Fisher & Paykel DD603

Do Not Buy – I am a single person so it's not like this dishwasher is getting overused. I am now on my 7th rotor replacement at $106 each plus labor. I'm on my 5th and 6th actuators. I could of purchased a new unit by now. I just replaced a rotor thus morning and now it turns on by itself. Do not buy. Go Bosch or Miele or anything but Fand P. I love the… Read more

double drawers and the look of the unit but these repairs are crazy. Unless you have a money tree and love your repair person being in your kitchen all the time.

Excellent idea, questionable execution – The DishDrawer is an excellent idea that has unfortunately been plagued by design flaws, many of which arguably should have involved recalls, and several others should have been remedied with later versions (but have not been). Firstly, the hot air venting situation is poor. A poorly-designed air duct can partially separate, allowing hot air to… Read more

vent into the front cavity where the controller electronics sit. The controller board isn't sealed against this hot air, and even worse, there is a secondary circuit board (that's unfortunately soldered to the main PCB) that displays the in-tub wash selection lights, and has two capacitive sensors for the mode advance and eco button. The hot air, probably with some corrosive gasses from washing detergents, corrodes this PCB and causes issues. F&P have made several minor attempts to improve this with subsequent 605, DD60...6/7 models, and recently moved the controller entirely. Furthermore, on the bottom drawer, hot moist air is expelled directly onto the floor via the fan. This is not at all ideal for vinyl or wooden flooring and can cause damage.

Second, the lids in early 603s used white motors that can fail and stop the lid from closing properly. This wouldn't be such an issue if F&P used a better method to detect lid closure (such as light detection or magnetic detection, as tall glasses or dishes sticking above the drawer top can also cause this issue (but the lit motors will still stall out and thus the dishwasher "thinks" they are closed) - this is likely to cause F1 (flood) faults.

Third, wash performance can be basically destroyed if anything is sticking below the wire racks and blocking the rotation of the spray arm. The DD has no sensor to inform the user of this issue, and it's rather difficult to check with a full drawer. Better yet, this can cause a film to appear on your dishes that is only able to be removed with i.e. a vinegar bath. I believe it would be relatively simple for F&P to have included some sort of sensor to ensure that the spray arm is rotating, yet they have not done so (there are a couple of metal dots at the bottom of the phase 8/9 drawers, so they may have now?).

Fourth, many DD603s came with fragile plastic hose "link supports" that hold the hoses when opening the drawer. These can snap, and wedge between lid and tub. Once again, because there is no sensor to ensure the tub is *actually* sealing other than the motors stalling out, this can cause flooding. Fortunately now plenty of second hand parts are available to fix this using the design from the newer machines with a wire support - but if you own a 603 you should check this.

Fifth, the levelling feet used on the machine can bend/break easily. They are a simple threaded nut and bolt system using what appears to be a pressed dome into the (rather thin) chassis metal. Barely adequate - a detachable leg system would have been much better, as repairing these feet is sometimes very difficult.

My machine has suffered from all of these issues in its 12 year history. It's cost me approximately $300 in parts (second hand). Had I bought new parts that bill would have been $1000 or more, and had I not been able to replace many of these parts myself it would have been $2000+ worth of repairs.

The above are just some of the issues too - newer machines (6 series) suffered from electronics that failed prematurely, handles that were glued on and broke easily, and plate rack clips that broke easily. The latest machines (8 and 9 series) have only a single control area that's annoyingly confusing to use (have to ensure correct drawer is selected before you adjust).

As others have said, a machine for DIYers with electrical skill. At least it's a relatively simple design that isn't *too* difficult to service, and the service manuals and parts lists can be found relatively easily.

Clever design but needs maintenance – I have owned this dishwasher for about 10 years and it is still operational. It washes well, is reasonably quiet and the 'eco' cycle is quick and effective. The design hasn't changed much over the years, so my experience may be helpful to new owners. The design is clever and fairly simple, so one would expect trouble free operation. … Read more

Unfortunately this isn't always the case. The most common error is 'F1' which indicates flooding. One of the drawers has leaked water into the pan underneath. When the wash cycle starts, the mechanism draws a lid down onto the drawer to create a seal. If you put a tall glass or mug on the side tray, the drawer will still close but water leaks around the seal. Usually you will have to remove the bottom drawer to dry the tray. Some people use a hair dryer to speed the process. Fortunately the F1 error doesn't seem to do any permanent damage.

I have found various other errors over the years and have been able to fix them myself. If you are not handy with repairs, maybe you should consider another brand. It's a pity, because the design is actually very clever.

Small, but amazing – Have a second hand one, but it is amazing. It's small but does a great job. Perfect for two people. A single tablet lasts two cycles, perfect results every time. The only bad points is that it's a little loud when it's draining. But that doesn't last long in the cycle. You can also get good results from stacked items.  Show details

Good machine but with minor problems – A convenient machine for a small family with not much dishes to wash, especially by using only one drawer. The running is quiet. In June 2014, I had to call a F&P serviceman to service and replace a main filter board which cost me $187.80 which was quite expensive. Other setbacks are:- the bottom drawer does not dry very well and it uses only powdered detergent. On the whole the machine has served me well for the last 11 years.  Show details

Breaks down constantly – I've had this DishDrawer since late 2004 and it has been nothing but trouble. It broke down under warranty repeatedly and the repair men tried to lay the blame on me: I was putting in too much soap; I was using the wrong soap; I wasn't stacking the machine properly; and on it went. It finally shorted out the whole house several years ago and it's… Read more

been taking up space ever since. I can't see the sense in throwing good money after bad getting it fixed yet again so I'm using it for storage. I should give it an extra star for that, I suppose.

During the periods between breakdowns, however, it was a perfectly serviceable machine. The dishes came out clean (eventually; the full cycle was a very long cycle), and it wasn't too onerous to keep the machine clean. It was, however, quite loud.

Cant fault it – I have had this double drawer F&P since 2003 and not once have I had to call for a service or had it play up. That's not bad for 14 years and still going strong. It washes well, it is quiet, and you can have 2 drawers going at once on different cycles. My next dishwasher will be ....... the same, thanks F&P !!  Show details

I love it – It does a good but as I live alone I only do the dishes every three days or so, so I always give everything a quick rinse as it doesn't always remove dried on food. It has had two recalls/modifications, a current monitor and a rotor supplied/replaced by F and P. It is very quiet and I am very happy with it in spite of what others say.  Show details

Bad customer service at Fisher and Paykel – Acquired when buying a new house. Was advised that it had recently been repaired. Got an error message. Had a repair man around. Said the model was recalled many years ago. Contacted Fisher and Paykel who said that all they can do is offer a new one, but we would still have to pay at least half. They advised us we would have it installed within a… Read more

couple of weeks. A couple of weeks pass and we then get a call saying shipment has been delayed by at least another month. No further discount offered when we asked, due to the inconvenience experienced from their false information. Very disappointing thanks to Fisher and Paykel Customer Service.

changing detergent made a huge improvement – I was underwhelmed with intitial results with the Dishdrawer because a lot of food was left on dishes after washing using both the 'normal' and 'fast' cycles. However, changing from supermarket detergent and rinse aid to commercial products ('Gally' and 'Rinse Off' by Prokleen) has made an enormous difference and I am now very happy. The lady at… Read more

Prokleen says she has had two or three Dishdrawers over the years and has really liked them. With commercial products, make sure you don't over-dose - no more than a teaspoon per load

Absolutely Horrible – Had mine for about 11 years Bottom Drawer stopped working in October 2015. 3 months later the top one started to display an F1 replaced with an Ariston Dishwasher will never buy a Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawer again. I think other F&P Dishwashers not including the dishdrawer are so much better.

wins prize, hands down, for worst dishwasher ever built – I am 76 years old and have owned many dishwashers in those years; Fisher& Paykel is the worst by far; I have had to resort to hand washing the dishes if I want them clean; there is always a scum on them; I don't think it holds enough water to clean the dishes; I have had to re-wash them after being washed in the Fisher& Paykel; we recently bought… Read more

this house and inherited two dish drawers, which at first I was delighted with; to my horror, I was tremendously disappointed; it is quiet, the only feature that is good about it. They are difficult to load; seems to have no water power to wash the dishes; I think they re-use the cleaning cycle to half rinse the dishes. I absolutely hate these dishwashers.

DIY Dishwasher – This dishwasher is for the do-it-yourself enthusiast. If you don't/can't do it yourself it will cost you a fortune. Every few years I take it apart, order new parts and fit them myself. God knows what it would cost otherwise. The dishdrawer we have is about ten years old now. During its lifetime it has been of reasonable benefit as long as you… Read more

rinse everything well before you put them in the F&P. Don't expect clean dishes otherwise.

The latest probs relate to the fact that the computer controller and LCD display in the top drawer are attacked by caustic steam from the detergents you use in the hope of the thing cleaning your dishes. This corrodes the circuit boards and destroys the copper tracks on them. The only option is to replace them. Big money if you can't do it yourself.

So, another $250 down the drain which is not that much I guess. I look back on the number of times I've had to fix this thing and the problems it's had. It really has been remarkably bad. The only good thing is that when one drawer goes bung, (hopefully) the other one will keep working until you get around to fixing it.

Nice idea. Poor implementation.

Great product – I have an older dishdrawer model (around 10yrs!) and it is still going (had only one service call). Its getting old but F&P manuals and service parts are great so i can keep it going. They wash beautifully.