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Feedback on Cove dishwasher (also considering Miele and Bosch)

Has anybody who has been using Cove give some perspective on how its working out? I am bit hesitant since it is "new" and I have ppl telling me that Miele or Bosch are better options and can save ~$500. I dont care about the $500, since all other appliances are Wolf, but want to make sure that it cleans well, dries well and is convenient to use.


Any thoughts?

Comments (84)

  • 3 years ago

    @s_constantz I’ve had mine on order awhile but in combination with a large wolf/subzero appliance order but you’ll have to check.

  • 3 years ago

    @s_constantz For the door panel to fit, it is necessary to order the European width Cove version, not the slightly wider American width Cove version. Otherwise, I could not find any feature that would preclude transfer. Of course, the specific Miele ladder like attachment that provides tabs for the door retention mechanism will have to be replaced with whatever Cove has designed for the purpose. I believe that there are instructions for panel installation at the Cove web site that you could review.

    If your MIele failed due to the intake valve issue, there is a thread here somewhere that addresses alternative solenoid valves that can be used to overcome the problem. The ones I recall involve a swap at the end of the hose where the existing solenoid valve is.

    I was in a hurry and put into use a different type of valve I had on hand from Dayton (Grainger), and used a restriction valve in series to tune the 4 gpm [?] flow limit that is normally built into the OEM valve assembly. You might do something of the sort to hold on until your Cove arrives.

    I have no information on ordering delays, but you might call Cove; they answer their phones with the same friendly voices as SubZero/Wolf.

  • 3 years ago

    Unlikely any residential dishwasher's inlet valve nowadays has a 4 gallons-per-minute flow rate being that the amount of each fill is less than 2 gallons. A 2020 Frigidaire I serviced recently is 0.83 GPM, with fills timed at maximum of 87 seconds (1.2 gals).

  • 3 years ago

    Sorry, should have been liters per minute.

  • 3 years ago

    I'd like to update my post on the Cove dishwasher. Since the dishwasher was installed in early September 2020, authorized repair people have come to my house 6 times. Five of those times were to address malfunctions, while only one of those times was to address the heating element recall issue. Since initial installation, the display panel has been replaced 3 times, and this dishwasher is only 1.5 years old! While I still like how this dishwasher cleans on the auto cycle, you may want to think twice about buying it (unless maybe I just got a dud). The only reason I'm not completely mad about all the repairs is because its under a 6 year warranty, so they don't cost me anything. However, it is highly annoying to have to keep waiting around for repair people. If this malfunctions again, I'm going to request a totally new dishwasher.

  • 2 years ago

    @kaseki THANK YOU for discussing the Miele vs Cove panel installation! My 15 yr Miele has had repair calls 9 out of the 15 years. Generally, it's the F13 drain intake, sometimes, it's the water pump. This time, the $500 water pump isn't worth the repair and aggravation. Miele doesn't have trained technicians in my area of FL. I am purchasing a COVE for 2 reasons-- the authorized repair company AND my custom door panel "should fit." I'm hoping the trained installers and the good warranty provide a few years of dishwasher bliss!

  • 2 years ago

    You are welcome. If I hadn't fixed my Miele intake hose issue with "retro" parts from a plant misting system, I would have gone with Cove in order to save the door panel, which might cost the difference.

    At this writing, it is unclear what the status of Cove issues is. Not many owners report Cove good vs. bad here, and there still is no word on what was really wrong with the setup or design of the "defective" units. My working assumption is that if I have to buy one, I will do whatever I need to to accommodate its peculiarities, if any, in desirable water supply characteristics (if I can figure out what they are).

  • 2 years ago

    I actually just decided against the Cove... and the Bosch. My sister loves Bosch's, my husband hates them. We decided on the Asko. One of my parent's Askos is about 18 years old and works just like it did the first day. The other is 11 years old and besides a panel issue (related to install... not related to Asko), it's running beautifully. They just put in another Asko downstairs a few years ago. Our two Mieles are nice, but we had a little issue with silver and the water when we first got it for one. I couldn't bear to cough up the $$ for the Miele when the Asko is high performing. I also considered Kitchen-Aid but went for the Asko as it matched better

  • 2 years ago

    I hope thd asko are still the same. They are Chinese owned now abd no longer made in Sweden.

  • 2 years ago

    Cove dishwashers are crap. It took 5 deliveries (that is 5 actual units) to get one to actually work. Now, within 2 years, it's been repaired 3 times. This time it took 2 weeks to get an authorized repair company out to look at it and now it's going to be 3 - 4 weeks to get a part. We have called multiple times to get a staus and no one will return call. This is not a good product. It is poor quailty, has less than industry capacity and take 4 1/2 hours for a standard load and has vwery poor customer service. Poor engineering, poor quality and poor services. Do not but one of these. I'm replacing mine and going with a Bosch.

  • 2 years ago

    We have had ongoing issues with white streaks, like a filmy residue left on our dishes using the Cove. If we don't rinse our dishes well, we find the food is not completely cleaned off. Ours was installed in a second home in late 2019, not used due to our choosing not to travel during the height of Covid, until Spring 2021. We have had techs here four times to address this. We have, at their suggestion, tried every cycle with every combination of drying options. We have had the RinseAid level adjusted. We have tried varying amounts of detergent, per the Cove tech's recommendations. We have left food on our dishes. We have rinsed our dishes ahead. Every different variation possible has been run here to see what works. We are in a hard water area but the water softener model was not recommended to us since we have a separate whole house water softener. We have had our water tested and it is A-okay. Just in case, we replaced our older water softener. We still have the same issues. We are now working with an assigned tech at Cove customer service. Our machine was one of the early deliveries, so it is possible they have addressed these issues. The techs and customer service to date could not have been nicer, but three years in, I still don't have a dishwasher that really cleans well. I would ask a lot of questions before buying this product again. We have had a Bosch for 14 years in our other home and have only had it serviced one time last summer when the handle broke. If we can't get this resolved, I will go back to Bosch.

  • 2 years ago

    @dktboyle Thank you for updating us. If Cove is expending this effort without success, it means that there is some issue still unresolved in their design, or maybe their design's ability to cope with some regulation on water use.

    There are only so many things a dishwasher can do, and if all of them flush out the dirty water before rinsing, I can't see how the results can be different between Cove, Bosch, Miele, etc., when using the same water supply. For example, if there is something unique about your water and its interaction with rinse aid, then one would expect the result to be the same for each brand.

    Did your parameter exercise include different rinse aids / different detergents?

    A test where the water supply was a pressurized tank of distilled water could be instructive, run once for dirty dishes, and run once for clean dishes.

  • 2 years ago

    See his post. His is an original machine, so it does not speak to whether the design has been changed.

  • 2 years ago

    I believe ours is also an early machine. We purchased it in August 2019. We did not have this issue with the original Kitchen Aid that was in the house when we purchased it in 2015. The tech recommended a specific RinseAids and detergent, which we have used. We have not tried others. It is clear to us that this was not the first time the tech had seen this issue. The factory is sending us a water test strip, which should arrive this week. We will work with them on this. I do not believe it is the water. I will ask customer service about trying different RinseAids and detergents and may play around with that a bit. For the price, it shouldn't be this complicated.

  • 2 years ago

    I was unclear that 2019 was early in the Cove saga, but whatever they may have changed in later models should inform what they can do with the earlier models. If there is a significant difference they could save expenses by just replacing the unit.

    Just to be ornery, I'm voting for the water.

  • 2 years ago

    I will let you know the results once we get the test strip. We also have our water softener guy on standby to come by to test it at the same time.

  • 2 years ago

    I also wonder why, if it is the water, this did not occur with our previous dishwasher.

  • 2 years ago

    Myriad other possibilities exist, but I would have thought by now that Cove would have dealt with them. For example, inadequate removal of wash water before rise water. This could be a function of how well the drain hose is cleared, or how level the machine is.

    A report on one of the Cove threads here was by an owner with two machines, one of which worked "great" and one of which didn't. Eventually the one that didn't was fixed; there was reportedly an installation issue. But we never learned here just what the installation issue was.

  • 2 years ago

    As a point of information or also to be a bit ornery-i think Miele DW are mechanically overly complicated-and the above Cove issues for some giving pause- a friend installed a Miele a few years ago, her brother a mid-level Bosch-being in Canada the Bosch came with a plug-in cord, not the short circuit prone crazy Bosch plastic junction box- and several years later both perfect dishwashing without any problems, Plug and P.lay. For myself the benefits of Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawers outweigh any possible negatives and will be what I replace my current F&P with when the time comes.


















  • 2 years ago

    Today's update -- Our water tested perfectly, so it is not the water itself. They are sending a "see-through" door to our local service techs and they will come and observe a full cycle through the door. Wolf in Wisconsin has been great but I do confess I am growing weary. I will let you know what they determine. I appreciate everyone's input here, especially the recommendations for alternative brands, should we decide to go that route.

  • 2 years ago

    There's no doubt that a video of the test run with the transparent door panel would be hugely appreciated by 1) people following this thread and 2) people considering purchase of a Cove dishwasher. Perhaps posted to YouTube ....

  • 2 years ago

    Ohhh, ohhh. A windowed DW door! Just the thing to entertain one's cute kids and/or pets. And perhaps showing less garbaage than alternatives.

  • 2 years ago

    OMG, a windowed DW door actually exists? We've all been waiting for that to be on the market since Jack Donaghy announced the idea at the end of 30 Rock. Seriously dismayed that this isn't an option on the market.

  • 2 years ago

    KitchenAid had a model several years ago with a window in the upper area of the door. It was darkly tinted so didn't reveal the action very clearly during operation, unless perhaps the interior light could be turned on while running.

    One of my dad's uncles had a Chevrolet dealership. I recall being at their home once for a holiday gathering in the late 1960s. They had a dishwasher with a window in the door, probably a Frigidaire dealer/display model. General Motors owned Frigidaire until the late 1970s.




  • 2 years ago

    Here's an update on my Cove dishwasher. Last August, after owning the dishwasher for almost 2 years, I was in need of my 7th service call. Instead of calling service, I contacted Sub Zero directly. They agreed that I most likely had a dud of a dishwasher, and they offered to send me a new one free of charge. The new one was installed in September 2022, 2 years after the first one was installed. To-date (Feb 2023), we have not had ANY issues with it. I always use the auto cycle (mostly overnight), and with the occasional exception of seriously baked on food, it always cleans perfectly. So, although I had a rocky start with Cove, I believe in Sub Zero's customer service. It's one of the reasons we bought Cove instead of Miele. At this point, I would still recommend Cove as a good, high-end dishwasher. I'll try to remember to post again at the 1-year mark.

  • 2 years ago

    Yes. I believe this is their next step. We too have all Wolf/Subzero appliances, due to their superior customer service. Everyone we have dealt with there has been excellent. Thank you for your update. It is morale-boosting.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    We have been using a Cove now for three months and I am not sure I like it as much as the price tag.

    Two reasons.

    First, it is inconsistent with its cleaning. We have had multiple cycles complete with some dishes almost untouched, yet everything else in the dishwasher was spotless. Maybe this is related to item number two.

    Second is loading. Even though the tines are infintely adjustable we are struggling to find the right positions for the bottom two racks to work with our dishes. We dont put pots and pans in the DW, just plates, bowls, cups, silverware, etc. With the tines all up on the bottom rack you cannot put bowls down there. They're practically having to lay flat so you'll be limited to maybe 4 bowls. If you collapse every second tine them you can place bowls but they are perpendicular to the water stream and usually too close together to get cleaned properly, so you're back to leaving a space between them and back to maybe 4 bowls. Cove needs to stop bragging about infinite adjustability on the racks and tines if it really doesnt help.

    We're struggling with these two issues so far but other than that the DW is great. Quiet, cleans well when it cleans everything, plenty of features though not simple to access some of them. Hopefully we dont end up with some of the other issues on this thread but we did get the 3 years Canadian warranty.



  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    We purchased a Cove dishwasher a month ago and it just doesn't clean correctly. My old KitchenAid cleaned better. Like some other people, we also experience dishes and bowls completely unclean and then everything else in the diswasher is clean. It's weird. I have a service tech coming out this week to check on this. I can't beleive it's a month old and it's not working properly, but it sees like a design flaw becuase other people are having this problem. It also leaves stuff wet, like plastic. I think I should have gotten the Bosch with Crystal Dry. This dishwasher is not worth the high price.


    **UPDATE: I had the service technician come out to look at the dishwasher and the wash arm wasn't working correctly so he replaced it. The dishwasher wasn't a month old and it already needed service! I think maybe it was defective right out of the door. Anyway, it is washing correctly now and we will see how it holds up. Oh, and also - the rubber gasket around the door had come off and he had to put it back on again. Not a good track record so far, Subzero!

  • 2 years ago

    elmamc, I think Cove did a poor design with the arrangement of their lower rack tines and or their lower spray arm. I have found that if the lower rack tines are all straight up, like in my second photo on the right side, the front right corner dishes will not come clean. If, however, you openthem up a little like I did on the left side, the sprayer can reach the area to do it's job. It might be easier for Cove to redesign their lower spray arm and ship out the new design to those having issues than to redesign the lower rack.

  • 2 years ago

    It has been 1 year since Sub Zero replaced my defective Cove dishwasher (w/water softener), which had needed 7 service calls in the 2 years I had it. I'm happy to report that all has been well with the replacement Cove in the past year. No service calls or any problems at all. (Hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this.) Therefore, I still think Cove is a quality dishwasher, and I definitely think SubZero has good customer service.

  • 2 years ago

    We have this model dishwasher, serial number 20033414 in our house. It was installed in April 2021. It does not have fingerprint resistant stainless steel, so it looks horrible most of the time. At the two-year mark the coating on the racks began to separate and rust is coming through. The hinges are low quality steel and are rusting. The main circuit board failed this year, and it took a month for them to ship the part. Shortly after that, it started failing again. They diagnosed the pump and pump censor as the issue. This time it took them three months to ship the parts. The dishwasher still did not work, and Cove concluded that the memory card failed because it was inactive so long. We are now awaiting that part. This is a terrible company and an awful, grossly overpriced product.



  • 2 years ago

    We have this model dishwasher, serial number 20033414 in our house. It was installed in April 2021. It does not have fingerprint resistant stainless steel, so it looks horrible most of the time. At the two-year mark the coating on the racks began to separate and rust is coming through. The hinges are low quality steel and are rusting. The main circuit board failed this year, and it took a month for them to ship the part. Shortly after that, it started failing again. They diagnosed the pump and pump censor as the issue. This time it took them three months to ship the parts. The dishwasher still did not work, and Cove concluded that the memory card failed because it was inactive so long. We are now awaiting that part. This is a terrible company and an awful, grossly overpriced product.


  • 2 years ago

    Looks like zinc corrosion on galvanized steel. Nice meaty part evidently subject to corrosive chemicals. In a 2700-buck dishwasher one would expect specification of a better material.

    "... and Cove concluded that the memory card failed because it was inactive so long." In that case their shelves of spares are at risk. So either the claim was as specious as it seems, or they are claiming defective design. People who alternate residences between summer and winter should perhaps beware.

    How disappointing.

  • 2 years ago

    Update on our issue with our Cove. It turns out that the lower spray arm was sticky when it was actually pressurized. If you reached in and just spun it, it felt fine, but remove it and pull up on the arm while turning it and it was tight. Reg the repair guy had them FedEx me a replacement within 24 hours and all is good. Have not seen such clean dishes since we fired it up.

  • 2 years ago

    At last! A factoid that may apply to historical cases, or not. More examples from those with repaired units, if you know your problems cause, please.

  • 2 years ago

    Further update on this DW. LOVE IT!! It's now been over a week since the spray arm was replaced and I have to say I have absolutely zero concerns with the future of its performance. Even the slight streaks that we had, from what I am assuming was the rinse aid, have vanished with the better performance of the lower spray arm actually being able to properly wash AND rinse.

  • last year

    On the market for Cove vs Bosch…having had good and bad luck with the latter. Helpful thread - appreciated. We shall try Cove…

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    My Cove dishwasher, purchased & installed Nov 2020, is out of commission AGAIN! I've had to call for repairs several times over the past 3 years. Glad it has a full warranty for 5 years, however, it seems to break at the worst times, when I have guests staying at my house. I went into my kitchen remodel knowing that I wanted a Bosch dishwasher (had great experience) but was talked into the Cove, since I was also purchasing Wolf and Sub Zero products. The Cove is definitely not worth the money. ALSO..... anyone else have problems with the roll out bottom rack ALWAYS coming off track? I have two friends beginning kitchen remodels in the next few months. Both called me asking for feedback on my appliances. Told them both....DO NOT BUY THE COVE DISHWASHER

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I have 2, 2 month old Cove dishwashers in a new kitchen installation and I am not happy with them. They have had 3 repair calls and still do not remove even the easiest of food. The cycles are 3hrs. long and glassware seems to be a big problem . Tiny food particles get deposited inside the glasses. The upper 3rd rack is too close to the second rack for many items and neither set of my flatware will fit between the tines. The basket on the inside ot the bottom door does not get flatware clean. Despite all the green adjustment knobs, a standard size dinner plate will only fit in the middle of the bottom rack leaving side spaces too small for anything else. Bowls and cooking dishes must be positioned flat on the bottom not on edge. As a result very few dishes are able to be cleaned. SubZero Wolf should be ashamed of the product.

  • last year

    I am on a replaced unit as the first new Cove dishwasher didn’t wash dishes. My dishes were coming out the same way they were going in. After 4 service calls and no better results they replaced the washer. Unfortunately this new unit does the same thing. After a 3.25 hour wash the unit has debris on the bottom and a third of the dishes need to be rewashed. This brand was more than double the cost of a Miele and twice as bad. I can only compare it to a Miele bc that’s what I had before and I would never by the Cove again!!!

  • last year

    I have been watching this Cove debacle for a long time, hoping that a US manufactured dishwasher that would take my existing (Miele Optima) overlay door would be available when I needed it, and would be higher reliability. (In all fairness, the Optima reliability has become excellent since i replaced the feed water solenoid with my own parts.)

    I wonder if the problem starts with being late to the dishwasher business such that the forest of existing patents is almost impossible to get around without paying a lot of royalties, or being very limited in design approach. Long in the business companies can trade patent rights for patent rights and keep royalty costs to a minimum.

    At this point, given the price and history of issues, every delivered Cove dishwasher should have been factory tested under the water chemistry and dish soilage conditions (surely known by Cove) that most strongly correlate with the conditions present at the residences where complaints ultimately lead to dishwasher replacements. I don't see how the present situation maximizes cost containment, much less customer satisfaction.

  • last year

    Update to my comment from 2 months ago..... Cove has replaced my original 2020 Cove dishwasher with a new, 2024 Cove dishwasher. Customer service was fantastic and when they saw the history of my original dishwasher, offered to replace it. New dishwasher was installed at the beginning of March 2024 and it's been great!


    I would like to retract my earlier statement and strongly recommend the Cove dishwasher...this company backs up their products!


  • last year

    Cove dishwashers are crap ive had mine for one year and had 4 service calls. The machine just stops and says call service. If you do the math, a 2 week wait time per service call means that ive had to hand wash dishes for 8 weeks of the 52 weeks i have owned this horrible unit

  • last year

    For Cove being the most expensive dishwasher on the market, and the only one to handle all the dishes I want it to handle, is the only thing that's gone right. I do place my pots and bowls sideways between the tines and it sort of works. But I have had multiple problems, and some from the company itself. I was told that I should expect to come back to a smelly dishwasher if I left the last load on while away. This had not been the case with my old Maytag. I was stunned. But after completion the dishes weren't always clean either, filmed and any standing water was not fully clean water. Long story short, the top rack was not making good contact with its hose at the back.

    This dishwasher also has very weak supports for its racks. I have already had to purchase (and they only come as a full piece ,even though it comes apart), 2 full tine

    pieces for $20 each. Now another one has broken. They are plastic and if the tines are pushed then the green piece which supports it cracks. MY old Maytag had tines that you could move just by moving the actual tine assembly. This one must be messed with to move it and frankly I would rather have fixed tines. So I saw my dishes leaning, and sure enough the one support, maybe others, are broken again.

    Really like the warranty period though, and I hope these next ones they will cover as it came with normal use of dishwasher.

    So because it holds so many dishes and now washes properly I would give it a 5*, but can only give it 4* for the trouble I've had from this $3500+ dishwasher.

    Cove please look at the old Maytags ! Yes those adapter pieces to move the tines from one position to another did fail but only after 10 years!

    Until the design changes I cannot recommend even though the other dishwashers aren't as good either!

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Also I had the repair guy see that what I was saying about the contact of the top rack not staying put while washing, he saw it was true, so replaced the entire assembly. Well it got soft or something as it worked at first but I have put in a small white foam piece to make sure the door presses that top rack to the back.

    Maybe one could reinstall to tip that dishwasher back to slope up, but I doubt that would work as the water pressure will surely push that rack out again.


  • last year

    Thank you for your detailed observations.

  • last year

    Thank you!! Bagged it and went Bosch for less than half the price.
    Appreciate you time and candid comments.

  • last year

    Sorry to hear about you having Wolf. DO NOT USE THE SELF CLEANING OVEN --it will eventually BURN the electrical/board components and they are VERY, VERY, EXPENSIVE to replace ($2300K for mine--would have bought a new -different--oven for that price)! Plus a lot of the features *temperature probe* never worked worth a _____. First time I used it when oven was brand new, overcooked a $$$$ roast!

  • last year

    @Toni McCormick which Wolf oven do you have? That seems INSANE that the self-clean feature killed the electrical board. Did you contact Wolf? How long had you had the oven when that happened? We've used self-clean a few times, never an issue.... yet! And the temp probe is a LOT better than Bluestar or Dynasty or our gas Wolf

  • last year

    I have had one for a few months. It is fine but I prefer the Miele I had before this