MDBH980AWW0 Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

I Followed others' instructions already posted to replace the whole handle assembly. In particular, use a big screwdriver placed against the bottom of the handle and whack the grip with the palm of your hand to get the handle to move back to the open position so you can open the door and start the job. I am no handyman, but this fix was easy, about 30 minutes in all, most of which was spent figuring out which breaker to pull so as not to get shocked. One note of caution: use the correct screwdriver attachment (not a Phillips head or regular, but a star or something- see I am not a handyman but I do have a $15 screwdriver set that just paid for itself 10 times over!).

Remove the 8 or 9 torx screws holding the inner and outer door assembly together (leave the bottom screws in), lift the old handle assembly out, transfer the switches to the new handle assembly, and reassemble door.

I ordered the part and snapped it on. It was so easy to find the part on the website and it came very quickly. I am a satisfied customer!

remove torq scew from edge of inside of door and seperate plastic inner panel from out steel and then pull up on plastci unscrew 2 screw securing handle and reverse to assemble. Anyone can door this in under 10 mins.

This repair was fairly quick and easy. The parts are much better made than the stock Maytag. The parts from PartSelect came lightening quick! Never used before, always Sears, but will ALWAYS use from now on!
So, first, make super sure all power is disconnected. Then take the torx and remove all the screws on interior front cover - the top center two actually hold the latch assembly and handle. Once all are removed, I propped the cover up and left all wiring connected. I removed the switches connected to the old latch assembly and just removed the new switches from the new latch assembly, and popped the old ones onto the new latch assembly. Now have new switches if the old ones ever wear out.
The latch assembly just pops out from what should be two sets of plastic peg clips molded into the black control panel back. Mine were busted on one side. So I molded some jb weld on the remaining sides to the pegs on the latch assembly and then screwed all back together (the controls on the panel are fine, not spending $85 if I can get away with sticking it...and the upper center two screws do the most of the holding anyway).
Works great again. I really am ultra impressed with the HUGE difference in reinforcement that the new handle has. If Maytag would have built it that way to begin with, should not have broke. Anyway, if you are here just checking to see if you can do and how much parts are, place the order - it is no problem and cheap, and will probably never give up and break again.

For probably a year I have been using my dishwasher with a broken handle. I would just pull the door out with a little bit of force to open it. Still I was concerned it would eventually break something else. After reading other people's experience with replacing it, it didn't sound like such a difficult repair and the part was less than 30 dollars counting shipping. Incidently, PartSelect ships fast so make sure you order the right part. I ordered the part Friday afternoon and got it the next day! And I didn't use overnight shipping. Sweet!
Here are the steps for repair.
1) Turned off power to dishwasher.
2) Removed all the screws on the inside of the door then shifted the panel over so I could get to the top.
3) The bottom of the latch assembly attaches to the control panel with two flimsy plastic notches and at the top with two of the screws that hold that back panel in place. (For me, I found that those flimsy notches had broken. I was concerned that I would have to buy a whole new control panel which was ~175.00 dollars. Yikes! Luckily the two screws at the top and the door panel behind it seem to be holding it in place.)
4) There are two pairs of metal prongs that plug into a white connectors on either side of the latch assembly. I had to use pliers to pinch the metal prongs together while wiggling the connector get it unplugged. This was the hardest part. (It would have been easier to just reuse the same metal plugs. Someone else did that and it seemed to work.) Be sure to note which side of the latch assemply the two connectors was plugged in to.
5) Plug the 2 white connectors to the new latch assembly.
6) Lay the latch assembly in place on the door.
7) Put the back panel down over it and screw it in place.
8) Turn on power.

Works perfectly!

First - Make sure electricity to the dishwasher is turned off. Very important for there are exposed electrical connectors in the location where you will be making the repair. Second - removed the inner door liner. Removal is by unscrewing the tork screws around the perimeter of the assembly (when you take this inner door liner/cover be careful because the door weight dynamics change and you will need to somehow put a weight on the door to keep it open. Becareful here the metal of the door is very thin and can be damaged if not careful when placing the counter weight - you will see what I mean). Third - disconnect the electrical wires from the door latching assembly micro-switches. Do this by unplugging the connector from the switches - be advised, the connections are tight and takes some effort to unplug (again - make sure you have turned the electricity off to the dishwasher, there are exposed electrical connectors - very important!!!). Forth - remove the door latching assembly. This is done by removing two screws. The new part that I ordered came with the handle, latching unit and two new micro switches - which made the repair easy. Fifth - Re-install the new handle/latching unit assembly. Reconnect the "plugs" for the two micro-switches (make sure you make the right connection of plug to micro-switch). Reinstall the inner door liner/cover (be careful that the bottom part of the inner liner is properly aligned/mated with the lower section of where the door actually meets the dishwasher itself, it has to be properly fitted in order for the door to open and close properly and not leak). Once all is together and the door opens and closes properly, turn on the power and operate the machine. Look for any leaks during operation.

First, I researched the part on this website and found the suitable replacement part...the number is different from the original Maytag part. I placed the order and the part arrived quickly. Then I used the appropriate driver to loosen the 11 screws that are around the inside of the door. I pulled up on the plastic panel to gain access to the handle and latch assembly and the old handle fell out as well as the latch assembly. I took off the electrical clips(this was the hardest part....you have to pull hard) and re-attached them to the new part. I put the handle and latch assembly in place-they come together as a single unit which makes it far easier to replace than just the handle alone-and then re-posistioned the plastic inner door, and finally tightened the screws. Shut the door and opened to test. Done deal. No problem.

1.Turn of electric
2. Open dishwasher door
3. Remove scres for interior door cover
4. Lift and move the interior door cover to right
5. Use Pliers to pull off connectors of Latch
6. Use Pliers to attach replacement latch
7. Lay interior door cover back on door and line up with screw holes. Make sure you have the bottom lip over the bottom of exterior door by hinges. Bottom lip goes inside the dishwasher.
8. Put back in screws - not all the way and tighten snug (do not over tighen) once all are in place.
9. turn on power.
10. Done!

30 Minutes tops!

Most of the time was spent pulling out the dishwasher from under the counter, as a new tile floor had been installed after the DW was installed.

Great pictures of components on this website confirmed what part to order.

Shut off water feed to DW and disconnect power to DW.

Unplug wire connector to old valve (solenoid) and disconnect water inlet hose. Observe that valve is attached to sheet metal bracket.

Remove bracket, with valve attached. Don't remove valve from bracket. New valve comes with sheet metal bracket.

Remove female threaded adaptor (brass) from back of old valve and screw on to new valve using Teflon tape. That is the only piece you need to reuse.

Attached the new bracket (with valve attached) to DW. Attach water inlet hose. Attach plug to new valve.

Turn on water to DW. Check for leaks. Retighten hose connection if required. Run dishwasher. Keep lower panel off for a couple of days to be certain no leaks develop.

Had this problem before and the part was simply a plastic latch which cost less than 5 dollars. That part has been discontinued and the latch is now the entire assembly. Although the part costs more, the repair is much simpler. Remove the screws from the inside of the door. Have to use hex nut screwdriver. Remove the panel and the assembly is right at the top. Unhook the assembly from the two (2) prongs. TURN OFF the electricity or touching the prong will bite you. Had to pry the latches off the prongs with a screwdriver as the fit is tight. Latch the new assembly on and rescrew the door panel and the job is done. Very easy and cheaper than a repairman coming out and charging $150.00

I simply snapped the new wheel assemblies back on. The main thing I want to say is that I have never owned a dishwasher that required replacing wheels and I believe there is a design flaw in the wheel that they break so easily. If you look at the way they are mounted on the rack, eventually the weight of dishes on the rack will wear them out and break them. It cost me nearly $50 to replace them all. I bought extras because I know more will break in the future.

First I removed the Torx screws holding on the door cover (two of these screws also hold the latch assembly). You don't need to completely remove the cover but just keep it slightly separated by hand as you do the work. I attempted to remove the connections to the two switches on the latch assembly but this proved to be very difficult even after applying lubricant so I changed my approach. Since only the latch handle was broken I decided to remove the two switches from the existing latch assembly and attach them to the new latch assembly rather than disconnecting the wiring harness. There are two clips holding each of the switches and by pulling them back you can remove the switch. After this was done I was ready to put in the new latch assembly. I removed the two switches off the new latch assembly and have kept them in case a switch happens to fail in the future. I placed the new latch assembly into the dishwasher door and then pushed the wiring harness (with the old switches attached) into the new latch assembly. Take note that there is a "detent" in the switch that must be pushed in as you slide the switch into place or otherwise it won't seat properly. After putting the two switches back in place I closed the cover and tightened the two screws that hold the latch assembly first and then tightened the remainder of the screws. It took a full 30 minutes but that included changing my approach after the harness wouldn't separate easily from the switches.

The repair stories on PartSelect.com told me exactly what to do.

First, I checked the inside of the door and confirmed that the inside panel of the door was held in place with about 10 torx screws.

Second, I went out and bought a set of torx screwdrivers.

Third, I TURNED OFF THE POWER TO THE DISHWASHER AT THE BREAKER BOX! Safety first!

Fourth, I removed the screws and gently lifted the inside panel of the door, and then gently lifted the broken door latch assembly out of its slot. (There were no more screws to remove, because the latch assembly is held in place by two of the door screws.) Two sets of wires, one white and the other black, were connected to the latch assembly by plug-in connectors.

Fifth, I unplugged the wires from the broken latch assembly. The clips in the plug were very tight, so I used a dishtowel to hold onto the latch assembly. I found that gave me a better grip.

Sixth, I plugged the wires onto the new latch assembly, and then slipped the latch assembly back into the slot.

Seventh, I replaced the inside door panel, and replaced in the 10 torx screws.

Finally, I turned on the power at the breaker box, closed the door, and turned on the dishwasher. It ran perfectly!

I would like tyo add that I had ordered an unnecessary part by mistake. I called the return number, and the person who answered was extremely helpful. She gave me the return authorization number and I put the part in the mail. Ten days later, I received an email from PartSelect.com confirming that the part had arrived and that my account had been credited.

The entire process was easy and pleasant. Anybody can do this! Just make sure to shut off the power at the breaker box before you start on the job.

The web site was great in finding the part that was required. Once the parts was received ( it took four days to et the part ths was very fast) it took only 30 mins. to complete the repair. I had to remove all the screw on the door, lift up the inside door cover and remove the handle latch assembly. I removed the two mico switches from the old handle and installed them into the new handle. I replaced the new assembly and replaced the inside door cover and replaced the screws. This was a very easy repair.
I had called a local repair shop to see what it would cost to repait the dishwasher. They told me that it would cost $60.00 to come to the house to see what was wrong with the unit. Next they would charge $75 per hour (minimum of $75 if it was less than one hour of repair time) for the repair plus the parts. THis repair cost me less than $30 plus 30 minutes of my time. Great savings