experimented with not adding rinse aid for a while, dishes weren't quite as dry, but still just fine. Thing come out cleaner, I put everything in unrinsed, including pans. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

My Bosch dishwasher is now 7 years old. When we renovated the kitchen last year, I refused to part with it - it works really well, and I couldn't see the point of getting rid of it just because we were replacing the other appliances.

It works well and efficiently. Bear in mind that the people who take the time to write reviews on websites are generally people who have an axe to grind: people who had a bad experience. The vast majority of people who are satisfied aren't going to bother posting a review - because it never occurs to you when things are going well.

Recalls happen with every manufacturer. Mine was one of the ones affected: it turned out that a very, very small number (4 I think) of owners had had problems, and Bosch took their responsibility to the customers seriously. They had an engineer call me within a day of my calling, who came and fitted the replacement part within a couple of days. I call that excellent service.

Just my 2c, based on 7 year's good experience. On the strength of it, I also bought a Bosch washing machine, and oven.

I have no axe to grind, just don't like my Bosch and would advise you to purchase a different brand. I've written about its poor performance on other threads (which you may have read). I don't think any dishwasher, no matter the price, should have problems two years after purchase. My advice is to stay away from anything with lots of fancy features, no matter the brand. The more electronic doodads an appliance has, the greater the likelihood that one of those doodads will fail. Do we really need all these different cycles? Don't we just want to load the thing, press a button (or turn a knob), and get clean and dry dishes an hour later? Just my opinion!

Nobody here stated that Bosch dishwashers are made by Whirlpool. They are not.

Sorry, I meant to state Maytag in the "whirlpool" reference. It seems that at least some parts are made by Maytag? And was it the Maytag components that are having the problem?

Anyway, I guess it is a gamble with any appliance.

Wade

Hummm, my old (10 years) Maytag was recalled due to a fire hazard too.
I started to buy a Bosch last month but backed out when I saw, in person, how much smaller the tub was and it didn't offer the configuration options that the KA did, plus the KA had a third rack for cutlery. I've actually been able to remove my silverware basket and use the cutlery rack for all my silverware. I bought the KA KUDE68 model. Very pleased with it. KA is what I first intended to buy based on reviews I'd read (NOT Consumer Reports). It's very quiet and cleans well :)
Monica

I've always used Bosch not just for appliances but for tools and even my cctv. They've proven reliable so far in every field.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ge mwf

Bosch is releasing its new dishwasher line right now. On some models, they have added a third rack like the KA.

I would stay away from Ascenta. I don't like the "hybrid" tubs on these (plastic & stainless) myself.

The half load option is available on some of the Bosch models.

As part of my kitchen design job, I sell appliances. I have had a KitchenAid, which I loved! It was an entry-level unit, which did a fantastic job for me (after I read the instruction manual). A fellow salesperson has an entry-level Bosch (the first model above the Ascentas). He loves his as well.

There's that old saying, "Buy the best you can afford, and you'll cry only once."

We have a Bosch dishwasher that is going on 5 years now and no problem. And yes we did have a recall and the part was replaced - no charge.

But understand this - those who have problems and/or are dissatisfied with their appliance will be far more vocal than those who are having no problems. That's the way we are as a society. And I haven't heard of anybody stating that Bosch has Maytag parts.

So take everything you hear with a grain of salt.

Enjoy the journey.
eal51 in western CT

Everyone in my family has always bought KitchenAid--excellent performance. However, KA was bought by Whirlpool and now unsure if quality has gone down hill. So when Mom built a new house 3 years ago,she did the research & went with 2 mid-high level Bosch dishwashers. They clean really well...

...if you COMPLETELY pre-rinse EVERYTHING you put in it!!!!!

If there is ANY food or residue (think ketchup, mustard, gravy, egg yolk,) still on the plate when you load it, expect some of it to still be on the plate when you unload it--even if the plates went straight from the dinner table to the DW and you began the cycle right then. If the dishes aren't completely rinsed, they come out with a residue on them (you can't see it, but you can feel it-like thousands of tiny crumbs stuck to the plates & glasses). Now, if you like to wash the dishes before the dishwasher washes the dishes, it's a great machine! However, I do not. I like to scrape, stack, toss in a detergent tab, and start it up. Obviously, I will not opt for Bosch.

So I am researching other DWs for my build. I really liked the Electroluxe--great features, great price, most versatile adjustable racks and quiet, but reviews are pretty consistent in that the reason it's so quiet is because it's not really washing in the first place. So Electroluxe is out.

I checked out the Samsung, and it seems to be very competitive with the KitchenAid as far as features with a little lower pricetag + the heat element is not exposed and it has more stacking flexibility than KA, but reviews are mixed.

Miele seems like it has all the features I like too but price was a little on the high end and I'm worried about the customer service issues I've read about. Also don't know anyone personally with this DW.

KitchenAid has great features-fan assisted drying, adjustable racks and tines, 3rd rack for cutlery, food grinder, and great track record for me personally. Reviews are mixed which worries me, but I don't know how mixed the reviews were before Whirlpool bought KA either. Price is a little high...but it may just be worth it in the long run provided the quality is still there.

Hope this helps! Let us know what you decide and how it performs for you.

mydream,
There is something egregiously wrong with your mom's DW or something. Not only does my Bosch DW clean everything - NO prerinsing EVER - I only run my DW about every 3-4. So the non-rinsed gunk - egg, dough, pasta sauce, cheese etc. gets every opportunity to dry on the plates.

Furthermore, I only use a half Miele tab to a full load.

There have been 3 instances in the 4.5 years I've had the machine when the dishes came out dirty. I didn't know what to look for the first time but times 2 and 3, I found that a handle or a misloaded ladle had slipped through the bars at the bottom of the rack and obstructed the DW arm keeping it from rotating freely or fully.

Other than that, the DW has cleaned *everything*. Including, mind you, the gunky doughy remains from making the NYTimes no-knead bread which, if you've ever made it, leaves a really sodden mess in the bowl you're rising the dough in.

This DW is the work-horse of my kitchen. I trust it completely and utterly to get the job done perfectly with virtually no fussing from me. Despite the long lead times between washes.

mydreamhome, I agree with mindstorm. I forgot to run the dishwasher before going away for 2 days (ick!) and the spaghetti sauce encrusted pots and plates came out perfectly clean in my lower end Bosch, with no nasty residue on the glasses or plastics. I have many complaints about loading the blasted thing but its cleaning ability is tops.

I'm not sure where all this information that Bosch is made by Maytag is coming from but I've been servicing Bosch appliances since 1999, Maytag, Frigidaire, GE & Whirlpool long before, and can say that there is not even a remote similarity between a Bosch and Maytag dishwasher. Their pumping systems are different, their heating systems are different, the timing systems are different, their dispensing systems are different, even their water valve is different. If fact the only thing these machines have in common are they are both dishwashers.
I can also say that I've been using a Bosch D/W since 2000 and it's truly the best dishwasher I've ever used.

We just choose our appliances and this is my take. Bosch makes a great product. However it has used it's repuation and tried to appeal to the mass market and created several lower end lines that do not perform as well. The mid to high end lines are still very good. My entire family has bosch and really loves them-no problems. To get into the mid to higher end lines, it's about $900 and up.

We choose the Miele ($1400) b/c DH loves the cutlery rack and it seemed like a well built machine. The sales guy said, both will clean really well and both are very quiet. You can't really go wrong with either, but the miele is built to last. The Miele was in our budget, but I wouldn't stress over it. I would just make sure the model of Bosch you are going with is one of the better ones.

idrive65 & mindstorm,

Thanks for the info. I will pass on to Mom when I see her tomorrow. I figured some of her issues may have to do with not having a hard food grinder where food particles may stay in the tub and get redistributed all over the dishes leaving that residue. But maybe there's just someting wrong with her machines. Lastly, what is the advantage to using the Miele tabs vs the other DW detergents out there?

I own a Bosch that is about 7 years old. I have been very happy with it. From time to time, I throw dishes in on top of one another and they don't get clean, but that's why the wife loads it most of the time and not me. If there is a quiet hum and the rest of the house is quiet, I have to go right up to it to see if it is the thing running, and it usually is...red light also gives it away. duh. We are remodeling now, and I will not part with it just because of its age. I like mine. There was a recall on a control panel a few months ago, and they called me, scheduled a time, and came out to replace the bad part. I'd buy another.

mydreamhome,
If you read this forum more, you'll learn that popular opinion debunks the food-grinder necessity myth. My own experience with a euro-DW that has washed better, more reliably and efficiently rendering polished clean dishes confirms that theory as will the testimony of numerous Miele, Bosch and Asko owners. You don't need the food-grinder to get clean dishes out.

That said, you do need the right dishwashing detergent. Check your mom's detergent - it doesn't have to be a Miele at all but it does need to be one of those enzyme-based ones. These detergents supposedly break-down (aka digest) the left-over food residue to help remove it. So a Cascade powder or tab or the new Finish powder should be good. Still check the box as Cascade makes both enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic detergents and you NEED the appropriate kind for your DW. If the ingredients lists enzymes you're good. If it lists chlorine - that's a give-away that that is not an enzymmatic detergent as chlorine products produce too acidic a solution for the enzymes to be able to act in.

Thanks for all the input. Still not 100% sure which DW yet but will leave out the "hybrid" SS/plastic models of the Bosch. Sounds like getting the best quality we can afford is the key as "polie" suggested. We are so far over budget on our kitchen remodel not sure if it matters anymore. Initially I thought "OK lets put about $5k in the kitchen to spruce it up a bit". Well it appears we are going to have somewhere over 20K in this remodel and that is with me doing a lot of the labor. Especially all the difficult work like crawling around in the attic to run several new circuits for the kitchen. Laying flat on my tummy and squeezing my way to an area with 15" clearance to drill holes in the top plate etc.. And the outside temp was 100+ degrees, not sure what the attic temp was but it was difficult to breathe and I was completely soaked when I came down for breathers. Had to shower 2 times that day during breaks from being in the attic.

We would love to have a new fridge and new stove, both of which are white, but both appliances work perfectly well and can't justify the expense just for looks.

Anyway, I digress. I enjoy the work I'm doing on the kitchen, I'm having difficulty with all the decision making of things like deciding on a DW, OTC MW, range hood(got that one sorted with much help from GWer's-THANKS!), sink, faucet, the list goes on .... :)

Thanks again for all the input, I will get either a Bosch, Meile, Kitchenaid or Asko. The criteria will be nothing over $1,100 and what the service is like in the area where I live. Not sure if anyone my area services Asko which may leave that model out of the selection process.

Wade

I love my Bosch D/W.....have had it about 3 years and it is totally silent, incredibly effective (there is never crud left on the dishes) and absolutely no problems.

Well, we have a newer Bosch dishwasher, less than a year old, and are completely happy with it. It has the "1/2 load" option, etc. That was one of my criteria, along with a "quickwash"-type cycle. Gets our dishes clean and dry, and is quiet enough that you forget that it's on unless you come and stand by it.

It is solid and seems well-made to me. The capacity isn't quite as much as our old dishwasher, but it works so much better and is so much quieter that it's like day and night.

-Roger

We are remodeling our home and are currently living with my mom (lucky her!)...as a gift for letting us stay with her, we bought her a new dishwasher. She wanted one with as few bells and whistles as possible, and she picked a SS one by Whirlpool Gold for about $600. In our remodel, we picked the SHE model Bosch....but after living here with her cheaper, simpler Whirlpool, we may have changed our minds! Her new dishwasher cleans SOOO great and will be about $300 less than our planned Bosch. And because it doesn't have all the moveable parts, it fits so much more than our old one....

Thanks for the input firsthouse, last weekend someone else tried to convert me away from the German models to the whirlpool gold. Since it is just the 2 of us we want to conserve water for the few dishes we have and I still like the 1/2 load option. But to be honest I have not investigated the details of the wp model and its efficiency.

Hey Roger which model did you get?

Wade

SHE55M02UC.

-Roger

I have a lower cost Bosch DW (white, tall tub, external controls) about a year old. It replaced a terrible Amana that sounded like a jet engine when it ran. I got really tired of not being able to hear the TV in the next room!

The pros: pretty quiet, seems to clean well. Dries okay. Love how simple the controls are. Really like the stainless interior. Doesn't seem to need a food disposal after all (I was skeptical).

Cons: SMELLS BAD. I rinse my dishes really well anyway before loading but there's something about the interior (maybe the stainless steel?) that traps odors big time. It smells like something is dead in there and I'll have to run a load that's not even full just to eliminate the stink (the "rinse" cycle doesn't help all that much). I've never had that happen in any dishwasher before. It happens fairly consistently in this Bosch. Now I rinse everything about 4 times before putting it in b/c I'm paranoid! I have check the food grate thing at the bottom of the DW all the time, but that's never been the source of the smell...

FWIW, I went to a neighbor's house yesterday to see her kitchen and she has the stainless version of my Bosch DW. She doesn't like hers because she says it smells AFTER the clean cycle has run (never happened to me) and that the dishes don't dry at all so they have to crack the door for awhile before unloading. That hasn't happened to me either.

One more con - a design flaw. Bosch made the grate openings on the bottom rack so large that you can't put smaller items (like cups or small bowls) on the bottom. Too bad - because you can put plastic anywhere since there's no heating element. Poor design, IMO. I deal with a lot of small cups and sippy cups with three small kids so that has been annoying for me.

Overall, it works as it should and even though I have gripes, I'm not replacing it in the new kitchen since it's so new...