Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by Umar Farooq
Bosch publishes a dryer error code page, and five separate things on it are wrong — including its own title, which says dishwasher. The page is at bosch-home.com/us/owner-support/dryers/error-codes, it is Bosch’s only US dryer code reference, and it is the page Google ranks first for this search. It also contains a code defined twice with two different meanings, two entries whose headlines describe parts a dryer does not have, and a question addressed to dishwasher owners.
None of that makes the page worthless. Most of what it says about E01, E03, E04 and E16 is clear, specific and better than the aggregator pages above and below it in the results. But a reader who takes every line at face value will spend an afternoon looking for limescale in a dryer that does not have a heat pump, or for a detergent dispenser in a machine that has never held detergent.
So this page gives you Bosch’s wording with the contradictions marked, rather than tidying them away and pretending the documentation is cleaner than it is.
The page is titled for a dishwasher, twice
Open Bosch’s dryer code page and look at the browser tab. The HTML <title> reads “Bosch D Error Codes: Troubleshooting Guide” — a half-substituted template variable — and Google currently indexes the same page under the title “Bosch Dishwasher Error Codes: Troubleshooting Guide”. The content is about dryers. The label on the tin is not.
Scroll to the “code not listed” box and the second instance is in the body text. Bosch asks: “Getting a dishwasher error code that is not listed below?” and then, in the next sentence, tells you to “locate and have your dryer model number ready.” One paragraph, both appliances, nobody reading it back.
This is exactly the failure mode this site keeps running into across manufacturers — a brand template with a variable in it, filled in once and not again. Whirlpool leaks its brand variable into a reset page. Maytag and Whirlpool ship the same vent-kit paragraph with only the company name swapped. Bosch has done it to a page heading and left a dishwasher question sitting in the middle of a dryer article. It is worth knowing because it tells you how much of the page was written and how much was duplicated.
E02 appears twice, and the two entries disagree
The clearest documentation error on the page is a code defined in two places with two unrelated meanings, and both definitions are live.
The first entry is headed “Error Codes E01 or E02” and says: “The lint filter is blocked and needs to be cleaned.” The remedy is to clean the lint filter after each drying cycle and “occasionally rinse out the lint and fluff filter with warm water.” Bosch’s dedicated page for the pair repeats it — “Error codes E01 and E02 are related to the lint filter in your Bosch dryer” — and warns that ignoring them “can lead to reduced drying efficiency and potential damage to your dryer.”
Immediately below it on the same page sits a second entry, headed “Error Code E02”, which says: “There is a main control board relay fault/error.” Its remedy is to “Reset power to breaker for 30 seconds” and then call support. And its “learn more” link goes to a Bosch dishwasher e02 guide.
So E02 on a Bosch dryer is either a dirty lint filter or a failed control board relay, depending on which half of the page you read. The ordering gives you the practical answer — clean the filter first, because it costs nothing and the dedicated page backs it — but there is no way to resolve the conflict from Bosch’s own text, and this page is not going to pretend otherwise.
E12 and E56 carry headlines from other appliances
Two more entries have a heading that describes one fault and a paragraph underneath describing another, and in both cases the paragraph is the one to follow.
E12 is headed “There is limescale build-up in the heat pump.” The text immediately beneath it says the code “signifies that the dryer is overheating, potentially due to restricted airflow”, and tells you to clean the lint screen and check that the external vent is not obstructed, bent or blocked where it leaves the house. Bosch’s dedicated E12 page agrees with the paragraph and never mentions limescale at all: “The E12 error code on your dryer indicates overheating due to restricted airflow.” Two Bosch pages against one Bosch headline, so the headline is the odd one out.
E56 is the more obvious of the two. Its heading reads “There is a detergent dispenser fault/error.” A dryer does not have a detergent dispenser. The paragraph beneath gets it right — “The E56 error code on a Bosch dryer indicates a problem with the moisture sensor” — and gives a genuinely good instruction: clean the sensor, “usually located inside the drum near the lint filter, using a soft cloth and a mild cleaner”, and make sure no residue or lint has built up on it.
That cleaning step is worth more than it looks. A moisture sensor coated in fabric-softener film reads a load as dry long before it is, which produces damp laundry and no code at all until the machine gives up and posts one. It is the same mechanism LG documents for its own humidity sensor, and the fix on both brands is a damp cloth rather than a part.
Bosch dryer error codes, with the contradictions left in
Quoted wording below is Bosch’s, read on Bosch’s own pages. Where Bosch’s headline and body disagree, both are shown and the one to act on is named.
| Code | Bosch’s wording | What to do, and what to ignore |
|---|---|---|
E01 | “The lint filter is blocked and needs to be cleaned.” | Remove the lint, wash the filter under running water, dry it completely, reinsert |
E02 | Both “The lint filter is blocked” and “There is a main control board relay fault/error.” | Clean the filter first. Bosch’s own dedicated page backs the filter reading; the relay entry links to a dishwasher guide |
E03 | “The condensation drainage hose is blocked or kinked.” | A condenser-dryer code. Inspect the hose at the back for kinks, disconnect it and clear debris with a flexible brush |
E04 | “The E04 error is typically caused by overloading the dryer.” | Reduce the load until there is “enough space above the clothes – about a hand’s width” |
E12 | Headline: “limescale build-up in the heat pump.” Body: “the dryer is overheating, potentially due to restricted airflow.” | Follow the body. Clean the lint screen and the external vent |
E16 | “The E16 error indicates that the appliance door was opened during a drying cycle.” | Close the door and press start. Not a fault |
E56 | Headline: “detergent dispenser fault/error.” Body: “a problem with the moisture sensor.” | Follow the body. Clean the sensor inside the drum near the lint filter |
E63 | “The E63 error code on a Bosch dryer indicates a heating element failure.” | Bosch suggests unplugging and inspecting the element’s connections, then calling an authorised technician |
E06 E08 E09 E24 E25 E28 E36 E90 | “There is an electronic fault/error. This fault can only be eliminated by an authorized technician.” | Eight codes, one sentence between them. See below |
DR | “signifies that the door is not properly closed or there’s an issue with the door switch” | Check the door is shut and unobstructed, then the latch and switch for damage or misalignment |
CrE | “signifies that it is time to run the basic appliance care program … This is a maintenance function and not an error.” | Run the care program. Not a fault |
| Key symbol | “indicates that the child lock or control lock function is activated” | Hold the button combination your model uses. Not a fault |
One number in that table is doing something nothing else in this whole category does. E04 is the only dryer error code published by any major manufacturer whose remedy is specified in hand widths. Bosch’s instruction is to leave “about a hand’s width” of space above the clothes, which is both unscientific and the most immediately usable load-size guidance in the business — Whirlpool and Maytag say three-quarters full and leave you estimating volume in a drum you cannot see into. If the code arrives on cycles that otherwise run fine, that is the one to try. See why a dryer takes too long to dry.
Eight codes share one definition, and it is “call us”
E06, E08, E09, E24, E25, E28, E36 and E90 get a single combined entry on Bosch’s page: “There is an electronic fault/error. This fault can only be eliminated by an authorized technician.” That is the whole published definition for eight distinct codes, and Bosch gives no indication of what distinguishes them.
This is not unusual in the category, but Bosch’s version is the bluntest. Whirlpool leaves fourteen of its thirty-five dryer codes with no definition but at least publishes a separate page per code, so the F digit still places them in a subsystem. Samsung gives four codes a two-word label — “Motor Error”, “Dry Time Error” — which is thin but directional. Bosch’s eight get one shared sentence and a phone number.
The repair blogs will fill that in for you. Search any of the eight and you will be told that E06 is the fan motor, E08 is the heating element and E09 is a heating relay. None of those appears on any Bosch page this site could open. They may well be right — service documentation exists, and the technicians writing those posts have likely read it — but they are unsourced, and the honest thing to say is that Bosch publishes no component for any of the eight.
What the repair blogs list, and what Bosch actually says
Run this search and compare the aggregator tables against the manufacturer’s page, and they do not match on the most basic entries. Several widely repeated lists give E01 as “door is not closed properly” and E02 as “lint filter needs cleaning”. Bosch’s own page gives both E01 and E02 as the lint filter, and the door is E16 (opened mid-cycle) or DR (not closed, or a switch problem).
Others list E04 as “exhaust duct too long” and E05 as an NTC temperature sensor. Bosch’s page gives E04 as overloading, with the hand-width remedy, and lists no E05 for dryers at all. There is no way to reconcile those tables with Bosch’s, because they are not describing the same source.
The most likely explanation is that the aggregator tables are European, and probably correct for some condenser models sold outside North America — Bosch’s dryer range differs by market and its regional sites publish different code pages. That is a reason to be careful, not a reason to publish both and let the reader guess. If you are in the US and reading a Bosch dryer code, the US page is the one that describes your machine, and where it is self-contradictory the contradictions are marked above.
One instruction on that page to read twice before following
Bosch closes its code page with a reset section, and the first half is ordinary: unplug the dryer or cut the breaker, leave it “at least 5 minutes”, restore power. That is the longest published reset wait of any brand in this category and it is fine advice.
The second half describes something different. Bosch writes that “on many Bosch dryers, there is a small red reset button located on the high-limit thermostat near the heating element”, found “by removing the rear access panel of the dryer”, and instructs you to press and hold it.
Two things about that. A high-limit thermostat is a safety cut-out: it opens because the machine got too hot, which on a dryer means airflow. Re-arming it without clearing the restriction recreates the condition that tripped it, and the second trip costs the same as the first. And the step requires removing a rear panel on a mains appliance. Disconnect power at the breaker before any panel comes off, clear the lint screen, the duct and the outside hood first, and if the cut-out trips again afterwards, stop — that is a diagnosis, not a reason to press the button a third time. Never bypass, jumper or defeat a thermal cut-out or a thermal fuse on any dryer.
When a Bosch code is not the thing to deal with first
These override the display. No troubleshooting order, no exceptions.
- A burning smell during a cycle, or smoke from the machine or the vent.
- Any scorching, discolouration, melting or heat at the plug, the outlet or the power cord.
- A breaker that trips again after being reset. It is working correctly, and re-arming it repeatedly is the wrong response every time.
- A high-limit thermostat or thermal cut-out that has already been reset or replaced once. The second event is reporting the airflow, not the part.
E12returning after the lint screen and the full external vent run have been confirmed clear.
Trust the machine’s behaviour over this particular page
The position this page takes is narrower than brand-bashing and more useful: Bosch’s dryers are not the problem, and Bosch’s dryer code page is not a reliable document. Five identifiable errors sit on it — a templated title, a dishwasher question, E02 defined twice, and two entries whose headlines name components from other appliances. Where it is careful, it is good: the E04 hand-width rule, the E03 hose procedure, the E56 sensor clean and the E16 door explanation are all worth following exactly as written.
So read the body text and not the headline, clean the filter before you believe a relay fault, and if your code is one of the eight that share a sentence, accept that Bosch has published nothing further rather than taking a component from a page that cannot show you its source. The cleaning side of all of this is in how to clean a dryer.
FAQ
What does E02 mean on a Bosch dryer?
Bosch’s page gives it two meanings: a blocked lint filter, and a main control board relay fault. The lint filter reading has a dedicated Bosch page behind it, so clean and dry the filter first. The relay entry links to a Bosch dishwasher guide, which is a strong hint about where it came from.
What does E12 mean on a Bosch dryer?
Overheating caused by restricted airflow. Bosch’s heading on the summary page says limescale in the heat pump, but the paragraph beneath it and Bosch’s dedicated E12 page both describe overheating and prescribe cleaning the lint screen and the external vent.
How do I reset a Bosch dryer?
Unplug the dryer or switch off the breaker, leave it off for at least five minutes, then restore power. Bosch also describes a red reset button on the high-limit thermostat behind the rear access panel — treat that as a last resort, clear the airflow restriction first, and never defeat a thermal cut-out.
Does a Bosch dryer have an E05 code?
Not on Bosch’s US dryer page. E05 appears on several third-party lists as an NTC temperature sensor fault, but Bosch’s own dryer code page does not list it. The codes Bosch publishes are E01, E02, E03, E04, E12, E16, E56, E63, the eight-code electronic-fault group, DR, CrE and the key symbol.
What is CrE on a Bosch dryer?
A maintenance reminder, not a fault. Bosch’s wording is that it “signifies that it is time to run the basic appliance care program”, shows for five seconds before and after the program, and “will continue to be shown repeatedly until the care program has been run completely.”
Why does my Bosch dryer stop with E16?
The door was opened during the cycle. Close it firmly and press start to resume. Bosch’s own suggested prevention is to use the child lock function, which is a tidy solution to a problem with an obvious cause.
My Bosch code is one of the eight electronic faults. What can I do?
Very little that Bosch will stand behind. E06, E08, E09, E24, E25, E28, E36 and E90 share one definition — an electronic fault that “can only be eliminated by an authorized technician” — and Bosch names no component for any of them. Note the exact code and the point in the cycle before you call.
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Bosch’s page is worth reading and not worth trusting line by line. Follow the paragraphs rather than the headings, clean the filter and the sensor before believing anything about relays, and remember that a reset button on a safety cut-out is a symptom report, not a repair.
Sources opened for this page: Bosch, Bosch Dryer Error Codes · Bosch, How To Fix Bosch Dryer Error Codes E01 & E02 · Bosch, How To Fix Bosch Dryer Error Code E12. All three read live on 3 October 2026, and the title and self-contradictions described above were verified in the pages’ own HTML.
