Miele - 12 year old machine leaking - bright yellow grease
Hello. My 2009 Miele W3724 washing machine is leaking. Initially it was yellow-orange oily water, but after emptying the machine via the drain filter, it appears to be a bright yellow grease.
It appears to be from the front bottom left where the foot is. From the troubleshooting links I know it could be from elsewhere however the machine is too heavy for me to move to explore further.
The machine has been used on average 3 times a week and I am wondering if it is worth getting it repaired as potentially it has another 7 years of life.
Thanks for any advice.
Solution Summary
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Miele W3724 intermittent leak with yellow grease-like residue
- The problem
- A 2009 Miele W3724 washing machine was reported leaking from the front bottom left area near the foot. The leak initially appeared as yellow-orange oily water, then as bright yellow grease/residue. On later washes, no further water leak was seen, though a dry yellow stain could still be picked up from underneath.
- Likely cause
- No confirmed cause was established. One forum reply suggested possible rust/grease from failing drum bearings or a seal, but this was not confirmed because the drum showed no obvious play and the machine was not reported to have unusual spin noise.
- What fixed it
- No repair was carried out or confirmed. The advice was essentially to investigate further only if the problem continued, as repair viability would depend on diagnosis and cost. The original poster decided to monitor the machine as the leak appeared to be a one-off.
- Checks to try
- Observed leak location at the front bottom left near the foot
- Emptied the machine via the drain filter
- Ran a wash while watching for when the leak occurred
- Checked for unusual spin noise
- Checked the inner drum for play
- Checked underneath with a paper towel and found a yellow dry stain
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
6 Answers
Hi. It depends how much it’s going to cost and that’s the problem because you don’t know until it’s investigated. My Miele is around 15 years old and still works like new.
In theory it should have up to 20 years life but sadly the cost of many Miele repairs has become so expensive that many of their appliances aren’t lasting close to their supposed design life of 20 years.
Does yours have automatic detergent dosing? The yellow obviously isn’t water
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Thanks for the quick response.
No, it doesn't have automatic detergent dosing.
I did a wash this afternoon and stayed in the kitchen the entire time to see if I could determine when in the cycle it was happening and, of course, there was no water leak this time.
There is still a yellow 'dry' stain appearing if I push a paper towel underneath at the foot.
Maybe rust and grease from a failing drum bearing(s) or seal
Can you feel any play in the inner drum or unusual noise when on spin, ie can you lift the inner drum without moving the outer tub, if so the bearing(s) are worn
Drum bearings will be approx 50GBP (non Miele) or 200GBP (Miele) for the parts and approx 4-5 hrs for the labour, the machine tub has to be removed so it's a lengthy job
Apologies for the delay in responding.
I don't think there is any unusual noise during the spin cycle however it will be the weekend before I'm back and can check out the inner drum.
Thanks for the information regarding potential costs as that will be helpful with the repair or replace decision.
I’ve never seen anything that leaks yellow on a washing machine.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
I have now checked out the inner drum and it seems to be ok.
Machine has just finished another wash and no water leaked so appears to have been a one-off however I will continue to keep an eye on it.
Thanks again for all the responses.
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