---
title: "Washer error code E42"
description: "Electrolux washer error code E42: E41's neighbor, and the pair is worth reading together because they are two different parts with almost the same symptom."
url: "https://electroluxmiami.support/error-codes/washer-e42/"
date_modified: "2026-09-11"
Appliance type: "Washers"
---


# Washer error code E42

### What E42 means on this make

E41’s neighbor, and the pair is worth reading together because they are two different parts with almost the same symptom. E41 is the switch that reports the door closed; E42 is the lock that holds it closed once a cycle starts, and the control cannot confirm it engaged. On a front loader that lock is not a convenience — it is what stands between a running drum and the room — so the machine will not proceed without it, and it should not. The dryer of this make publishes E42 as well, for a plain open door, and the two are unrelated. Read the code with the appliance, never on its own.

### Where this appears, and why not to clear it

On the appliance’s own display, as a short single code — a letter and a number, or two letters. Nothing alternates and nothing arrives in halves on this make, so what the panel shows is the whole of it. Photograph it before you cut the power. This maker’s own answer to most of these is thirty seconds at the breaker, and that is worth following once — but a display that has been cleared has taken the evidence with it, and there is no way to ask the machine for it again.

### What to do about it

- Check the door is fully closed and nothing is between it and the seal — the maker gives the same first steps as E41, because from outside the two look identical.
- Listen for the lock engaging a second or two after the cycle starts. Silence there is the answer.
- Check the striker and latch for play. A door that has been pulled on for years moves enough to stop the lock finding home.
- If the door is shut and the lock is silent, the lock assembly is the visit — and it is a part we would rather replace than defeat.

### Where this goes next

The job this usually becomes is [diagnostic visit](/services/diagnostic-visit/), and that page carries a starting figure and the reasons that move it. If it turns out to be nothing — and on this make a real share of these are modes, reminders and settings rather than problems — the visit ends there and you pay the diagnostic and nothing else, or call [(305) 912-9018](tel:+13059129018) and describe what the panel is doing before booking anything.

Error Code E42 means that the door lock is not being recognized.

What this one means

What E42 means on this make

E41’s neighbor, and the pair is worth reading together because they are two different parts with almost the same symptom. E41 is the switch that reports the door closed; E42 is the lock that holds it closed once a cycle starts, and the control cannot confirm it engaged. On a front loader that lock is not a convenience — it is what stands between a running drum and the room — so the machine will not proceed without it, and it should not. The dryer of this make publishes E42 as well, for a plain open door, and the two are unrelated. Read the code with the appliance, never on its own.

Where this appears, and why not to clear it

On the appliance’s own display, as a short single code — a letter and a number, or two letters. Nothing alternates and nothing arrives in halves on this make, so what the panel shows is the whole of it. Photograph it before you cut the power. This maker’s own answer to most of these is thirty seconds at the breaker, and that is worth following once — but a display that has been cleared has taken the evidence with it, and there is no way to ask the machine for it again.

What to do about it

Check the door is fully closed and nothing is between it and the seal — the maker gives the same first steps as E41, because from outside the two look identical.

Listen for the lock engaging a second or two after the cycle starts. Silence there is the answer.

Check the striker and latch for play. A door that has been pulled on for years moves enough to stop the lock finding home.

If the door is shut and the lock is silent, the lock assembly is the visit — and it is a part we would rather replace than defeat.

Where this goes next

The job this usually becomes is diagnostic visit, and that page carries a starting figure and the reasons that move it. If it turns out to be nothing — and on this make a real share of these are modes, reminders and settings rather than problems — the visit ends there and you pay the diagnostic and nothing else, or call [(305) 912-9018](tel:+13059129018) and describe what the panel is doing before booking anything.

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**[Read full article: Washer error code E42](https://electroluxmiami.support/error-codes/washer-e42/)**