Door Drops Open - How to Fix

Today my father and I solved this problem permanently for about four dollars. Yes only $4!!! I priced out the total repair for a Kitchenaid repair guy with parts and labor to be at least $250 and that was just too much for a $1500 dishwasher. Here's how we did it and here's how kitchenaid should have done it in the first place...
After searching the internet and diagnosing the problem with my kitchenaid superba dishwasher, I also found that my nylon pulley spring system on one side had ruptured. Door made loud explosive sound one day when opening and then would just drop open real hard once unlatched after that day. I really didn't care too much about it until my three year old almost opened the door on my one year old's head. I took off the bottom panel and found a broken nylon string and a couple of white plastic pieces.
That lead me to this website.
So I looked into fixing this myself and got ready to order the part from here
http://www.repairclinic.com/SmartSearch/SSPartDetail.aspx?PartID=1059756&PPStack=1

and found it would be about $25 with shipping and handling and would arrive in about a week. I figured that there has to be a better way than nylon string to absorb the transition from metal spring to metal door. This problem was bound to recur in a short period of time because nylon is not made to take that tensile force. We went to Lowe's, bought four feet of 1/16 inch galvanized woven steel cable (total cost of $1) and two sets of ferrule and stops ($3 for both).
Then we unscrewed the two side fasteners holding the dishwasher to the cabinets (We had already unscrewed the two screws and removed the base board). We placed masking tape on the floor to prevent the foot pads from scratching as we pulled out the dishwasher. With a little upward lift, my father was able to turn the foot pads and create more room and we then placed felt pads under them to padd additional protection from scratching.

Here is the broken nylon and its plastic pieces and the spriDoor Drops Open - How to Fix - 7_9_2012_4_13_55_am.jpgs/images/7_9_2012_4_13_55_am.jpg" alt="7_9_2012_4_13_55_am.jpg" class="h_mi" />
close up of the poor constructiDoor Drops Open - How to Fix - 7_9_2012_4_14_43_am.jpg relies on

We then measured out the distance from the end of the spring through the pulleys and to the hook on the door to be 17 inches, and thus, constDoor Drops Open - How to Fix - 7_9_2012_4_16_49_am.jpg16.5 inches to keep everything tight.


So, from then end of one loop toDoor Drops Open - How to Fix - 7_9_2012_4_18_30_am.jpgoop measured 16.5 inches. We double crimped each end with the ferrules.

The other side was intact, but we just went ahead and removed it and replaced it with our newDoor Drops Open - How to Fix - 7_9_2012_4_20_28_am.jpg Here is the final insertion showing the steel cable going through the pulleys and hooking on the door.

The door works great. My wife can't believe it. Most of all, my children are safe from head injuries from the heavy door. This whole escapade took about 45 minutes to do and literally only cost $4, yes four dollars. I suggest two people to do the job as my father was helpful in holding the flashlight and making sure we had enough slack on the water lines when we pulled out and pushed the washer back in. I hope this helps anyone that googles 'kitchenaid superba door' or 'kitchenaid superba broken heavy door'. Eat your heart out kitchenaid, make the next line of washers with a steel cable instead of nylon.

Actually the solution is quite easy.

First, get the door balance kit from ReparClinic.com mentioned herein. I believe it's Part #1059756.

Second, pull the DW out about halway from its recess (you may have to remove the two "mounting" screws where it is attached to the countertop.

Third, there are two door balance assemblies...one on the lower left side, one on the lower right side...where the door's fulcrum is (where it hinges). Each will consist of 2 pulleys, a string (with a plastic "latch" on one end, a plastic "loop" on the other), and a spring (near the back of the unit). One door balance assembly will likely be "good," one will be "broken," and the likely cause is the string has pulled from its "latch" end. Confused? Use the "good" door balance assembly for reference of how to replace the "broken" assembly. It's pretty straight forward once you compare the two.

Fourth, remove the "bad" assembly as needed. In my case, I only had to remove the string. The pulleys were fine.

Fifth, replace whatever parts you removed. In my case, I replaced only the string, but it required me to press it into the bottom pulley through the open guide at the bottom of it. In any event, replacing the string requires you pull on the string with sufficient force you can "thread" the string around the two pulleys, and hook the latch to the same location you find it latched on the other side of the door (there is a notch in the sheet metal).

Sixth, this is an optional step, but I did it so the string wouldn't pull out of its latch. Take a lighter, and heat the end of the rope in the latch (the part that's sticking out past the end of the latch). Heat it up until it begins to melt slightly, then press or ball it so it will not fray, or unravel enough to pull through the hole in the latch through which it is fitted. I don't know how they got that thing in there (I tried to put my old string back through), but it will likely find it's way out if it's left stock.

That's pretty much it. It's really not hard, and a set of instructions really aren't needed once you compare the left and right assemblies. One is almostly certainly still good, and "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Had same issue when DW was less than 4 yrs old. You need to order pulley assembly, it comes in pairs (both doors). From what I remember 20 bucks or so. Open the bottom panel, undo the screws on top (exposed only when door opens), slide out the dishwasher from its place (you might have to undo the water and drain fittings depending upon how much slack or lack of it). Unhook the spring from the old pulley. Remove and replace the pulley, hook the spring back and perform the above steps in reverse order. I am not impressed with this DW, looking for a replacement.

Solution to the problem - don't buy KitchenAid or Whirlpool products

Thank you sooooo much for your information! Our door system broke twice within the past two years and I could not see spending another $225 the repair company wanted to fix it again. We followed your instructions and fixed the door on our dishwasher for around $4-5 like you said. Thank you for saving us $$.

I've had this very problem off and on with a KitchenAid and I've done all the above fixes already with limited results. The breaded steel cables work, but wont last because something in the door mechanism where the rope used to be, rubs the cable until it too snaps. I've even gone so far as to add rubber strips to pad the area where it's rubbing. The fix last a few months and then SNAP!

I experienced the same issues. I had replaced the door cables (strings) because one was broken. Door still fell open.

To fix the root of the problem you need to adjust the leveling feet at the front of the dishwasher. Make sure that the rear of the dishwasher is LOWER than the front of the dishwasher.

My theory on what happens is that over time, all the vibrations cause the screw type adjustments to lower, thereby causing the very heavy to door to tend to fall away from dishwasher because the front of the dishwasher is lower than the rear.

Again, re-adjust the two screw type leveling feet at the bottom front of the dishwasher so that the door "leans" more to the inside of the dishwasher rather than to the outside. This way gravity works for you rather than against you.

I have a Bosch and the door springs are the same. The nylon string broke on mine as well and the door slams open

I used Chris Vashi's solution pictured above. Perfect! Just make sure you get 1/16th cable or you will have a hard time crimping the ferules to tie off the ends of the cables into loops without a special (and expensive) crimping tool. I bought thicker cable to start with and couldn't crimp the ferules with the tools I had at home. Once I got 1/16th cable, it all worked fine,

Also, you may want to have your cable cut into 18" lengths at the store. I had a devil of a time cutting mine and keeping the ends from fraying, and if the ends fray, you can't easily insert them into the ferules.

BTW, my model is a KUDI02FRSS2 and my broken part looked exactly like the picture's Chris Vashi posted. Mine original part even failed in the same place

Same thing...should have spent a few more dollars on the Bosch...I'm replacing the nylon string and attachment assembly...hopefully that does the trick.