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MAYTAG WASHER · F21 ERROR

Maytag Washer F21 Error Long-Drain Fault — What It Means & How We Fix It

F21 (sometimes shown as F-21, F21E1, or F21E2) on Maytag MHW front-load and certain MVW top-load washers is a long-drain fault — the washer's pressure sensor reported water still in the tub after the drain pump ran for 8 minutes. The platform is shared with Whirlpool Duet / Cabrio, so the diagnosis is identical. It's almost always one of four things, in this order: clogged coin trap / pump debris filter, kinked or clogged drain hose, jammed drain-pump impeller, or a failed drain pump.

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    Call before 2pm for today's route.

  • Every Minneapolis ZIP

    55401–55455. No trip charge.

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    Sealed-system & refrigerant work.

  • 1-year warranty

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Updated June 27, 2026 · Reviewed by service manager

Quick answer

Maytag Washer F21 Repair — Twin Cities — Quick Answer

This is one of our Minneapolis appliance repair service pages — see the hub for pricing and coverage details.

What we fix in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis repair mix

What F21 actually means

F21 is a timed drain fault. The pressure sensor expected the tub to be empty within 8 minutes after the drain pump started. It wasn't. The fault is downstream — the pump is fine until something blocks its inlet (coin trap or impeller) or the drain hose can't carry the flow. The control aborts the cycle and locks the door until the tub empties.

Step 1 — clear the coin trap (50% of calls)

Lower-front of the washer has a small access door. Behind it: a short drain hose (drain to a shallow pan first — there's a quart of residual water in the pump) and a large twist-out filter. Twist counter-clockwise, pull out, clear coins / hair / lint / underwire / kid socks. Rinse and reinstall hand-tight. This single step clears F21 on roughly 1 of every 2 calls — completely free.

Step 2 — check the drain hose at the standpipe

Pull the washer forward, check the drain hose for a kink, a sag holding standing water, or a clog at the standpipe entry. Older Twin Cities homes (Highland Park in Saint Paul, Powderhorn / NE Minneapolis) often have 1.5" cast-iron drain stacks that scale up — pour a 5-gallon bucket of water down the standpipe; if it backs up, the standpipe needs snaking, not a new pump.

Step 3 — jammed impeller or failed pump motor

If the coin trap is clean and the hose is clear, the pump impeller has a foreign object lodged between blade and housing — or the motor windings are open. We pull the drain pump (front-panel access on MHW front-load, back panel on MVW top-load), inspect the impeller, and meter the motor windings. Replace pump if windings are open. $245–$425 all-in.

Why we see Maytag F21 so often in the Twin Cities

Older Twin Cities homes have cast-iron drain stacks that accumulate scale and lint over decades. A pump that runs fine on new PVC throws F21 in a 90-year-old Highland Park or NE Minneapolis home — clearing the standpipe with a small auger is the fix, not a new pump. We always diagnose the drain side before quoting a pump.

From the truck

Field-service notes on washer repair

On washer repair, we keep the diagnostic tight because the failure catalog on this brand is well-documented. Well water in the outer western suburbs (Minnetonka, Wayzata, Orono) adds iron and manganese loading that plugs ice-maker inlet screens and dishwasher wash-arm nozzles inside 18 months without a softener.

Because this page focuses on what f21 actually means, our tech opens the call by isolating that subsystem before touching anything else. Wear parts (belts, pumps, igniters, valves) ship from our truck stock; boards and sealed-system parts are OEM-only from Marcone or the manufacturer's direct distributor. The $149 residential diagnostic is credited toward the repair if you approve; if you don't, you pay only the diagnostic and we leave a written scope. Every completed repair carries a 1-year parts and labor warranty in writing. The section above covers the specific failure surface — f21 is a timed drain fault.

We stock the top-30 wear items for this brand on the truck, so most first-visit repairs close same-day. We're EPA 608 certified for sealed-system and refrigerant work, licensed and insured in Minnesota, and every tech carries a factory diagnostic laptop for brand-specific service modes. If the model is out of parts support, we'll say so on the first call and refund the diagnostic — that's the honest read on a repair-vs-replace decision, and it's the same read we'd give a family member calling about the same washer.

Coverage

Minneapolis neighborhoods we cover

Same-day service routes through every Minneapolis ZIP — no separate trip charge anywhere inside city limits.

Neighborhood deep-dives

Neighborhoods

  • Uptown
  • Northeast Minneapolis
  • Downtown
  • North Loop
  • Mill District
  • Powderhorn
  • Longfellow
  • Linden Hills
  • Kingfield
  • Lyn-Lake
  • Lyndale
  • Whittier
  • Loring Park
  • Cedar-Riverside
  • Marcy-Holmes
  • Como
  • Phillips
  • Standish-Ericsson
  • Seward
  • Prospect Park
  • Nokomis
  • Bryn Mawr
  • Fulton
  • Tangletown
  • Armatage
  • Windom
  • Diamond Lake
  • Audubon Park
  • Sheridan
  • St. Anthony East
  • St. Anthony West
  • Logan Park
  • Holland
  • Columbia Park
  • Waite Park
  • Webber-Camden
  • Folwell
  • Jordan
  • Hawthorne
  • Near North
  • Harrison
  • Cedar-Isles-Dean
  • East Isles
  • ECCO
  • Lowry Hill
  • Lowry Hill East
  • Stevens Square
  • Elliot Park
  • Kenwood
  • Lake of the Isles
  • Lake Harriet
  • Lake Calhoun / Bde Maka Ska

ZIP codes

55401, 55402, 55403, 55404, 55405, 55406, 55407, 55408, 55409, 55410, 55411, 55412, 55413, 55414, 55415, 55416, 55417, 55418, 55419, 55454, 55455

Response windows

Drive times from our Minneapolis hub

Same-day windows are based on truck position at the time you call. The matrix below reflects typical mid-day response from our 222 E Hennepin hub.

CityDrive timeSame-day cutoff
Minneapolis (city)0–20 minDaily, call before 2pm
St. Paul15–25 minDaily, call before 2pm
Edina15–20 minDaily, call before 2pm
Bloomington20–25 minDaily, call before 1pm
Eden Prairie20–30 minDaily, call before 1pm
Maple Grove20–30 minDaily, call before 1pm
Plymouth20–25 minDaily, call before 1pm
Roseville15–20 minDaily, call before 2pm
Woodbury25–35 minDaily, call before 12pm
Golden Valley10–15 minDaily, call before 2pm

FAQ

Minneapolis questions, answered

  • What does F21 mean on a Maytag washer?

    F21 is a long-drain fault — the washer couldn't empty within 8 minutes. The cause is downstream: clogged coin trap (most common), kinked drain hose, jammed pump impeller, or failed pump motor.

  • How do I reset a Maytag F21 error?

    Cancel the cycle (hold Pause/Cancel 3 seconds), unplug for 60 seconds, plug back in, run a Drain & Spin cycle. If the cycle completes, F21 was a one-time fault. If F21 returns, clear the coin trap behind the lower-front access door before anything else.

  • Where is the coin trap on a Maytag washer?

    Lower-front of the cabinet behind a small access door (MHW front-load) or behind the back panel (MVW top-load). Twist counter-clockwise to remove. Lay a shallow pan and a towel — there's residual water in the pump housing.

  • How much does it cost to fix Maytag F21?

    Free if the coin trap or drain hose is the cause. $245–$345 if the pump impeller is jammed by a foreign object. $285–$425 if the pump motor is failed. Twin Cities flat $149 trip fee is credited toward the repair.

  • Is F21 the same as F2 E1 or F21E1?

    Yes — same fault. Older Maytag firmware shows F21 / F-21; newer firmware shows F2 E1 or F21E1. Identical diagnosis.

  • Does F21 apply to Whirlpool washers too?

    Yes — Whirlpool Duet front-load and Cabrio top-load washers share the Maytag platform and throw the same F21 fault. Diagnosis and fix are identical.

Related Minneapolis repair pages

What will this cost?

Pricing & repair-cost pages

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Book washer repair in Minneapolis

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