Fisher & Paykel Nautilus DW920

Dreaded F1 Warning – After getting this F1 warning on a regular basis,i discovered that my wife was rinsing the dishes while in the cabinet,causing water to penetrate the front of the unit,and saturating the flood switch unitensionally.The unit obviously is not protected against water when the door is open,so this is not a fault of the design. Reliable

Could never live without it – This dishwasher cleans everything perfectly - first time every time. Fine glassware in the top shelf with large bowls and plates in the lower shelf at the same time. I have never had anything break. It uses less water than washing by hand. It heats its own water and is not expensive to run. totally reliable

Finally Given up the Ghost...off to Harvey Norman for me – I own a Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher that is about 15 years old and after great operation, year after year, it would be too expensive to repair, so Im going to update to the latest model in the same brand, hopefully I will get another 15 years out of the new one. reliable year after year

Junk – Bought because of Choice recomended buy. Stopped buying Choice & won't buy anything F&P now. What a disaster. Doesn't clean, doesn't dry. Junk components that are expensive to replace. Save your repair money & buy a quality machine that actually cleans dishes.

Too much plastic – I hope Fisher & Paykel have learnt how to make a good dishwasher from the terrible experience we've all had by trying to fix this model. I for one won't be buying F&P again. I've had to replace the door springs 4 times in 9 years (and they're over $20 each!) and the top latch now twice. Simple enough repairs, but now because of it's age, all the… Read more

little plastic bits on the inside of the top panel are brittle and snap off. It's $80 for a new top panel, and $50 for the latch assembly! These parts are in constant demand, according to F&P spares, so why so expensive?

What a pity I can't recommend a product made in the southern hemisphere. Quiet Too much plastic, cheap springs and expensive spares.

Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher – My Fisher and Paykel dishwasher is 5 years old and I thought it was on the way out. Instead of rushing out and buying a new one, I had it serviced instead and found out some things I didn’t know and which may be useful to other people. The mechanic replaced a couple of washers in the arms and took out the whole of the bottom to clean it. Don’t do… Read more

this yourself, he said, because it needs a new rubber doodad to get it back in again.

These are some of the things I found out.

1. Less is more as far as detergent is concerned. The more detergent you use, the more suds it produces and the less likely it is that the rinse cycle is going to be able to wash off the powder which has been left on the dishes. You are going to get a fine layer of grit (which is exactly what was happening).

2. He told me not to use Powerballs because they are too big for this machine. When I told him I had just bought two packets, he told me to cut them into 2 and only use half. I have been doing this and although it’s quite hard to saw the tablets in two, I am not getting any more grit and everything is coming out clean.

3. He confirmed what probably everybody knows already - that white vinegar works fine instead of Rinse Aid.

4. If you want your dishes to actually be dry at the end of the cycle, you need to buy a machine with a dedicated drying cycle. All that happens in my machine is that the last hot wash is supposed to leave enough residual heat to dry the dishes. As anyone knows who owns one of these machines, everything comes out wet.

5. Finally, although they are getting better, don’t expect miracles. Unlike many new technologies which do seem to be miraculous, dishwashers only wash things well if they’re reasonably clean to start with. In other words, if you scrape things, soak things, and scrub things before they go in, you will have perfectly clean dishes.

All this advice only cost me $90, as opposed to $800 which I thought I was going to have to outlay for a new machine. The dishwasher is working fine and now my expectations have been suitably lowered, I hope to happily jog along with it for another 5 years. Somewhere to store the dishes so they don't litter up the kitchen. Also, the fact it's still going. It has led me down the treacherous path of being bone lazy and using it, instead of just washing the dishes in the sink.

It's flashing a U1 fault – It worked great until it flashed U1 fault so now we are washing dishes by hand and we have 4 kids that we have to clean up after wards can someone please get back to me and solve this problem that would be great so we can start using it again.  Show details

17 years of long hard service ... going to miss it! – RIP FP Nautilus DW920 - Monday 18 April 2016. You survived our family's growth over the years (from dog bowls to baby cutlery) and initially our housemates stacking you the wrong way. Don't forget the huge xmas dinners and dinner parties you successfully cleaned our wine glasses, fine china crockery and large pots and pans. Everyday without fail… Read more

our breakfast, lunch and dinner washing up was done. Finally, you have come to rest in peace after your inner pump failed and went to the appliance heaven in the sky. Thank you for our sanity and we hope that whoever takes your place can give as much service as you did. Goodbye!

Fairly Reliable – I had one of these in my house when I moved in. It immediately needed repair as it was already broken. The front panel was also cracked. This lasted another 3-4 years before I had to replace it. It is now showing a U1 fault and am weighing up spending a potential few hundred vs a new machine. I have had it 7 years and this would be the third… Read more

repair.

On the plus side, it washes well and the arrangement of the drawers is really good. I hate those drawers that are basically flat, you can't store plates on them. This one allows me to store plates in the top drawer for extra convenience. Probably wouldn't recommend despite the pluses as 3 repairs in 7 years is not great.

DW920 control panel caught fire – I was sitting at the bench having breakfast with the dishwasher going and suddenly I could smell smoke. It was the smelly electrical smell so I was looking out for where it was coming from and seen loads of it coming out from the control panel at the top of the door. The dishwasher was still running! I just flicked the isolation switch off at the wall, very lucky I was at home. Got a quality Bosch dishwasher now!

F&P DW920 – This machine like all F & P are designed to fall apart at the most 7 years all the plastic parts just snap off and their spareparts will not give you precise info on repair I will never buy a Fisher and Pykel. Product again my italian Model in our holiday house has worked for 30 years and No problems or fall aparts. It worked for 5 years Then all the plastic bits broke of their own occord

Junk – This never worked well and now after 18 months of use, it's U1. That is, main pump failure. Based on a quick ebay search, not uncommon. Absolute junk obviously worthy of the F&P name. Got it for free Everything cheap, sharp, plastic bits broke easily.

Excellent – Fantastic dishwasher. Would buy one again in a heartbeat. Beats handwashing any day and nothing needs rinsing before it goes in. We bought a Nautilus DW920 second hand in November 2004 and it has been fantastic. Dirty saucepans and lasagne baking dishes go into the dishwasher unrinsed and come out perfectly clean. Considering that we have run the… Read more

dishwasher once per day (that means it has run over 1800 times on our watch alone), I think it was a brilliant purchase. Sure, we replaced the front control panel a few months ago for less than $100, but think of all the time it has saved us. And no, I don't work for or own shares in Fisher and Paykel, and neither does anyone else I know. I wish the family we bought the disherwasher from had bought one with a silver front, instead of a black one!!

Good – I've had the stainless panel DW model since 2000 when I was in my Bachelor Pad and now moved into Married-land, have transferred it our family home and hasn't skipped a beat, fingers crossed. Does a great job on all types of dirty to mildly dirty plates. To me, the F&P products that I have around the home have worked as expected with no cost… Read more ·  1

of servicing. Maybe I'm on a winner here or just been fortunate. Reliable, no expense as yet :) except for usage

Good – This dishwasher is 7 years old & is still working fantastic. Haven't had one service call yet - I must be one of the lucky ones! Apart from having to occasionally clean out the excess food from the bottom of it, it works like a dream! Have had 3 other brands of dishwashers & this one is by far the best one we've had! Has count down timer & beeps… Read more

when finished. Cleans everything including pots & hard baked on foods quite well. Food does sit on the bottom after the cycle finished. Sharp edges on bottom, so must be careful when cleaning food out. If not cleaned, food does stay on the dishes at the end of the cycle. The eco cycle isn't as efficient.

Excellent – Look after the machine and it will repay you. If its not doing a good job check your hoses for kinks, and that you have had it installed correctly. It's always a good idea to get the loose stuff off with a brush and running water before putting them in the D/W. Great spring in door!! Quiet operation, cleans dishes, fast cycle, eco is great option when wash is light. I totally love this machine. Show reply

OK – Very efficient dishwasher which is easy to use. Dishes are cleaned efficiently with the option of an eco cycle however does require rinse aid for spotless glasware. Requires only a small amount of dish washing powder each time. LED time remaining display, soft touch buttons. Comes with a 2.5 star energy rating. Easy to use dishwasher which is… Read more

efficient and comes with a 2.5 energy rating. Features a LED time remaining display and a delay start function. Available in white, black and stainless steel to suit any kitchen. Includes a rinse aid indicator and memory of the last cycle used. Soft touch buttons with multiple wash cycles including an Eco cycle. Beeping alerts at end of the cycle. Solid click of door latch. Dish tablets cannot be used in this machine. Requires rinse aid for spotless glassware. Front plastic panels have split after 4 years of use creating very sharp stainless steel edges underneath however easy to replace panels. Dishwasher can be quite loud when running. Filter needs constant cleaning and food particles need to be removed from the floor of the dishwasher otherwise they stick on to dishes in next wash.

Terrible – I purchased one of these for my parents who needed a new one after their 20 year old dishwasher broke down. I can not believe that it lasted for only 2 years and then the repairer wanted $60 call out fee and if then $150 to install and replace a new part. Never again will I get a Fisher and Paykel. It is so difficult to find a dishwasher that will… Read more

work these days as the past two for me have only lasted 1 and 2 years each. Lasted longer than some other dishwashers. Poor washing cycle - doesn't even clean dishes properly. Lasted only for 2 years without breaking. Very flimsy door - DO NOT put heavy pots on the door.

Terrible – This is our second Fisher & Paykel and we would never buy another one (the first was inherited with the house). Don't buy a Fisher & Paykel they are junk! That it has finally completely broken down and we can replace it. Everything. We have replaced both door springs twice in three years, the pump, the thermostat and now the front panel is in bits and finally the door clip has fallen into the door which means it won't start.

Terrible – Deliberately designed to break, the worst engineering designed product that I have ever worked on and I work on appliances regularly. Find another manufacturer, this one doesn’t deserve your business! It was reasonably priced. I got a whole lot less than I paid for. I thought that Dishlex were the worst dishwashers on the market but Fisher and… Read more

Paykel take the prize hands down. From an engineering point of view this is the shoddiest piece of equipment I have ever worked on. The plastic brackets holding the facia on are made to break if looked at sideways, and cost $30+ for both of course, you can’t replace just the broken one. The door catch has never worked properly. The door is very poorly made and flexes easily. The door seal leaks. Parts are expensive. The thing is so bloody noisy that we don’t run it late at night. Reliability is appalling, I have fixed this junk more often than I care to mention (never learned my lesson and should have thrown it out much sooner)

If this dishwasher is a guide to Fischer and Paykel quality and design don’t ever buy any of their products. This piece of junk was not made to last, it was made to be an ongoing revenue raiser with the consumer buying parts constantly to support it.

Old machine starting to slow down – Bought in 2003, has had almost daily use and we've had no problems with anything breaking or leaking, but as many have said, it doesn't clean very reliably (egg, avocado, chicken and meat fat are the worst and these things often need a quick hand clean after going through the dishwasher). It is quite noisy but I always thought this was just… Read more

because we didn't get ours built in properly. For a long time I assumed that all dishwashers have such faults but now I know there are more effective ones. Cutlery basket is well designed. Is generally very good at cleaning glass, cutlery and ceramics. Nothing has broken. We only have one slightly rusty tine in the basket - not bad after 9 years. Items in the back corners of the top basket seem to trap particles, which, of course, bake on during the drying cycle. Has recently started to collect lots of crap on the mesh floor which aren't getting swept into the filter basket for emptying and are impossible to clean off by hand. The door seals also get very dirty and there are sharp bits that stab and scrape you when you try to clean them.

Bad – Not a good machine in my experience with it. No Idea how old it is as it came with the place I am renting at the moment. But the dishwasher cleaning products work like a charm with this and the layout of the dish trays/cutlery basket are better than expected and easy to put stuff in to and remove. Easy to clean, not too many problems with leakages… Read more

or cycle settings. Foodtrap not working properly, very little washes into the removable trap, most of it stays on the floor of the dishwasher. Bad latch randomly broke so the door wouldn't close properly, HOWEVER I was able to place a chair with a heavy object in front of it.

Bad – From the looks of everyone else's (often funny) comments I can only conclude I must have got one made on a good day. I have had this unit for 5 and a half years. It has never broken down and I have never had to make a service call to replace any broken parts. That said, the front facia is loose around the handle area as the mounting lugs have… Read more

broken here. This happened a year or two ago and I was surprised that such a flimsy mount was implemented in apparently quite brittle plastic for such an important component. The digital display sometimes appears 'dimmed' until I press in on the front facia and then it lights up again properly. Neither defect has affected the dishwasher's operation.

I also have made sure to run one of those 'cleaning cycles' with the special detergent a couple of times a year, have the rinse-aid appropriately set to max to compensate for the local 'hard' water (Adelaide, Australia) and add an extra 5 grams of powder on the door before each cycle (as recommended by the owners manual). Perhaps this has helped with reliability as I have had no 'flooding' or other unfortunate incidents of this kind.

For what it's worth to all the people having a 'tipping over' problem - Your machine has not been correctly installed. There are a couple of restraining brackets that should be fitted to the rear feet of the machine to prevent it tipping forwards. Either you or your installer took a 5-minute short cut that is now a safety hazard.

The greatest disappointment with this unit has been its performance. The single function of a dishwasher is to wash dishes. This machine just does not do a good job of washing dishes. I think it's primarily because the food particle strainer/trap does not work and it ends up just swirling food particles around the inside of the machine. As others have noted you must ensure whatever goes into this dishwasher is pretty clean in the first place - somewhat defeating the purpose. The 20 year old dishwasher that this replaced actually did a better job. Based on other people's experiences I don't expect this one to last as long.

As I am not an expert on dishwashers I foolishly paid for a Choice Magazine review to guide me in choosing the correct machine. I can not believe they could have actually tested this machine and not determined it does not do a good job of washing dishes. I can only say that I do not give their reviews and recommendations the authority and trust I once did.

Overall this machine performs on the low side of average. I would not make a repeat purchase based on this unit. I should probably have spent the 30-40% extra and got a good European one in the first place. That'll teach me to be such a tight-fisted git! - Easy to use

- Looks good

- Hot water connection

- Has been (surprisingly) reliable - Food strainer/trap does not work resulting in a lot of manual cleaning

- Food particles end up on the dishes

- Loud in operation

Bad – We have had one of these for six years. After a Bosch you realise not all dishwashers are made the same. In a nut shell you get what you pay for. If you are OK with having to kick it from time to time, switch it off at the mains to reset beeping, replace door springs ( up to no 4 ), the door catch , the plastic bits that hold the bottom front kick… Read more

plate in place ( up to no 5 ) , the flimsy tray runners ( replaced all once so far) the front panel ( once) , the noise - forget this machine in an open plan living /dining room ( unless you are deaf ), the U1 error , the F1 error , the leaky door damaging the base of MDF units. - No never again for us. My advice is pay the extra and buy something German or become a F&P repairman either way you can't go wrong. Did I mention you can't fit anything in it larger than a Warehouse dinner plate... Looks OK unreliable, bits are always breaking, doesn't clean very well, noisy

OK – We seem to have a semi decent one, old as the hills and still running ok. i dont think the design or construction was done with great care but i suspect it will probabilty run for another couple of years.. It runs (nothing else), over 10 years old (came with the house). Started getting F1 flooding warning, seals no longer effective and water leaking out the bypass holes lower left by door hinge.

Cheap - you get what you pay for – Overall when working the DW920 is okay. As mentioned in ither reviews it can be noisy and sometimes lacks the cleaning power of more expensive models. Our dishwasher has needed a new front fasia twice and new handle, new electronics board cover and now needs a full set of rollers. Although we use our DW920 alot, to me this hints at bad design and… Read more

materials.

In summary..does the job, could do it much quieter, efficiently and reliably with better design. Easy to use noisy, doesn't wash great, not reliable

Stay clear of this model – We had a good experience with FP appliances in the past & thought to give their dishwasher a go. The first thing we noticed was that it was particualarly noisy but more than that it didn't clean properly. Without fail small particles of food were left on everything. We resorted to rinsing all dishes before using the dishwasher which sort of… Read more

defeated the purpose and something we had never had to do with our previous Dishlex. We called FP service who said that it was normal and replaced our screen - so that instead of hardwash it said normal - very amusing. I guess FP finally admitted the unit couldn't do a hardwash and that you should use that for all your normal loads! Not long after warranty expired it would come up with U1 error every few days. We cut our losses and purchased a Bosch instead. Relatively cheap noisy, doesn't clean, unreliable

Bad – I have never had so many problems with a dishwasher. Fortunately I was able to fix the F1 error without having to pay the $122 call out fee for F&P Service. If the machine won't stop beeping and displaying the F1 error code, turn off at the power and turn the dishwasher on its side. Have a towel handy as some water will dribble out from the side… Read more

of the base. Draining the water will reset the machine but you will still need to identify the cause of the flooding to stop it happening again. In my case a screw holding one of the top rack slider wheels was loose letting water leak into the hole & setting off flood sensor. Easy to use. Usually does an ok job of cleaning dishes as long as food scraps have been rinsed off first Noisy; seal doesn't work at times flooding kitchen floor. Recently stopped mid-cycle with a F1 error code - machine beeps and can't be turned off except at the power source (for a way to fix this see below)

Bad – Could this be the worst dishwasher ever made ? We certainly think so. The last straw was the rusting out of the baskets. Replacement cost of those is about 3/4 the price of a new dishwasher. It was cheap. Easy to pull it out of the cupboard space to replace it with another. Many many faults. Water leaks, door catch breakage and poor latching,… Read more

baskets rusted out, top basket rails fell off, control board relay burned out, spray bar pivots wore out and stopped it spinning. Not particularly good at washing even when new..

Good – I simply bypassed the door switch. I just need to remember to push pause before opening mid-cycle if i don't want a shower. Seems to clean dishes ey? What more do you really want?! Another winner from Mitre 11 (=the dump. The things people throw out...). I got it free from the dump. Some rats had tried nesting in the wiring and chewed some… Read more

insulation off - machine stopped working, they dumped it. (So for me, the price was right!) Turns out the rat-chewed wiring wasn't the issue (although the insulation was chewed, the wires inside were still intact - insulation tape fixed that for a few cents) - it was in fact... a faulty door catch (as mentioned over and over in reviews for this machine). Although the door looks closed and doesn't leak, the washer "thought" it was open (door switch not triggered) so refused to play.

OK – other than the above problems has been OK, not too economical , self cleaning appears to work, needs rinse aid to do glass well. Getting the U! error occasinally now, so another challenge ! stainless steel looks good,choice of cycles poor design of components, door springs replaced,obvious faulty design, common problem. Poor design of original… Read more

door latch which breaks, as replacement is different design, AND you have to pay for the part ! after 4 years so not too bad.

Good – Overall, I was impressed with this dishwasher, and would consider buying one I like the idea of delayed start, so that it can be left until after guests leave. the fact that you can use hot or cold, and also the soundproofing and lots' of features. only 2.5 star energy rating. No price offered

Good – We've had three of these dishwashers, two of our own in subsquent homes and one we bought for a rental property. In the seven or so years we owned them we never had any trouble with ours and never had any reports from tenants of problems with the one in our rental. It's a good mid-priced unit, it cleans well, has several washing programmes. … Read more

It's only deficit is that it's really loud. I've read of problems with the handle and the control panel buttons but we never encountered these problems. It cleans well, has several programmes, trouble-free operation. It's very loud.

Terrible – We have just thrown this dishwasher away after only 6 years but it hasn't worked properly in all that time. Door clip has broken 3 times, have had to replace the entire front door and the electronic panel and it regularly leaked. I would not recommend this brand to anyone. We have just upgraded to Miele and finally have a quiet reliable… Read more

diswasher. Do yourself a favour and stay away from fisher and paykel anything - they are cheap rubbish! Reasonably priced. Just about everything else!

OK – We will not buy this brand again! Although reasonable for several years, feel that will become too expensive to maintain repair regime. 7 years trouble free. Last 12 months. Same as everybody else.Door seal replaced. Broken front panel (plastic lugs). Broken door springs and final straw broken door latch. Not built to last. Expensive to fix. ($96.00 call-out fee plus repair costs).