The installer only left us an extra cord which he did not use. There were no brackets left behind. He left nothing behind. I went to install the toe kick and realized he didn’t even leave the brackets for those either. They’re four missing parts on that too, he handed me a screw. He said this is not long enough go to your local hardware store and get a longer one. None of them were long enough. to head to the hardware store and buy a bunch of shims and glue them together until it’s fat enough in there for the screw to hit. I paid $250 for this installation and they left an unfinished mess. They left the box in my driveway on a very windy and cold day without telling me and I ended up having to chase down Styrofoam. They possibly could’ve left parts in that but I doubt it because they handed me the extra cord that they didn’t use if you pay that much money for an installation it should be installed. You shouldn’t have to run to the hardware store And I did go through the whole manual looking for solutions. There was nothing left for me to make this work. The dishwasher is to the left of my sink which is set an angle because I have a peninsula with an angle. I am so frustrated I have $1700 into this dishwasher with the installation and the kit that I didn’t even need.

The reason dishwashers don't clean well anymore is because of the soap. 16 states in the U.S. have banned phosphates in soap. I know people who have taken apart their DWs and put them back together. The Weekly Standard recently published an article describing the whole political process that resulted in this ban. Without the phosphates, soap is less "slippery" and doesn't clean as well. I would recommend looking into changing your soap before you do anything else, that is if you can find a soap that contains phosphates. One panel ready dishwasher that we cannot recommend is the Kitchen Aid double drawer. We have had it for less than two years, and the lower drawer no longer stays shut. We do not feel the interior holds as much as our previous and very old DW. And it too does not clean well. Is it too much to ask that today's DWs do what they are supposed to do and that is get your dishes clean? It seems manufacturers have moved away from that single purpose.

mholtz, I went through this install process, and learned a few things. I'll show you what I did and hopefully it will make it easier for you. First, the easy part... 1/8" at the sides should be fine. I used about 3/16" but it would work with 1/8". The Bosch panel template assumes a few things. First, it assumes that you will mount the dishwasher as high as it will go, up against the bottom of the counter. And that you will mount the wood panel flush with the top of the dishwasher door. If you install it like that with a door taller than 30 1/8", it will bind at the bottom baseboard when opening. The bottom is where the problem with the taller panel occurs. However, for best appearance you want your panel taller, to match the bottom and top of the adjacent doors and/or drawer stacks, with a consistent gap under the counter edge. You should get your panel made to that height, ignoring the 30 1/8" limit. To make this work however, you need to mount the dishwasher lower, with the wood panel higher than the door, to allow it to fully open. It's tough to explain in words, so I made a couple of diagrams. Example 1 is following the template directions, but a taller door binds at the bottom. Example 2 is what I ended up doing to accommodate the taller panel.

Did you read the installation instructions? Step 4 shows how to level the dishwasher and push it into place. Step 5 shows the panel width, panel height range, allowable weight of the door, and how the door handle is attached (screws must be countersunk). Step 6 shows how to adjust the door height to match adjacent cabinets. Step 9 shows how the panel is attached to the appliance, and Step 13 shows how to adjust the door to accommodate panel weight.