Well, I'm glad to see some posts directed to the original poster's issues. Well, since he's been taken care of, Antss, last night I had drafted a rather long rebuttal to your post which basically kindly suggested you go boil your head. ;-) However, in between writing it, I realized that I needed your help on a question (separate subject) so I abstained from posting it. *grin* Anyhow, the gist of my response basically was a self-example showing why I don't like the "A is the best/most technical. Only buy the best/most technical." Case in point: I work at a research lab. Aside from our research, one of the things we do is build some particular extremely precise sensors for certain aerospace vehicles (no need to get into which ones). These are The Very Best such instruments you could get anywhere (or not get. More on that later). Super-precise, radiation hard, fast initialization, everything. This is not parroting a company line. This is fact. Our only customer is a certain body in the US government. Now, these devices are extremely expensive. They are very expensive and the only reason we (a lab) still fabricate them is that, aside from the complexity to provide the necessary sensor sensitivity & precision & robustness, the demand for such inordinately high precision instruments is extremely low (single digit orders of such devices every few years) making it not very compelling for the major aero-astro companies to produce. So, for these one-off sorts of builds, we continue to fabricate these when the need arises. Now, we are a lab, and while we have fabrication facilities for prototyping high-precision devices, we don't have manufacturing facilities. So, these systems are VERY expensive and will continue to remain so. Both because of the precision called for as well as the fact that no manufacturing principles can be applied to improve the efficiencies of production. OK. So we make the absolute best of such systems. And we're known for it. Still, that doesnt make what Honeywell and NG produce as the industry leaders in that market at some fraction of the performance and a fraction of the cost, junk or crap because it is "mass produced". In fact, when we get an inquiry from any other division of the govt. about these sensors, we scratch our heads and ask why they think they need such uber-precision. For more than 90% of the projects that we work on at my lab *we* have no use for our super-precise devices and we rely on the "lesser" products. And it is true that, by performance, compared to ours, they are a "lesser" animal. But by no means are those "lesser" items, "cheapened by production", a dismissible item. In fact, as I mentioned, >99% of the time for the world at large and >90% of our own activities, they are net superior because the performance is more than good (enough for the task required) and the savings in cost on the sensor unit means that we can afford more on other without in any way compromising on the required performance. This has gone on long enough and I realize that a Miele DW is no lab-grade unit, but the point was to say that I have daily proof that paying blind obeisance to "The Best" product and dismissing everything else as "cheapened", "advertised", and "mass-produced" is actually being penny-wise pound foolish. IMO, the only "The Best" is associated with an associated cost function/performance index. Seldom has a performance index been cited when a "Miele / Wolf/ Subzero/ whatever is the best" defense is provided. This is why I get & got irritated up there. There's actually loads more to say re: comparos made up above, but I'm just going to sign off now. Also you'll forgive me if I take your assessments about aircraft and Crays with a pinch of salt as I rather doubt you have some of the more interesting insights into these 2 worlds.

"Sometimes, I wonder what we really *get* out of having designer appliances and keeping up with the Jones's." I really do think that your "Average, run of the mill appliances" are more reliable than the "fancy stuff" we buy and it's certainly less expensive and easier to get parts and service for them.(I base this on comparing "everyday appliances" I've bought for my rentals~~~and I just never get complaints about the appliances from my tenants). Example~~~~One rental has a "run of the mill" gas range. It's about 10 years old or so now. It uses spark ignitors to light the burners, I've never had to replace one and I've had cleaning people (that are most likely NOT careful of the ignitors) when cleaning the range in the condo, yet I've never had to replace an ignitor.~~~Now compare this to the posts we see of ignitor problems with the fancy stuff, (Blue Star, Capital~~~etc) We see the ignitors, ignitor modules fail on those or pinched or disconnected wires (sometimes when brand new)!!!!. When one thinks of how many more Whirlpools are sold, and even Electroluxes than the really "Esoteric Stuff", (Miele, Gaggenau, Wolf/SZ) and then compare the number of complaints~~~~~well it's like my appliance guy said, They sell so many of the "more common stuff" that even thou the complaints "may seem to be equal to the esoteric stuff", all in all the "Common stuff", is pretty dern reliable. (I had mentioned to him that "Maytag" seemed to have a lotta complaints about their clothes washers a few years back, & that was his response to me). My Maytag washer & dryer have been trouble free for 5 years or so, except I had to have the big door seal "bellows" replaced in the washer. Anyway, I did not buy my Miele Optima to "Keep up with the Jones", I bought it because of that top cutlery rack. I'm kind of a rebel here, gray is "all the rage here now", and I've expressed my opinion on that and NOT in the most "Politically correct way"~~~~~~now there's a good example of following the Jones's (even thou they are color blind)!!! Anyway, good luck with your new Miele, YOU DEFINITELY "Stepped out of the Jones neighborhood and into the Vanderbilt's abode", with that purchase, (LOL)!!! I hope it serves you well for a long time, and I hope my Optima does not come down with the same disease yours got!!!! Gary

Yes, but if that "one" flooded your living room and dining room, both of which had expensive carpet installed 6 months earlier ... it would become a defining moment for you too, lascatx. The dish drawers have been flawless, but they do have a moisture alarm on the floor beneath them. The reason the flood happened? During the night a brain fart happened (in the dishwasher) and water kept filling and flooding out the dishwasher because there was no ability to electronically drain the water. So when DH went to the kitchen to make coffee the next morning, slosh! slosh! We were not happy campers, especially since that dishwasher was about a year old.

My 2¢ on this: I'm inclined to preach about making repairs and not sending workable appliances to the landfill or recycling. Your existing DW might just have a plugged line. However, wanna guess what I did when my early-1998 SHU3xx model stopped working back in 2012? I took the discount for a replacement dishwasher. Maybe an easy decision for me as a DIY project. It really is as easy as Dan1888 says. So the installation should not be expensive if you have to pay for it. A repair will require pulling the DW out, disconnecting and reconnecting, and then putting it back in, anyway. Beyond that, my on-line research back in late 2012 was that Bosch DWs and other higher quality DW brands had average expected lifespans of 12 years but some lesser brands were only lasting 7 years on average. (Lots of posting here with much gnashing of teeth and tales of woe about DWs back then, too.) You have already replaced a motor at seven years, so it is hard to say when you might need another one. My Bosch was 15 years old and had never needed any work. It might have continued chugging along after the board replacement. Eventually, it would have needed other repairs. For instance, replacing the detergent dispenser door when the latch springs wore out. Then a new door seal. Eventually, a new pump, etc. I decided to skip the hassle and bought an SHE55xx series model as the replacement. As far as I could tell, the new one did not have any more electronics to break than the old one. However, the boards are supposedly better built now. The boards from the late 90's and early 2000's were kind of on the cheap side all across the appliance industry. With some legal pushing, Bosch owned up to the issue and upgraded its boards while instituting the program for the board replacement/discounted new units. (Whirlpool also had problems with its DW boards. According to news reports, DWs made back then by Whirlpool were blamed for several kitchen fires. Whirlpool chose to fight with customers. AFAIK, that fight is still going on.) Anyway, my replacement SHE55 runs noticeably quieter than the old SHU. (More sound proofing.) The new one does take 15 to 20 minutes longer for the regular cycles than the old one did (varies a bit between loads.) The new one has more capacity. Also, the new one allows raising and lowering the upper rack, a feature which I find very useful. (I cannot recall if the SHU4xx series had that feature or not.) So, despite my preferences for keeping appliances running, I have been pleased with the replacement.