So disappointed.....After only 18 months our Bosch dishwasher is throwing an error code indicating the heating element or heat pump is not working.  The error indicates the water is not reaching full temperature and the dishes are really wet at the end of the cycle.

Online is says it could be because I'm not using the dishwasher correctly.  So WTF is that supposed to mean?  I dirty dishes, I put them in, I put soap in and press the button. What the XXXX am I doing wrong?  LOL.

They are coming out tomorrow we'll see how that goes.  Luckly I have a home warranty or this wouldn't be covered and I would be really pissed after such a short time.

This model does not have the water softener.  We didn't get that model because we have a whole house water softener system.  Your comment about the sudsiest water makes me wonder if that could have something to do with it.  I use a Cascade pod in the main wash and a little bit of Cascade Powder in the pre wash.  Maybe a tablespoon or so.  I've never seen any sudsing in the bottom of the machine.

Is it possible the Cascade pods are too much given I have soft water?  Could they be designed for harder water and should I be using only powder to better control the amount of soap?

We have a home warranty that covers the repair for the cost of a copay so I'll let them deal with it.  I did see the YouTube video where they replace it from the side.  While I have little fear working on vintage machines this looks like I could easily mess something up so I'll let them do it.  As much as I like this dishwasher if this becomes a recurring issue she's out the door.

Be very careful with a home warranty company unless they are sending out an authorized Bosch service company, some parts of your DW are still covered by Bosch.

Home warranty companies have the worst techs working for them, a major consumer group here in Washington DC did a major report on HWCs and not a single service company that works with them was better than average with most being at the bottom of ratings.

Who ever shows up to look at this problem should be equipped with service information from Bosch and or a lap-top that can directly get such information from Bosch.

This is a complicated and often troublesome DW and it needs proper repairs if it is to last very long.

You should also check with your credit card company if this DW was purchased with a CC, as many CC companies will double the manufactures warranty period.

It is always a good to put at least some detergent in the first water change to help emulsify the food soils, this is the direst water change in a DWs cycle and it is asking for problems to skip the detergent.

John L.

So here are my assumptions:

1. Stay away from Cascade pods as they suds too much.  I haven't noticed this in mine but I haven't really looked either.  I usually just start it and walk away.  I did read though that sudsing could have caused the failure in the heat pump on this machine because it could have been starved for water and burned out.
2. Bosch recommends Finish but doesn't really say powder or pods.  I have read to stay away from Gels because there are two ingredients in Powder and Tabs that cannot coexist in liquid form so Gel only has one.  I think what is missing is the oxygen bleach but I don't remember.  I'm on information overload at the moment.
3. We have mechanically softened water and from what I've read I should be using half the detergent in anything.  I do in the wash but have been using the pods in the dishwasher.  Should I assume that any pod or tablet would be too much detergent with our soft water and just stick with Powder so I can control the amount?

Has anyone else gone away from the pods because of soft water and if so, which brands?  So many questions, I don't want to burn out another heat pump if I can avoid it.  

Thanks Louis.  I started using a little extra powder for a pre wash at John L.'s suggestion a few months ago and I, too, notice a difference especially in how often I have to clean that filter.  I also noticed that I can use the Speed60 cycle with the Extra Dry button and get really good results while cutting an hour off the cycle time.

Where have you found the actual cycle descriptions for these machines?  Everywhere I look I find what the cycle is, when to use it but not the actual breakdown of the cycle.