Bosch 800 series Dishwasher

I purchased the Bosch 800 series dishwasher using my American Express which offers me extended warranty on all purchases. Bosch offers a limited 1 year product warranty which is vastly different than a full warranty. So my American Express will automatically give me another 1 year warranty identical to Bosch and let’s not overlook the Implied warranty of merchantability. You can learn about warranties from consumer reports and the FTC websites.

⚠️⛔️ All dishwashers sold by big box or small appliance stores have a 48hr return policy! So if there is anything wrong or malfunctioning a return must be initiated within 48hours otherwise after this return window is missed then a warranty claim must be filed with the appliance manufacturer.

I wanted an 800 series with front controls in white but Bosch no longer offers this configuration 💔. The Bosch 800 series in White comes with either a bar or recessed pocket handle and top mounted controls. I did not want this style of dishwasher but felt forced into the purchase after a 3+ year long wait for Bosch to bring back its better model with the front control and display. Bosch’s severely limited style options force consumers into this awful model purchase if you want white.

I am transitioning from a 10+ year old 500 series Bosch which I purchased for $500. It still works great and has required minimal repairs outside of the door spring needing replaced last year (2023). I perform routine maintenance and cleaning which helps keep it running. I am keeping the 500 series dishwasher and installing it at a different location.

Wireless Home Connect

The pairing of the 800 series dishwasher to the app is not very well detailed in the set up instructions. However it was intuitive enough to figure out without needing instructions but for others it may be a struggle.

Download the app and register an account, Power on the dishwasher, follow the app set up instructions, then on the dishwasher it’s self push the “remote start” button that has the WiFi symbol. Done!

I see the app as a bit useless as I do not feel that I need the ability to start a dishwasher via remote or need any of these other features. Others may find this interface useful but I do not. The best feature is being able to track electrical use and water use.

Update

So I have had the dishwasher installed for a few months now and I do not use the app except to do the monthly cleaning/descaling cycle.

First Impression

The Bad

My 500 series door stays exactly in the position you put it❤️❤️. The door for the 800 series wants to auto close no matter what position it is in and this means it swings up and back fast and furious and does not want to stay in the open position unless fully open to the floor. I am hoping this goes away with use. Right now after first installation it is causing me to reach for the top of the door to prevent it from slamming into the racks as they are extended for loading and unloading. This leads me into the next major flaw.

Bad Control Location

Now that I think of it I never accidentally hit the buttons on my front control Bosch. I also did not realize until now that it even had a child lock safety feature. This is because the dishwasher worked as it should!

The same can not be said for the top control 800 series. No Locking of the top control buttons. There really needs to be a control locking feature for when the machine is powered on and being opened and closed. I accidentally keep hitting the top mounted controls which keeps changing all the settings 🙈💔. A giant opportunity was missed here! This machine should have been configured with a control lock feature and allow owners to access the settings remotely via the app, excluding on/off and start which should always remain usable at the machine.

Update:

After using this for 2 months I can say that the control buttons are in a horrible location and are constantly being accidentally turned on or off when opening and closing the door.

⛔️⚠️No time remaining display 🙈💔

This is the biggest issue I have with this model. This is a big deal for me or anyone who spends significant amount of time in the kitchen. I often find myself in the kitchen working and waiting for the dishwasher to finish. I can time my kitchen cooking task perfectly with the dishwasher count down timer. This is now gone completely! 💔

The only place to see an active time remaining cue is from the Home Connect app💔.

When the door is closed the timer turns off completely and this ridiculous white light turns on in the handle. Another missed opportunity here! The designers should have instead placed a count down timer and display screen in plain sight so that it could be seen at all times. I can’t even begin to say how many times I have had to rely on that visible display screen! I should not have to reach for my phone or tablet to see how much time is remaining in a dishwasher that is physically in front of me. When my hands are dirty and I have multiple things cooking or major food prep and packaging happening I don’t have any devices in the kitchen with me or clean hands for that matter!!!

Alexa and Google Home

Using Alexa I can say “Alexa, ask my dishwasher for status” and it will say how much time is left in the cycle.

Get notifications.. again this is useless if I am busy in the kitchen because my kitchen is a tech free area! It is my time to cut ties with my iPad and phone and just lose myself. The end goal here is to get audible notifications so I can get updates without a device in hand!

The Good

It does clean better than my 500 series. It also does dry the dishes extremely better which is what I ultimately wanted with this purchase. No more needing to dry the dishes coming out of the dishwasher or pre wash them 🎉.

Bosch allows consumers to easily locate authorized local repair technicians by using their website. Miele is a leading competitor of Bosch for dishwashers and they require owners to call them in order to get access to the same information that Bosch freely gives. I prefer having direct accessibility to the authorized repair technicians vs having to call someone and wait on hold or climb through an automated phone tree system and waste my day!

Recently I needed to reach out to LG about identifying a part on my refrigerator. from what I have learned I will never buy LG again! LG has outsourced their manufacturing and parts which means they can not sell consumers parts because they don’t have them and instead they can only offer consumers entire new systems. Bosch and Miele handle all of their parts and manufacturing so I recommend one of these two manufacturers.

Last year our 500 series door spring and tether broke. I ordered a replacement part from Amazon via the Bosch store and 6 months later it was broke again. I called Bosch to see if the part had any warranty and I was told it did not but they sent me a free replacement anyway!

Preventative Measures

By adding this protective layer I am preventing the printed labels from rubbing away with normal use and cleaning. This did eventually happen to my 500 series dishwasher buttons and was easily remedied with my label maker.

Using my label maker I added “Rinse Aid” and “water tap” to the dishwasher. I experience many internet outages and I can not rely solely on the app to inform me if the rinse aid needs refilled.

🌟Apart of my maintenance routine is to descale the dishwasher and do a cleaning cycle monthly as well as pulling out and cleaning the drain filter.