Search for an LG error code and the first result usually explains it for a front-load washer. If you own a dishwasher or a Styler, that explanation can be flatly wrong. LG runs the same two-letter display format across several product lines, and each line assigns its own meanings. LG's own dishwasher code guide carries the warning that codes can differ depending on the product model. This article lays out the collisions so that you read the right list.
LE
On a front-load washer, LE reports that the motor could not turn the drum as commanded: the control saw the motor locked or the rotor position wrong, usually because the drum was overloaded, sometimes because a motor component has failed. On a top-load washer LE, along with AE and LE1, is grouped by LG under rotation error, again about the drive. On a dishwasher, LE means the cleaning motor, which is the wash pump that pushes water through the spray arms, is not running properly. On the Styler steam closet, LE is a restriction of the main fan motor, and LE2 is a restriction of the compressor. Four machines, four different components, one code.
AE
AE on a top-load washer sits with LE as a rotation error, a drive and clutch question. AE on a dishwasher is the code that matters most in the whole family: with EI and FE, LG lists it under leakage or overfilling, meaning the float in the base pan has detected water where water should not be. That machine should stop being used until the water is found. AE on a Styler refers to compressor alignment, part of the sealed refrigeration circuit that dries the garments. A dishwasher owner who reads the top-load explanation will be told to redistribute a load that does not exist while the base pan fills.
PE, and PS
Washers use PE for the pressure sensor that measures water level; on some front-loaders the same fault is shown as E33. Dishwashers use PE for their water level sensor, which is a related idea in a different housing. The Styler does not use PE at all; the code that looks like it, PS, means the supply voltage is outside the range the machine expects, which is a wiring or supply question rather than a water one.
tE
Washers and dishwashers use tE for a temperature sensor fault, a single thermistor. The Styler splits the idea five ways: tE1 is the duct outlet thermistor, tE2 the compressor thermistor, tE3 the duct inlet thermistor, tE4 the steam thermistor and tE5 the evaporator inlet thermistor. A Styler owner told that tE is one sensor will be given the wrong part.
FE
On washers FE is an overfill code, sometimes displayed as E04 or E12, meaning the inlet valve let in more water than the cycle called for. On a dishwasher FE is grouped with AE and EI under leakage and overfilling. The washer version is a valve or sensor question; the dishwasher version may be water on the floor of the machine.
The One Code That Does Agree
CL means the controls are locked on every LG product that displays it. It is the exception.
Numeric Codes Collide Too
LG cooking products speak a separate language of numeric F codes, and F31, F35 and F37 also appear on LG dishwashers, where they concern the heat-dry fan, the heat-dry temperature and the auto-open door. Refrigerators show F1 and F2 as sensor codes. A range F code, a dishwasher F code and a refrigerator F code with the same number have nothing to do with each other.
How to Read a Code Correctly
Start from the machine, not from the letters. Note the exact model number from the rating plate, find the code list LG publishes for that product line, and read the entry there. If the code you see is not on the list for your machine, treat it as unknown rather than borrowing a meaning from a different appliance. When you book an LG dishwasher repair or any other visit, give the model number alongside the code, because that pairing is what tells the technician which of several possible components to bring.