• Bosch 300 Series dishwasher - you may have to compromise on the control location and handle to find a model in your location. Click on the various options on the webpage to check.
• Bosch SHXM4AY55N 100 series dishwasher.

Also check Best Buy.

Thanks wdccruise! I must buy it from Bestbuy because it will be an exchange, and they only have the new Bosch 300 series, which has no reviews. I might take my chances on it. Kitchenaid CS has been unapologetic about their design flow.

Bosch or Miele are the top dw choices on this forum.

These two Bosches are "new" because Bosch has refreshed its lne with new features for models higher in the line. The only addition for the 300 series is beng able to connect and interact with the machine via your phone. Get the 300 and not the 100 as the 100 has the hybrid tub which is a combintion of a plastc base and stainless steel wall. The 300 is all stainless.

I have a similar problem with puddles of water on my floor when the KitchenAid Dishwasher door is opened. There is no leak during the running of the dishwasher. I followed suggestions of using rinse aid and of course using the heat drying selection. The water splatter occurs when the door is opened... even if 10-12 hours after the running of the dishwasher. Repair people have come out twice so far and have not solved the problem. The water on the floor is a potential safety hazard as well as being annoying having to wipe the floor every day. A third visit has been scheduled...

KitchenAid tech said the leaking from the vent was normal condensation and KA refused to send another tech. Just rented a vacation home with a cheaper Maytag dishwasher with a front vent that did not leak, so definitely a leaking front vent is not inevitable. I will never buy KD again and regret not returning this one when I still could. Until this DW croaks, I have a rug by its door so the wood floor is not ruined by it.

Maybe it would be worth replacing the dishwasher's vent assembly. It may be Part #W11416460 (check the part number for your model) which you can find on ebay for $20-$25. Here's a youtube video that shows how.

wdccruise, Thanks for the response. Thankfully the dishwasher is under warranty. On the first visit they made a program adjustment of the vent. No change in water on the floor. On the second repair visit the vent was replaced. Unfortunately it did not fix the problem either. I wonder if it is a design problem with their dishwashers or if it can be fixed. It is a safety hazard having a wet floor... The third visit is coming up soon...

HU-670403892, please let us know what happened in the third visit.

What happens if you turn heated dry off and open the door after the wash cycle finishes? (That's what I do and the dishes dry quickly because they're hot.)

I tried everything, including turning the heat-dry off and opening the door right after the wash cycle. It is a design flaw that lets water accumulate in the vent that KA would not own up to.

Sounds like mixed results with Heat-dry off. But that is a work around... if it does work... and disabling heat-dry should not be required. The dishwasher should work with the features provided. Not only is water on the floor but the utensil rack has puddles of water on top

and the slim third rack requires hand drying of some items. Just a guess but I wonder if the heat function has some issues. Attached a couple of recent photos...

HU-41707594,

The third "repair" visit for the Kitchenaid Dishwasher with vent leaking was the same as the failed earlier visits. The Aries Service Guy (who Kitchenaid uses for repairs) barely looked at the dishwasher. He spent most of his time on the phone with Kitchenaid. He did not attempt to do any future repair attempt. He told me to call Kitchenaid and gave me a file# for them. I called, after being on hold for 15 plus minutes, and gave them the info. The Rep said that Aries claimed they had fixed the problem but it was not satisfactory to the customer. The problem had NOT been fixed so a water puddle on my floor was not satisfactory ... but I was polite. Kitchenaid then made arrangements with a different service company to come out (which will be visit #4). I had a Kitchenaid dishwasher for over 12 years previously and never had a problem. It makes me wonder about their quality control or perhaps even the newer design that creates a potential slipping problem. You would think they would be concerned...

Thanks for the update, HU-41707594, and I am interested to hear from you about the 4th tech visit. I am sure by now KitchenAid is aware of this problem. There are a couple of threads on Reddit about that. Last time I checked, no one was able to fix it. Just a cautionary tale for anyone considering buying a KA dishwasher.

I spoke with Payless Appliance - Another KitchenAid "service company" - and they said that the 4th visit is to evaluate the problem... and then a 5th visit would be when they implement the repair. Basically they start from scratch in dealing with the problem. Perhaps not a bad idea since Aries only wasted my time. If this was a car it would be considered a Lemon and replaced...

It would appear that you've discovered the joys of both Whirlpool quality and customer service. A search of their corporate activities (and major shareholders) since 2004 will explain everything.

In the mean time if after 4 service calls the problem has not been resolved, cut your losses, yank the thing out of your house and buy a Bosch. The money you save by NOT dealing with Whirlpool Customer service will probably pay for the new machine (have you seen the price of Valium and Tagamet these days?). You're not going to go wrong with any model of Bosch and the 300 series offers the best value for money. Ignore the Home Connect and other tinsel and just use it confidently for the next 10 years.

Welll after owning a 2006 and a 2014/2015 Kenmore Elite (KitchenAid produced product) I selected a Bosch in 2020 (or 2021) because of Covid, there were no decent KitchenAid model dishwashers to be had in my area. To put it bluntly, KitchenAid cannot hold a candle to Bosch. I'll stick with Bosch for years to come.

You never provided the model number of the dishwasher or whether the vent assembly had been replaced. Vent assembly W11025593 used in some KitchenAid models has been replaced by W11416460. Perhaps it's the replacement assembly that solves the problem.

According to this page, "The [W11416460] air vent opens during the drying cycle to release moisture". One wonders whether the vent is (incorrectly) open during the wash cycle which would allow moisture to reach the vent and spill even when the door is opened immediately after conclusion of the wash cycle.

wdcruise, The Aries service guy did some reprogram of the venting in an early visit that did not solve the problem. The next repair attempt was replacement of the actual vent assembly even though he did not see a problem with vent functioning. That did not resolve the vent leaking either. FYI - The water leaking occurs even after the dishwasher had finished 10 hours earlier (the next morning).

If not the vent then could it be poor drying? Tried the extended drying one time that did not help though. The tech never checked the installation under the sink or if the dishwasher was level which seemed odd. It had been installed by a KitchenAid installer...for what it is worth.

This dishwasher is the model with the third level tray for small items... utensils, etc. It is a nice feature but the vent leaking is a headache.

It's easy to check whether the dishwasher is level by following the instructions in Step 39 of the owner's manual.

Just for fun, I'd ask the next repair guy to disconnect the wire from the vent assembly wire so, presumably, the vent would stay closed. I'd open the door immediately after the wash cycle finishes and see if there's a drip.

Just had fifth service appointment for KitchenAid dishwasher regarding the puddles of water from door vent ... this time with a different service company. I advised him that the software update had been done, as well as replacement of the actual vent on a later visit.

He double checked the software update and found that it had been done incorrectly by the previous service company.

He then did the software update again.

He said that he had previously worked directly with Whirlpool and saw the dripping problem frequently and that the software update was the service resolution of the problem.

He said to call after the next running of the dishwasher if there still is a water dripping problem.

Will find out by tomorrow.

"He said that he had previously worked directly with Whirlpool and saw the dripping problem frequently and that the software update was the service resolution of the problem."

Hmmm. The dishwasher's control board opens and closes the vent among other tasks. If the upgrade successfully ends the dripping, it will be interesting to know what changes it made to the dishwasher's operation.

Interestingly, the vent leaks described in this old StackExchange were fixed by cleaning the vent gasket, but as your dishwasher is new, one wouldn't expect a dirty or loose gasket to be the problem.

HU-670403892, did the software update fix the dripping problem?

Update... Had five service visits by KitchenAid provided service businesses. The water leak from the upper left vent area continues after the vent software update and later the replacement of the vent itself. That was followed by 3 service visits that did not happen. The communication between KitchenAid Service and their repair service companies is poor. Visits were cancelled without any notice or the repair company did not even know that KitchenAid made the appointment. The latest is that there will be another visit to get some details since KitchenAid says that they had gotten inadequate details from the repair companies... Oh well.

Thank you HU-670403892 for the update. I gave up on trying to fix the issue with KA but if you are able to get KA to solve it, I would try too. My 1-year warranty will run out in a month though. In the meantime, the rug absorbs the spills.

Have the same issue. 4-5 technician visits without good result. I finally got a brand new diswasher about 2 weeks ago, same issue. I don't want to start a new series of technicians visits, so I will call them to get a refund or another model. The vent is different on a KDTM604KPS, I currently have the 404.

HU-223646577.... I have the KitchenAid Dishwasher with the front facing controls (KDFE204KPS). Do both the 404 and 604 top control models? That would be different than my model.

My leaks appear to be coming from the left side of the front facing controls. The vent is in that area on the inside part of the door so I have assumed that the vent was the problem. I wonder if there is some other issue with the dishwasher not being able to properly handle/drain any water and steam.

The tech reprogrammed the vent (controls opening and closing of the vent) and also replaced some vent part. It did not help.

I am concerned that your replacement dishwasher has the same problem as your first dishwasher. Please keep us in the loop. I have a tech scheduled to come out tomorrow... but there is not a good record with them keeping appointments. Poor service.

wdccruise,

The software update and later vent replacement did not solve the problem. The software controls when the vent is open and closed. You are correct that this is a new dishwasher so there should not be any vent gasket issues ... plus they later had exchanged some vent parts. Another service visit tomorrow so that the tech can provide better documentation to KitchenAid. Obviously not impressive service by KitchenAids service company.

HU-670403892, your last post about the vent dripping issue was six months ago. How did the the last tech visit go? Did they fix it? We just bought ours (KDTM405PPS) from Costco and it is doing the exact same thing. Great dishwasher otherwise, but it's very frustrating to have to clean up drips on the floor every morning. TIA!

My new Kichen Aid KDFE204KP dish washer drips water from the vent after every usage. A KA service tech changed out the vent door mechanism but this did not help. After a fairly long telephone conversation with KA, I'm convinced this is a design flaw that KA is fully aware of but does not want to admit to it and KA has decided not to implement an effective fix because it would be too costly. I believe KA has implemented a policy of filibustering the owners of these dish washers until the owner just simply gives up.

That wouldn't be surprising @HU-762744651. Seems that a lot of company's short-term thinking is to sell something 1x today then lose a customer for life than simply fix what's wrong and gain a customer for life.

We're very hesitant to have a tech come out. Our experience hasn't been great in that respect with any company/brand. Rather than fixing anything they seem to mess things up worse than they were before.

So we're just living with it. We put down a thick-ish kitchen rug/runner with a waterproof back in front of it. It still leaks of course, but the water on the rug seems to dry out after a little while. We love the dishwasher otherwise - especially because it's über quiet - but the vent dripping is really annoying.

Was hoping to hear from HU-670403892 with respect to their last repair, software update or whatever to see if the issue was resolved.

I'm very disappointed in KA. I plan to continue pushing them as far as I can to get a satisfactory resolution. Taking legal action is not practical so I believe I will be stuck with this dish washer with a design flaw. I'm predicting that it will be a long time before I purchase another KA product.

FIXED!!!!

My warranty is set to expire in 3 months so I thought I'd give KA a chance to make this vent water issue right.

Made an appt with their repair company but tech advised that there was a bulletin (recall?) in July 2025 that addressed this issue on my mode/serial number and he was going to have to order UPGRADED parts.

He arrived today and after 30 minutes replacing the control board, the vent and the vent cover I just ran a cycle on light wash with regular dry.

The vent apparently now closes as soon as the wash cycle is complete and while there was some water visible in the internal "cup" behind the vent cover NO WATER DRIPPED OUT WHEN I FULLY OPENED THE DOOR.

I hope that for those who have documented their issue, even beyond warranty, that KA will do the right thing.

Hey @Jim, that's very encouraging. Would you be able to post any info with respect to the recall? I can't find any info and repair folks are too busy to look it up. TIA!

I didn't get the "recall" identifier but tech noted that the elec control is a new and updated model that already has the new settings to close the vent and prevent water/condensate/steam from escaping. Verify if getting parts that they are the updated versions.

Thanks @Jim! I can see my model number on the announcement here: https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/recall.html and I will call them to arrange a repair and hopefully it will work out.

Good find webuser_41707594

I never received any notice of their "quality initiative" even though I registered my purchase on line.

https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/recall.html

This is NOT a cheap fix for them, sending a tech and parts so I guess it's only the squeaky wheels that will get greased.

How many wooden floors have been damaged in the interim?

I'd like to compliment KA for the repair (upgrade??) but under the above circumstance and failure to notify, they still get a FAIL for genuine customer service.

Well I just called the number on that webpage and was informed that the "quality initiative" was on the heating element and not the dripping from the vent, and that my dishwasher is not on the list of affected machines (based on the serial number). I inquired if there is any other "quality initiative" regarding the dripping and was told that there was none.

I am disappointed. I will keep the rug in front of the dishwasher and will wait for it to die a natural death and then never buy KA again.

My model: KDFE204KPS3 and serial number on the invoice I posted earlier indicating the parts replaced.

Don't give up. Keep calling and getting different agents if necessary. THE FIX WORKS.

I called KA today 800 422 1230 Rep said it wasn't a "recall" but referred to it as a "special rework"

Sorry I couldn't get any further information.

All I can tell you is that the leak has stopped from the vent when opening the door after the cycle is complete and the drying of the dishes is as good as it was before the fix.

Experiencing the same problem with a Kitchenaid KDFE204KBS dishwasher. Called their service, and was told the same thing about the heating coil quality initiative. One thing they said though helped a little bit. She said the instructions for the dishwasher say you must use ”Rinse Aid”. We never did and never had to with our old dishwasher. Tried it. Did make the morning puddles much smaller - only one drop instead of multiple. Wish they would still fix the electronic control of the vent valve.

Sorry to hear that @Robert Liu.

We've been using the Seventh Generation Power+ Dishwasher Rinse Aid for quite a while (excellent rinse aid BTW). However we still have to put down a paper towel to catch the water leaking from the vent every time. Really annoying for a dishwasher that otherwise is top-notch. Kitchenaid/Whirlpool should be ashamed for not properly and proactively addressing this. When the day comes to replace it we'll go with another brand and that's too bad.