LG UE on a washer dryer
Unbalanced load — the machine could not balance the drum well enough to spin.
You can fix this yourself
No special tools or qualifications needed
About 35 min to work through
Free to £140
DIY: Up to £50 in parts
What UE actually means
The machine made repeated attempts to redistribute the washing and gave up rather than spin out of balance. A single heavy item is the usual trigger, and it is a loading problem rather than a fault in the great majority of cases.
What causes it, most likely first
Single heavy item
Most likelyA duvet or dressing gown soaks up water on one side and cannot be balanced against anything.
Overloaded drum
CommonPacked past capacity the load cannot move enough to redistribute.
Machine not level
CommonA rocking machine hits its safety limits far earlier. Common after the machine has been moved.
How to check: Push down on each front corner — any rock means the feet need adjusting.
Transit bolts still fitted
OccasionalOn a newly delivered machine, transit bolts left in the back prevent the drum moving at all.
Worn suspension or dampers
OccasionalDead dampers let the drum swing past its safe envelope even with a sensible load.
Shock absorbers / dampers£20–£50 for the partDIY with care
How to fix it, step by step
Redistribute by hand
Pull the wet washing apart and spread it evenly round the drum, then run a spin-only cycle.
5 minReduce or bulk out the load
Take out about a third of a full load, or add towels to give a single large item something to balance against.
5 minLevel the machine
Adjust the feet with a spanner until the machine sits solid on all four corners, then lock the nuts.
15 minSpannerCheck for transit bolts if recently delivered
Four bolts with plastic collars on the back panel must be removed before the machine will spin.
10 minSpanner
Need an engineer for this UE?
We list 4 washer dryer repair businesses across the UK, 2 of which are LG-authorised. Diagnostic callouts typically start around £55, and many will put that towards the repair if you go ahead.
- 01823 669616Taunton
- 07958 626261Llanidloes
- 01463 791822Highland Appliance ServicesVerifiedInverness
Parts you might need
Typical UK prices for the part alone, before fitting. Worth knowing before you accept a quote — the part is often a small share of what a repair is priced at.
Shock absorbers / dampers
Damp the drum as it accelerates into a spin. Worn ones let the drum hammer the cabinet on high spin speeds.
£20–£50
Worth repairing, or replace it?
At the top of this range the repair costs a significant share of a graded replacement, which typically starts around £280. Worth getting the quote first, then deciding — on a machine under about five years old a repair usually still wins.