LG Error Codes: Washer, Dishwasher & Refrigerator
LG shows a short code on the display when one of its own checks fails, and the letters are abbreviations worth knowing: I is for water coming in, O for water going out, U for an unbalanced load and L for a motor that is locked. The table below lists every LG code we have written a full guide for, across washers, dishwashers and refrigerators, with one line on what each is telling you. The linked page goes further: likely causes, what you can safely try yourself, and the point where it needs a technician. If your code is not here, call and read it to us.
| Code | Appliance | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| LG IE | Washer, dishwasher | Not enough water is coming in — supply valve, inlet hose or inlet valve. |
| LG OE | Washer, dishwasher | Water is not draining out in time — filter, drain hose or drain pump. |
| LG UE | Washer | The load could not be balanced for the spin; the laundry first, the suspension second. |
| LG LE | Washer | The motor is locked or overloaded — a drum that will not turn, or a failing rotor sensor. |
| LG ER IF | Refrigerator | The ice-compartment fan is not turning, most often frozen in place by frost. |
Reading an LG code correctly
LG displays use letters that are easy to misread as digits: OE is the letter O, not zero, and IE is the letter I, not one. Searching for "0E" or "1E" turns up other brands' codes with other meanings. On a washer the code usually stays on the display until the machine is switched off, so note it, and the point in the cycle where it appeared, before you touch anything. A drain code at the very start of a cycle and one at the end of a wash are not the same fault, and that detail saves a technician time.
LG code families, appliance by appliance
On LG washers and dishwashers the code is two characters, and the second is nearly always E, for error, so the first letter carries the meaning. The water codes are IE (inlet), OE (outlet, the drain), FE (fill error: too much water, because the inlet valve has not closed) and PE (the pressure sensor that measures the water level has sent a reading that makes no sense). The mechanical codes are UE (unbalance), LE (a locked motor) and dE (the door). Heating faults read tE, the thermistor that measures water temperature, and on a dishwasher HE, the heater circuit; AE on an LG dishwasher means water has reached the leak sensor in the base. LG refrigerators work differently: the display shows Er followed by two letters that name the part, where the second is often F for a fan or S for a sensor. Er IF is the ice-maker fan, Er FF the freezer fan, Er CF the condenser fan, Er rS and Er FS the fresh-food and freezer sensors, and Er dH the defrost heater circuit. Two messages are not faults at all: CL is the child lock, and PF means the power was cut during a cycle.
When switching it off and on is worth a try
Some LG codes are the machine reporting a one-off rather than a broken part: a single heavy towel that would not balance (UE), a tap left half closed (IE), a drain hose kinked behind the machine (OE). Fix the obvious cause, switch the appliance off at the plug or the breaker for a few minutes and run a short cycle. If the code does not return, that was the whole problem. If it comes back on the next cycle, the check that raised it is failing for a real reason, and repeated restarts will not change that.
Which LG codes you can clear, and which need a technician
Codes you can usually clear yourself, once the cause is dealt with: UE after the load is spread out by hand, IE after the tap is opened fully and the inlet hose straightened, OE after the drain filter behind the small panel at the bottom front of a front-loader is cleaned out, dE when the door closes on nothing, and PF and CL, which only need the cycle restarted or the lock released. Codes that point to a part rather than a situation: LE that returns with the drum empty, PE and tE, which are sensor circuits, HE on a dishwasher, and every Er code on a refrigerator. A fan or sensor that has stopped will not stay fixed by a power cycle, and the food warms while you try. Two codes call for shutting off the water before anything else: FE, because a valve that will not close can overflow the tub, and AE, because water is already sitting in the dishwasher base.
When to stop and call
Do not keep restarting a washer or dishwasher that leaves water on the floor, a refrigerator showing ER IF while the fresh-food side is warming, or anything that smells of burning. Have the model number ready when you call — on an LG washer it is on a label inside the door or on the back panel, on a refrigerator inside the fresh-food compartment — together with the code and when it appears.
LG dryers and Smart Diagnosis
LG dryers add their own family. d80, d90 and d95 are not faults in the dryer at all: they are its estimate of how restricted the exhaust is — roughly 80, 90 and 95 percent. The cure is the whole duct, from the back of the machine to the hood on the outside wall, plus the flap in that hood; a crushed section behind the dryer or a long run with several bends is what it usually finds. tE1 and tE2 point at the thermistor that measures air temperature, which needs testing with a meter. Many LG appliances also offer Smart Diagnosis, either in the ThinQ app or by holding a phone to the machine while it plays a string of tones. It is worth passing on what it reports, but it reads the same sensors as the display, so it cannot tell a kinked hose from a failed pump any better than the code.