Miele extended warranties have a clause limiting amount of washing you can do
Miele’s extended parts and labour warranties contain a 10,000 operating hour limit. Claims will not be covered if the breakdown is attributed to use exceeding this threshold. For typical domestic use this limit is very difficult to reach, but high-volume households and anyone using a Miele in a semi-commercial setting should be aware of it. Always read the full terms before registering for extended cover.
Warranty terms and promotional offers change over time. The details in this article reflect the terms as understood at time of writing. Always verify the current terms and conditions directly with Miele before purchase and when registering for extended cover.
The 10,000 Operating Hour Clause
Miele’s extended parts and labour warranties include the following limitation:
“Miele will not bear costs for repairs where appliance breakdown is due to use that extends 10,000 operating hours.”
Miele extended warranty terms and conditions
The clause is primarily designed to exclude commercial and semi-commercial use – a washing machine run at a nursing home, pub, or similar high-volume setting would exhaust 10,000 hours far more quickly than a domestic machine. However, the clause also technically applies to domestic users with genuinely high wash volumes.
How Quickly Can 10,000 Hours Be Reached?
Operating hours limit on Miele extended 10-year warranty
Approximate wash frequency needed to reach the limit over 10 years (based on a standard 40-degree cotton cycle)
Approximate frequency needed to exhaust the limit within a 5-year warranty period
Every wash cycle is recorded by the machine’s software – Miele engineers can read the exact operating hours via diagnostic connection
For the majority of domestic households, reaching 10,000 operating hours within a 10-year warranty period would require an unusually high wash frequency. A household running 20 washes per week every week for 10 years approaches the limit. Most families wash considerably less than this.
A large family, or anyone who washes above average for other reasons, is more at risk of approaching the 10,000 hour limit than a typical household. If this describes the intended use, it is worth raising the operating hour clause directly with Miele before purchasing, and keeping track of usage over the warranty period.
The Anomaly on 5-Year Warranties
The 10,000 operating hour limit appears in both the 5-year and 10-year Miele warranty documentation, despite this being the same figure for different periods of cover. To exhaust a 5-year warranty on the basis of this clause would require running approximately 40 washes per week for five years – an extremely high usage level for a domestic machine. The limit therefore presents a negligible practical risk for the 5-year warranty, and the more realistic concern is concentrated in the 10-year extended cover.
The Tumble Dryer Offer Condition
Miele’s extended warranty offer on tumble dryers has historically carried an important purchasing condition: the 5-year tumble dryer cover is only activated if the tumble dryer is purchased at the same time as a qualifying Miele washing machine. A dryer purchased separately, even if it is the same model, does not qualify for the extended dryer cover under this offer.
Promotional warranty offers are time-limited and the specific conditions can change between offers. The combined purchase requirement described above reflects terms as understood at time of writing. Confirm the exact conditions of any current Miele extended warranty offer at the point of purchase, and retain all proof of purchase documentation required for registration.
Related Guides
Miele Washing MachinesWhy Miele remains the benchmark for build quality and longevity in the UK washing machine market.
Downsides to Miele Washing MachinesThe practical limitations and considerations alongside the well-known quality advantages.
5-Year Parts Guarantees ExplainedWhat extended guarantees actually cover – and the important difference between parts-only and parts and labour.
Should a Washing Machine Be Serviced Regularly?Whether routine servicing extends machine life – relevant for high-value machines like Miele.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 10,000 hour limit on Miele warranties?
Miele’s extended parts and labour warranties state that repairs will not be covered if the breakdown is attributed to use exceeding 10,000 operating hours. This is designed primarily to exclude commercial use. For typical domestic households, reaching this limit within a 10-year warranty period would require running approximately 20 washes per week for the full 10 years – well above average domestic use for most families.
Does Miele know how many washes my machine has done?
Yes. Miele washing machines log every cycle via the machine’s software. Miele engineers can connect to the machine diagnostically and read the exact operating hours accumulated since purchase. This data can be used when assessing whether a warranty claim falls within or outside the operating hour limit.
Can I get Miele’s extended tumble dryer warranty if I didn’t buy a washing machine at the same time?
Based on the terms described in this article, the extended tumble dryer warranty offer is only available when the dryer is purchased simultaneously with a qualifying Miele washing machine. A dryer purchased separately does not qualify. However, Miele’s warranty offers change over time – verify the current terms directly with Miele at the point of purchase.
15 Comments
Grouped into 9 comment threads.
3 replies 7 years, bearing failure (I actually think the frame rather than bearings as the drum still rotates smoothly but is at an angle in the outer drum), c3500 hours, 10 year warranty. I'll report back... What occurs regarding the 10k hours limit is that wash cycle times are getting ever longer - the 40C eco cotton wash (which I think actually washes at 30C) that we use most often is over 3 hours long now... (it's not that far in the past a standard cycle used to be less than an hour)
1 reply My washing machine went wrong, engineer called, beyond economical repair. 7 years old 3000 Hrs of use but it had a 10 year warranty stated on the sales invoice, I have sent this to Miele. Miele have refused to replace the machine saying unless I can produce the written warranty with its terms and conditions they will only give me 50 per cent off a new machine. To say I am angry is an understatement
My washing machine went wrong, engineer called, beyond economical repair. 7 years old 3000 Hrs of use but it had a 10 year warranty stated on the sales invoice, I have sent this to Miele. Miele have refused to replace the machine saying unless I can produce the written warranty with its terms and conditions they will only give me 50 per cent off a new machine. To say I am angry is an understatement
This sounds more like a dispute over whether the washing machine is under guarantee are not. Presumably Miele will be thinking that that model did not have a 10 year guarantee so are asking you to prove it. However, the bigger point is that you have a Miele washing machine that is only seven years old and Miele have said it is too expensive to repair. Regardless of whether or not there was a 10 year warranty this is extremely sad to see. It should never happen. I don’t understand what is wrong with Miele in allowing this situation to happen. They don’t seem to understand that once it becomes more common knowledge that Miele washing machines can be scrapped after seven years because they are too expensive to repair their entire point of existing becomes fatally undermined.
Many people may be persuaded to pay hundreds of pounds more for a washing machine, maybe even double the price, if they believe that it will last more than twice as long. Once they start to lose faith in that it’s the beginning of the end for Miele :(
1 reply So I am a Miele junkie and am now on my 3rd washing machine. My first put up noble resistance but died by bearing failure after 11 years, not under warranty but I paid for an engineer visit and they confirmed the bearings had indeed killed the beast. It was the first time I had the revelation that hrs usage was monitored as they confirmed the machine had actually run 10,500 hrs. all in all excellent service, no complaints and I do not recall the 10,000 hr clause being highlighted but I did not think it material as the machine was long out of warranty. After the visit I then elected to purchase a new Miele direct (they discounted the engineer visit cost from the purchase price and offered a 10 year warranty as part of a promo). Fully cogent of the 10,000 hr limitation (clearly explained by the engineer on his visit) This machine gave 8 years noble service but then started behaving badly. As it was still in warranty I requested a visit from the Miele engineer. He was amazed that unbelievably the bearings had failed (Never seen that - apparently) and also that this machine was lightly used, it only had 5,300 hours usage (the kids were at university now!). However after this excellent service this is where Miele let themselves down..... as the machine was beyond economical repair Miele customer service offered me a 50% discount against a new machine (which I refused), this was increased to 75% (which I again refused), Miele then insisted on copies of the warranty certificate (which I have) and the terms (which I also have), It felt that they were looking for a loophole to escape their obligations and were trying everything in their power to decline the warranty. My machine was purchased direct from Miele, had a Miele certificate of Warranty (they are now covered by the insurer Domestic & General in the UK) and had been delivered, installed and serviced by Miele. Eventually after a week of 'to and fro; Miele agreed to replace my lightly used mid-level machine with an entry level machine. I was not happy but accepted this offer as I had been 2 weeks without a machine. In the end the entry level machine was out of stock so Miele actually replaced with a model more aligned with the one which had failed. Great machines but the interaction with customer service left my Miele experience tarnished. In the end we reached a settlement unfortunately I think what was a great opportunity for Miele to cement my loyalty but the experience completely missed the mark. Shame.
So I am a Miele junkie and am now on my 3rd washing machine. My first put up noble resistance but died by bearing failure after 11 years, not under warranty but I paid for an engineer visit and they confirmed the bearings had indeed killed the beast. It was the first time I had the revelation that hrs usage was monitored as they confirmed the machine had actually run 10,500 hrs. all in all excellent service, no complaints and I do not recall the 10,000 hr clause being highlighted but I did not think it material as the machine was long out of warranty.
After the visit I then elected to purchase a new Miele direct (they discounted the engineer visit cost from the purchase price and offered a 10 year warranty as part of a promo). Fully cogent of the 10,000 hr limitation (clearly explained by the engineer on his visit) This machine gave 8 years noble service but then started behaving badly. As it was still in warranty I requested a visit from the Miele engineer. He was amazed that unbelievably the bearings had failed (Never seen that – apparently) and also that this machine was lightly used, it only had 5,300 hours usage (the kids were at university now!).
However after this excellent service this is where Miele let themselves down….. as the machine was beyond economical repair Miele customer service offered me a 50% discount against a new machine (which I refused), this was increased to 75% (which I again refused), Miele then insisted on copies of the warranty certificate (which I have) and the terms (which I also have), It felt that they were looking for a loophole to escape their obligations and were trying everything in their power to decline the warranty. My machine was purchased direct from Miele, had a Miele certificate of Warranty (they are now covered by the insurer Domestic & General in the UK) and had been delivered, installed and serviced by Miele. Eventually after a week of ‘to and fro; Miele agreed to replace my lightly used mid-level machine with an entry level machine. I was not happy but accepted this offer as I had been 2 weeks without a machine. In the end the entry level machine was out of stock so Miele actually replaced with a model more aligned with the one which had failed.
Great machines but the interaction with customer service left my Miele experience tarnished. In the end we reached a settlement unfortunately I think what was a great opportunity for Miele to cement my loyalty but the experience completely missed the mark. Shame.
Likely replying to SavvyBoy
Hello SavvyBoy. I’m pretty sure that Miele used to cover their own warranties but some years ago, for reasons I’m unaware of, they went into partnership with domestic and general. Once you involve a third party it obviously puts up prices and gives control over to them.
Miele washing machines at only 10 years old being beyond economical repair is the start of potential demise of Miele in my opinion. That fundamentally undermines the main reason people pay three or four times the cost of a normal washing machine for one.
1 reply Is there any way I can find out how many hours my machine has done? Without calling out a technician?
0 replies This is very interesting. I have recently called out the Miele engineer to my almost 10 year old machine. He said it was no longer covered due to the 10,000 hours clause. I looked at my paperwork and there is NO MENTION of this. It must be a new wording, does anyone know when it was introduced?. I am now in correspondence with the insurers (not Miele) as I consider I am due a new machine under the terms of my policy. 10,000 hours seems a crazy limit anyway. There are 3 people in my family and although we use the machine most days like any normal family, I would not consider our usage to be excessive.
This is very interesting. I have recently called out the Miele engineer to my almost 10 year old machine. He said it was no longer covered due to the 10,000 hours clause. I looked at my paperwork and there is NO MENTION of this. It must be a new wording, does anyone know when it was introduced?. I am now in correspondence with the insurers (not Miele) as I consider I am due a new machine under the terms of my policy. 10,000 hours seems a crazy limit anyway. There are 3 people in my family and although we use the machine most days like any normal family, I would not consider our usage to be excessive.
0 replies Many thanks Murphy. You contribution is very welcome. Hope you stick around. Andy
Many thanks Murphy. You contribution is very welcome. Hope you stick around.
Andy
0 replies Hi guys, Without giving too much away I have inside info! The 10,000 hours is correct. All the retailers should know this and should mention it I guess. Put into context though, it is a hell of a lot lot of washing! I can confirm that it counts the hours it has exactly run up, so includes shorter wash times and different programmes of different lengths, so it is accurate. I recently went to a machine of a lady that has a handicapped daughter and the machine is 'thrashed'. The FIRST call out to it, we had to clean out all the pipework as it was blocked and giving performance problems as well as a couple of fault codes, no big deal, but we also found the motor faulty (commutator problems) and on checking it had done 19,000 hours! I had to go again recently, 18 months later and it has now clocked 26,500 hours. Now in all honesty how many machines would get near that? She has no complaints and I worked out that's 8.5 hours washing a day - It's less than 5 years old just but she has had her moneys worth, all her prevoius machines lasted no longer than 18 months. I have lots of input I need to get of my chest, but I'll save it for another day. I have worked on Miele machines since I was 16 ( as a trainee) in an independant dealers specialising in Miele and now for the 'Company' direct. We do have our faults as all companies do, but the laundry products and dishwashers are basically excellent, you cannot get a better machine in my opinion . Thanks
Hi guys,
Without giving too much away I have inside info!
The 10,000 hours is correct. All the retailers should know this and should mention it I guess. Put into context though, it is a hell of a lot lot of washing! I can confirm that it counts the hours it has exactly run up, so includes shorter wash times and different programmes of different lengths, so it is accurate.
I recently went to a machine of a lady that has a handicapped daughter and the machine is ‘thrashed’.
The FIRST call out to it, we had to clean out all the pipework as it was blocked and giving performance problems as well as a couple of fault codes, no big deal, but we also found the motor faulty (commutator problems) and on checking it had done 19,000 hours! I had to go again recently, 18 months later and it has now clocked 26,500 hours. Now in all honesty how many machines would get near that? She has no complaints and I worked out that’s 8.5 hours washing a day – It’s less than 5 years old just but she has had her moneys worth, all her prevoius machines lasted no longer than 18 months.
I have lots of input I need to get of my chest, but I’ll save it for another day. I have worked on Miele machines since I was 16 ( as a trainee) in an independant dealers specialising in Miele and now for the ‘Company’ direct. We do have our faults as all companies do, but the laundry products and dishwashers are basically excellent, you cannot get a better machine in my opinion .
Thanks
0 replies Mick: You make some interesting points. The term they use is "usage hours", so I would assume all the time the washing machine is in use (regardless of what programme is used) it is counting the seconds. So it's likely to be the literal amount of time the washing machine has been running. I presume the clock stops ticking when it's on crease guard (on delicates) where it holds the laundry in water indefinitely until the user impulses it onto spin as that would seriously skew the figures. I'd be amazed if they hadn't figured that out though. I've asked a contact I have at Miele about that and will come back on it if I get the answer. Regarding can they limit the guarantee like that? My following thoughts are based on my assumption that there would be a difference in the extent of consumer rights over something that was given free, and something a consumer paid for. On the one hand a company offering a "free" extended guarantee should have the right to dictate the terms - after all, it's free, so we should be grateful for any cover at all. On the the hand though, if I bought a product which was being sold, with a 10 year guarantee I might assume it's part of the contract, it may well be factored into the price of the product and technically I would feel I've paid for it. My reasoning is that if you buy a product with a 10 year guarantee, unless you are told at the point of sale that there are specific unpredictable limitations to the guarantee such as fair usage stipulations most people would expect that the product is fully covered for 10 years regardless of how much you use it as long as they aren't using it commercially or abusing it. In a way this could be similar to the controversy over mobile phone and broadband networks selling products with unlimited texts or unlimited broadband, which are not actually unlimited and have hidden usage limitations that are only discovered after purchase. If one of the main reasons I purchased a particular product was because it had a 10 year guarantee and was prepared to pay extra for that model I might be upset if I subsequently discovered I should have bought the cheaper one with only 5 year guarantee because I'm a heavy user and didn't know about the usage restriction until I'd already paid for the product. So are the extended guarantees free - or paid for? As the sole purpose of these extended guarantee promotions is to help persuade consumers to buy (and invariably only on the top priced models) one could try to argue that the cost of the extended guarantee is factored into the price of the product. Therefore when buying a model with an extended guarantee it might be fair to believe you are also paying extra for the guarantee. Having said that, if these promotions are regularly withdrawn and reintroduced, which I know they are - and the price doesn't go up when the extra guarantees are added (which I don't know) then Miele could argue they are genuinely free. My feeling on this is that Miele, as a premium brand, do not want to devalue their product by having sales and reducing prices, so when they want to promote and stimulate extra sales they add extra value by giving the extra guarantees. Therefore it's feasible that they are genuinely free additional extras in which case we may have fewer consumer rights over how they apply them. This would depend on prices not going up or down in tandem with the offers, which I'm not aware of one way or the other. Only a consumer expert could answer this particular point, or even confirm if my line of thought is accurate or not. Regarding the terms and conditions Miele do state clearly on their guarantee registration page that the guarantee is subject to terms and conditions and that they should be read before registering. They provide a prominent link to do so - You may be liable for the cost of a service visit if the appliance does not qualify under the conditions outlined" On the terms and conditions page, which is a single page and fairly straight forward to read it does say that Miele will not bear the cost for breakdowns due to Use that extends 10,000 operating hours Summary Miele make the usage restrictions clear but only after you've bought the appliance when it's too late. If it's genuinely a free extra, we maybe shouldn't complain, but is it? The main problem as I see it is that you do not find out about the fair usage policy until it's too late and you've already purchased the appliance. Therefore you may be able to argue it's an unfair restriction or that you would never have bought it if you'd known. With the latter your argument would have to be with the retailer you bought it from and not Miele (under the Sale of Goods Act) although Miele could well chose to waive the restriction if they felt it was in their interest to keep their customer happy. To be fair, as pointed out in my main article, this restriction should affect only a small minority of people but it clearly does affect some, and it's unclear how those people should deal with the issue. It may well be that even Trading Standards wont have a definitive answer unless someone has brought a test case, but I'll try to get one.
Mick: You make some interesting points. The term they use is “usage hours”, so I would assume all the time the washing machine is in use (regardless of what programme is used) it is counting the seconds. So it’s likely to be the literal amount of time the washing machine has been running.
I presume the clock stops ticking when it’s on crease guard (on delicates) where it holds the laundry in water indefinitely until the user impulses it onto spin as that would seriously skew the figures. I’d be amazed if they hadn’t figured that out though. I’ve asked a contact I have at Miele about that and will come back on it if I get the answer.
Regarding can they limit the guarantee like that?
My following thoughts are based on my assumption that there would be a difference in the extent of consumer rights over something that was given free, and something a consumer paid for.
On the one hand a company offering a “free” extended guarantee should have the right to dictate the terms – after all, it’s free, so we should be grateful for any cover at all. On the the hand though, if I bought a product which was being sold, with a 10 year guarantee I might assume it’s part of the contract, it may well be factored into the price of the product and technically I would feel I’ve paid for it.
My reasoning is that if you buy a product with a 10 year guarantee, unless you are told at the point of sale that there are specific unpredictable limitations to the guarantee such as fair usage stipulations most people would expect that the product is fully covered for 10 years regardless of how much you use it as long as they aren’t using it commercially or abusing it.
In a way this could be similar to the controversy over mobile phone and broadband networks selling products with unlimited texts or unlimited broadband, which are not actually unlimited and have hidden usage limitations that are only discovered after purchase.
If one of the main reasons I purchased a particular product was because it had a 10 year guarantee and was prepared to pay extra for that model I might be upset if I subsequently discovered I should have bought the cheaper one with only 5 year guarantee because I’m a heavy user and didn’t know about the usage restriction until I’d already paid for the product.
So are the extended guarantees free – or paid for?
As the sole purpose of these extended guarantee promotions is to help persuade consumers to buy (and invariably only on the top priced models) one could try to argue that the cost of the extended guarantee is factored into the price of the product. Therefore when buying a model with an extended guarantee it might be fair to believe you are also paying extra for the guarantee.
Having said that, if these promotions are regularly withdrawn and reintroduced, which I know they are – and the price doesn’t go up when the extra guarantees are added (which I don’t know) then Miele could argue they are genuinely free.
My feeling on this is that Miele, as a premium brand, do not want to devalue their product by having sales and reducing prices, so when they want to promote and stimulate extra sales they add extra value by giving the extra guarantees. Therefore it’s feasible that they are genuinely free additional extras in which case we may have fewer consumer rights over how they apply them. This would depend on prices not going up or down in tandem with the offers, which I’m not aware of one way or the other.
Only a consumer expert could answer this particular point, or even confirm if my line of thought is accurate or not.
Regarding the terms and conditions
Miele do state clearly on their guarantee registration page that the guarantee is subject to terms and conditions and that they should be read before registering. They provide a prominent link to do so –
You may be liable for the cost of a service visit if the appliance does not qualify under the conditions outlined”
On the terms and conditions page, which is a single page and fairly straight forward to read it does say that Miele will not bear the cost for breakdowns due to Use that extends 10,000 operating hours
Summary
Miele make the usage restrictions clear but only after you’ve bought the appliance when it’s too late. If it’s genuinely a free extra, we maybe shouldn’t complain, but is it?
The main problem as I see it is that you do not find out about the fair usage policy until it’s too late and you’ve already purchased the appliance. Therefore you may be able to argue it’s an unfair restriction or that you would never have bought it if you’d known. With the latter your argument would have to be with the retailer you bought it from and not Miele (under the Sale of Goods Act) although Miele could well chose to waive the restriction if they felt it was in their interest to keep their customer happy.
To be fair, as pointed out in my main article, this restriction should affect only a small minority of people but it clearly does affect some, and it’s unclear how those people should deal with the issue. It may well be that even Trading Standards wont have a definitive answer unless someone has brought a test case, but I’ll try to get one.
0 replies We have the 10 yr guarantee on a washing machine which has just had a repair at 3 year 9 months old. The engineer said it had done 6000 hours, so would bust the 10000 hours in about 6 1/2 years. This is a domestic home of 5 bedrooms with 6 people so is not comercial in use. Therefore 10000 hours IS proving to be unreasonable when we are on target for 15000 hours. Also what information is there on how the on board computer actually calculated wash time? Are smaller loads still counted on a 1hr 52 min cycle time which actually reduced to an hour? Are aborted washes still counted as the time for that wash? Just how accurate is it? If we are held to a fixed maximum number of hours we need to see that usage rate and be confident it is being fairly calculated. With a car warranty of say 6 years 60000 miles, we see ourselves how miles build up and can then easily confirm that it is accurate.
We have the 10 yr guarantee on a washing machine which has just had a repair at 3 year 9 months old. The engineer said it had done 6000 hours, so would bust the 10000 hours in about 6 1/2 years. This is a domestic home of 5 bedrooms with 6 people so is not comercial in use. Therefore 10000 hours IS proving to be unreasonable when we are on target for 15000 hours.
Also what information is there on how the on board computer actually calculated wash time? Are smaller loads still counted on a 1hr 52 min cycle time which actually reduced to an hour? Are aborted washes still counted as the time for that wash? Just how accurate is it? If we are held to a fixed maximum number of hours we need to see that usage rate and be confident it is being fairly calculated. With a car warranty of say 6 years 60000 miles, we see ourselves how miles build up and can then easily confirm that it is accurate.
7 years, bearing failure (I actually think the frame rather than bearings as the drum still rotates smoothly but is at an angle in the outer drum), c3500 hours, 10 year warranty. I’ll report back…
What occurs regarding the 10k hours limit is that wash cycle times are getting ever longer – the 40C eco cotton wash (which I think actually washes at 30C) that we use most often is over 3 hours long now… (it’s not that far in the past a standard cycle used to be less than an hour)
Hello Simon. You make an excellent point regarding the length of modern wash cycles affecting the built-in limit. If they haven’t done so already, it should definitely be increased to reflect longer wash times, especially on eco-wash cycles.
So engineer came, declared it beyond economic repair. Miele replaced without question (with an upgraded model as the closest equivalent was out of stock for a few weeks). Replacement comes with 2 year warranty.
That’s excellent news.