Maytag Washer Not Spinning: 16 of 40 Were the Hub, Not the Transmission

A Maytag washer that fills and washes but will not spin leaves you pulling out soaking clothes. On a top-loader, the washer has to shift out of agitate and the drive has to carry the basket around with it. If any link in that chain fails, the basket just sits there. Sometimes a code comes up with it, but only seven of the forty records below note a code at all.

So rather than start with a code, start with what these actually turned out to be. Here is how my last forty not-spinning Maytags in Stark County broke down.

What it really was, forty times

• Sixteen of forty — the hub that connects the basket to the drive. That total adds every hub entry in my records: five stripped spin basket hubs, four failed drive hubs, two stripped drive hubs, and one each of a stripped spin hub, a stripped drive hub, a stripped basket hub, a stripped basket drive hub and a failed spin hub. Thirteen were repaired with a new hub. Three owners chose to replace the washer instead; on one of those I also found a worn basket bushing.
• Seven of forty — the transmission. Six transmission failures, plus one where the transmission and the shift actuator had both failed. Two were repaired with a new transmission. On the other five the transmission had company — bearings, a spin hub, a wash plate, an actuator or the shifter — and all five owners replaced the washer.
• Four of forty — the shift actuator. Three shift actuators plus one shifter. All four repaired.
• Four of forty — the motor side. Two drive motors (one got a motor and belts; the other needed a bearing kit, rotor, stator and rotor position sensor), one broken wire at the motor that I repaired, and one failed motor control board on a machine that would not fill or spin. That owner replaced the washer.
• Four of forty — older Maytags (model numbers starting MAV, and one Performa). Two thrust bearing kits, one with a motor tightener spring and one with a belt, one drive belt, and one set of failed tub bearings on a machine that could not be taken apart without destroying the basket.
• Five of forty — one each: a splutch assembly, a drain pump, a lid switch, a pressure sensor kit that did not solve the problem, and one washer that was running correctly by the time I arrived.

Put the hub, transmission and shift actuator groups together and that is twenty-seven of forty in the drive under the basket. That shapes what is worth your time before you call.

What you can safely check first — and the odds

Unplug the washer before you reach into it or move it. Then look at three things.

• Is there water left in the tub? A washer will not spin a tub it cannot drain, so standing water points at the drain side first. Separately, one of my forty not-spinning jobs was fixed with a new drain pump.
• Does the lid close and latch firmly? Clear anything caught at the lid and close it properly. Never tape or defeat the lid switch. A failed lid switch was one of forty.
• Unplug it for a minute, plug it back in, and run a drain and spin with a small load. One of my forty was working fine when I got there.

Do those; they are free. But be realistic: they line up with roughly three of forty, and two of those three still needed a part. If the lid latches, nothing is left in the tub and it still will not spin, the odds say the problem is mechanical and under the basket.

The check that tells a cheap fix from an expensive one

On these washers the whole job turns on one question: is the hub the only worn part, or is the transmission going too?

A stripped hub means the splines that lock the basket to the drive have worn smooth, so the drive turns without taking the basket along. That is a contained repair — thirteen of my sixteen hub jobs ended with the washer back in service. A failed transmission is a different conversation. Only two of my seven were repaired; on the rest the transmission had other parts failing alongside it, and every one of those owners replaced the machine.

You cannot tell those apart from the code alone. I take the wash plate or agitator off, look at the hub, and check whether the transmission and shifter are doing their jobs. On several of these I also ran the calibration afterward so the control relearned the machine. That inspection keeps you from paying for a transmission when a hub would have done it, or for a hub on a washer about to need everything.

What the codes told me

The code did not name the part. F51 came up twice and was two different jobs: one was the drive motor, fixed with the bearing kit, rotor, stator and rotor position sensor. On the other I replaced the pressure sensor kit and it did not cure it — that owner replaced the washer. I would rather tell you that than pretend every swap works. F7E1, F7E6, F7E7, F41 and SD each appeared once, and all five were drive problems: transmission and bearings, a hub, a wash plate with the transmission, a stripped hub with a worn bushing, and a stripped basket hub. Treat the code as where the washer noticed trouble, not as the diagnosis.

Same complaint, different Maytag

If your Maytag model number starts with MAV, or it is an older Performa, it is a different machine underneath. On those the not-spinning jobs were thrust bearings and belts, and they were good repairs. The exception was the one with failed tub bearings, where the basket could not come apart without being destroyed. Check the model tag before you read about fixes.

What it costs

The service call is $167 for a top-loader and $187 for a front-loader, a little more outside the regular route, and it comes off the repair when you go ahead. You get a flat-rate quote before any work starts, and labor is covered for six months. If I find a hub job on a washer that is otherwise sound, I will say so. If I find a transmission with company, I will tell you that too, and let you decide.

Lid latched, tub empty, and the Maytag still will not spin? Schedule online any time, or call or text (330) 693-9163.