As a longtime Miele owner, if I had to replace my 13 y.o. dw my priority would be the LED lighting. My other priority is china/crystal cycle, sanitary cycle, and an integrated control panel and panel ready.

Thing with the door opening on its own is the steam escaping. That can be an issue with some counters.

For me, the rest is optional. Most people love these dws. I wouldn't go by a recommendation. I'd get on their website and compare the models that have the features you want/need and go with that.

I had an entry level Miele for years, and have just purchased the Lumen, not because of the LED or the wash cycles (I really only use a few cycles and those ones are available throughout the different models) but because the Lumen has more/better rack flexibility. I am looking forward to the lights though!

ETA: The Lumen (here in Canada) doesn't have the knock to open, but it does have the auto open. According to the manual, it is a feature that can be disabled.

I am also looking at the Lumen. I really want the LEDs but not the Knock 2 Open, which I fear could be a nuisance or break down the road. Don't own one yet but that is my opinion. What type of dishes will you wash? I have a bunch of Riedel wine glasses and then just regular plates/pans. Maybe the 6505 http://www.mieleusa.com/Product/Details/1184 but the top panel is visible. I am looking closely at the 6565 http://www.mieleusa.com/Product/Details/1186

That 6565 looks ideal to me. I have the older version without all the upgrades and with fewer cycles.

I have Riedel glasses as well and the Miele has been fantastic, in fact, the first one that I broke was when I was washing by hand because I'm renovating!!! The 3D rack was a must have for me (but I think it is available on most models now), and I really just liked the additional flexibility of the racks on the Lumen. I have both thinner and thicker dinnerware and new pots and pans that are dishwasher safe. How much I like the rack configuration once I start using it remains to be seen. Good luck with your choice.

thank you all for valuable inputs, especially to sherri1058. We had no idea Lumen has more/better rack flexibility and that's quite important to my DH. For Lumen G6505SCi we have to get either Clean Touch Steel door panel or to have our own front wood panel. The kitchen cabinet guy said no problem he can make perfect match but he said go with SS. Not decided yet what to pick.

However out of blue there is a new twist to our DW saga. We found open box G5915 for much less and that one has everything what Lumen has. The funny thing there is no door panel and SS panel is the same part number for either model.

So for now forget the Dimension, it's between brand new Lumen or Diamond open box.

Decision time again...

I have a Diamond in my apartment and just got a Lumen in my country house. The only difference is that the Diamond has a five year warranty and the auto close. I don't think the auto close is a big deal at all. The LED lights were an absolute requirement. Once I had them on the Diamond, I was spoiled and refused to go without. Both clean beautifully and the controls are easy.

Not sure why you would want ss over a panel.... but that's just me. I would go for the Diamond over the Lumen if the $$ were the same. Here in Canada the price differential is $600, which gets you knock to open and a couple more cycles. I think I will be happy with my Lumen. :)

to nycblue: can't believe you actually have both. The 5y warranty on Diamond is nice however I'm not sure if Miele will honor it on open box item. I t would be really awesome deal to have this model with 5y Miele warranty...

to sherri1058: ss over a panel? well, if it would be me I would go with panel as well since our cabinet guy is just working on new white kitchen custom cabinets as we speak.

However my DH likes Miele SS panels claiming they look clean, matching all other Miele kitchen SS appliances plus they are somehow much more forgiving on fingerprints. I have no arguments here...

I've had both ss and a panel. The ss will date the kitchen faster. The panel just blends into the cabinets -- I prefer the panel but either is good.

If there's a waranty question on an open box machine I would call and inquire about it with Miele.

If Miele will honor the 5-year warranty and you can get the door panel you want, the Diamond is definitely the right call.

agree 100%.

OT: Johnny reading your DW reviews I'm quite surprised why Lumen has no score in your review at all. (and BTW Science Page for more info link doesn't work...)

BTW, if we go strictly by reviews either from CR or your Reviewed.com then KA was rated highest by CR or Electrolux by you guys which scored perfect 10 of 10. Then same Electrolux end up almost in the bottom in CR ratings.

I'm really happy to have GW forum which is the best help of all.

to rococogurl: I'm not even sure who should I ask anymore? It was confirmed by Miele CS this model has 5y warranty after the registration however when I talked to another rep his answer was much more fuzzy, something about 250 hr. limit in Operational mode. He advised me to check that DW was in Demo mode in case it was display/open box model. How I can check that have no idea...

Anyway wish me luck. driving to store now to check & pick up this jewel, hoping everything goes well...

Thanks for reading, Eric! I'm glad you asked about the Lumen's lack of score. At some point after we started testing luxury appliances, we came to the conclusion that scoring them was doing our readers a disservice. Rankings gave an impression that some dishwashers are better than others, which is objectively true with consumer dishwashers. But at the luxury level, everything cleans well, and none of the machines are bad.

The differences came down to individual features. It wouldn't be fair to rank, say, Knock2open higher when not everyone wants that, and the same could be said for panel-readiness or hidden controls.

Since the Dimension was reviewed in 2015, when we were still testing the luxury waters a bit, it's scored along with the consumer dishwashers.

The Lumen's Test Results link appears to be fixed! It brought me here: http://luxuryhome.reviewed.com/content/miele-futura-lumen-g6565scvi-dishwasher-review/the-science

Unless there was another broken link? Please let me know so I can catch them all.

I like to think of our scores, like the photos and the reviews themselves, as just one more tool you can use to help with your purchase decision. If you're buying sight-unseen, good photos and hands-on accounts like from GW forum users really help.

I was in same situation 11 months ago but we were comparing the one with integrated control and not the hidden control. We ended up with Lumen (G6505SCi) and couldn't be happier! I know I would love the LED and now the I have it I love it even more! We also chose Lumen because the display is in an angle making it easier to read and the dimension is flat with the front. My integrated control have buttons to scroll up and down and I believe they memorized the last cycle. I mainly use normal which is the first cycle so I can't remember for sure. I love the auto open function which helps the dishes dry better. I didn't consider the K2o at all because to me that's not very efficient, I would have to knock, wait for it to open, then open the door. It's cool for sure, but that's about it. I only use 3 cycles, mainly normal, then sometime pots and pans and grates and filters (when I wash my hood filters). I don't think the Lumen comes with autoclose which to me is nice to have but not required. I went with ss panel as the integrated display doesn't align with my other drawers height which I think it doesn't look as good so I just went with ss. The ss panel is $169, it's comparable to a custom door price. Since I usually have normal dishes with the Riedel glasses in the dw at the same time, I still use the normal cycle and it has been fine. I use my Riedel glasses once a week only so I have washed them many times already. No etch, non have break yet.

I have a Diamond (edited wrong dimension originally) from a few years ago. I just helped a friend move into a new house with a Lumen. First of all I love the lights. I would definitely consider getting one with lights I love them. I did notice yesterday loading my friends wine glasses that I missed some features of my Diamond racks,. On the bottom front I have an extra small fold down wine stem holder at the front. I often use this for just two glasses. She only has the back ones,. On the middle drawer my flip down wine holders are higher and a bit adjustable plus I have an extra bar with curved supports that folds down so I can fit a lot more in a while extra row of glasses. However, it isn't that often you wash a load of just wine glasses (unless you have lots of parties) but if you do the Diamond is better plus the smaller two or three glass flipdown I have is great for just a few glasses. I think I also had a few places that I can flip down the prongs and get a bigger flat area than that one,. Mine is not the current model but I assume similar.

@EricSojka - So exciting. Just be sure to follow the installation instructions exactly. Miele is very specific.

Miele's mother ship is in Princeton, NJ as you may know. They have a call center there with very knowledgeable techs. I call there first thing in the morning. In the afternoon it shifts to the west coast center and, while they are very nice, I haven't found the same level of experience.

But, at this point, what I'd do is install the machine and register it with them. The warranty will start day of PURCHASE. Once it's registered, I'd wait a few days for it to get into the system then call them and check on the waranty.

If, worst case basis, you do not get the 5-year you definitely have a one year warranty. Ask for an internet promo code to use when you purchase the extended online -- you get 10% off with that. I have a lot of their stuff and have found them to be excellent on warranty service and repairs. In our area, their factory-trained techs have diagnostic laptops that let them know exactly what's what when they arrive. They've mailed me parts and talked me through small repairs. Between them and Apple, things work around here. Folks tout other brands but when you call them and need something -- even some high end brands -- they don't want to provide service.

But fingers crossed you get the whole package. I think you will.

@Eric Sojka Not sure why you would want ss over a panel....

lol. I meant ss instead of a panel

I just got our Lumen installed.... well, almost.... the installer put the wrong handle on the panel and so I was delayed a couple of days while they switched out the panel. I now have a panel, but the dishwasher has yet to be fastened to the cabinet. So close.... ! After reading this thread I am very excited about my choice.

I just ordered my Miele Lumen today and it will be delivered next week. Can't wait - it's replacing a Viking which I've hated since we moved into this house. I ordered from the local Miele store here and they currently have a promotion that if you use their installation ($160) they give you a five-year warranty. Without their installation, they give you a one-year warranty. Can't wait to have this up and running!

We had a Lumen put in about a month ago. Very happy with it. Our wine glasses have not looked so clean since we bought them (we did them by hand before). Overall am very happy with our choice. It's super quiet and the lights are nice even if not a necessity.

We bought a Miele Lumen dishwasher a couple years ago and have had nothing but problems from the time it was installed. The dishes don’t get clean. I have tried all their “suggestions” and several different soaps. A tech came out a few times but nothing changed. As a last-ditch effort, I recently decided to try it on the “sanitize” cycle and that worked finally. The part I hate about this is that it is a 2 hour and 50-minute cycle!!!! So much for saving on electricity. On their website it says “Save up to 50% on electricity. All Miele Dishwashers can be connected to a hot water connection at a temperature of up to 150°F. This reduces electricity consumption by up to 50% and running times by up to 10%. In the Economy program, the energy consumption of the dishwasher drops to as little as 0.45 kWh.” If I ran it on economy my dishes would be so dirty!

The dishwasher also condensates or leaks water under my cabinet and drips onto the floor leaving a puddle. Not to mention it drips on the electronic panel. I imagine there is a failure waiting to happen there. On the same side it drips it also build up all the gunk on the inside of the door panel. It is weird and I have no clue how this is happening. I keep cleaning it off and the next day it is back again after a cycle of dishes. I have pictures and video of everything I am explaining. Lastly, I have a horrible rattle when the dishwasher first starts.

We had a working KitchenAid before we thought we were “upgrading” to a Miele. We now wish we had never got rid of the KitchenAid. We have a Miele vacuum and have been happy. Miele is supposed to be the best of the best. Sad to say that after our experience with the dish washer we will never buy a Miele product again. To say I hate this dishwasher is an understatement! I’m ready to “office space” it!

After I wrote a review awhile back a manager had contacted me and had someone come out to try to “fix” it. However, nothing was ever fixed. In fact, after inspecting under my sink recently I have noticed that the water line is connected to the cold water. It should be connected to the hot water, per their website. I have reached out recently but no one has returned my emails/calls.

I had issues with my Lumen as well. After a lot of trial and error, I enabled the eco flex heat exchange option. For some reason this greatly improved things for me.

my machine is hooked up to hot and the manual says to only enable this when connected to cold, but I tried it anyway.

the salt is also lasting longer as well. It’s doing less water exchanges in the softener.

Again, I don’t know why things got better after enabling this function but it did. I had the techs out 3 times plus had the machine swapped out as well and was still beyond frustrated. Now things are ok, but I probably didn’t need a 2200$ DW. I’m happy with my Miele Washer Dryer and vacuums, and I must say their customer service and techs were top notch, although we never got to the bottom of my concerns.

i also think dialing in the right amount of the Miele tab, or Somat powder, or the cascade boil out in relation to my load size and soil type has helped too. But i had already been trying to do that prior to enabling the heat exchanger and was still having white film issues. The issues are less with the heat exchanger enabled.

sorry for the rambling.