# Maytag Bravos SD Error fix procedure

### --| Posted: 2025-03-21

This is a bit different from my other tech-related blog and course postings, but I think it's necessary to have on here due to the sadly limited amount of medium-depth content regarding this error and repair for this washing machine. Hopefully the method of repair and tips I give here can help someone experiencing this problem and you're not forced to buy a more crap futuristic washing machine that's even harder to diagnose and repair than this one!

### Preliminary information (Background):

Some time ago, I was running a normal rapid wash cycle on a friend's Maytag Bravos XL washing machine, and I got this error, and because you may be stressed trying to fix the issue, I'll keep what happened brief:

1: Washing machine runs rapid wash cycle until around 14 minutes (right before spin cycle). 2: Clock says 14 minutes for around 5 minutes while slowly agitating clothes. 3: Washing machine sounds a single beep, displays SD (Suds Detected) on screen. 4: Washing machine fills the wash basin (big silver barrel) up completely. 5: Washing machine drains and trys to detect "suds" again. 6: Washing machine it fails again, and stops, leaving a half-filled wash barrel. 7: You wake up groggy and your night-time wash cycle leads to an impromptu scuba diving session 8: You're forced to play Bobbing For Apples with your soggy undies in a desperate attempt to get them in the dryer. 9: You physically bucket the water out of the barrel like Jack Sparrow trying to save his ship. Water is everywhere now. 10: You slip on wet floor, simultaneously hitting yourself in the face with a full bucket and waterboarding yourself. 11: You run the cycle again to see if it was a fluke, it happens again. (repeat steps 9-10.. Exactly.) 12: You shake your wet arm (or head 🍎️) in the air, curse Maytag, and hopefully find this blog post!

### "How Do I Fix This Piece Of Junk!? (The quick fix)"

This "fix" gets the water out of the machine and lets you spin out your clothes. Don't make this the permanent fix for this unless you like operating your washing machine like a train conductor... It is fun though and I don't judge! If you want to consult the official technician's manual for this washing machine, I managed to find revision A of the technical manual for the washer online in PDF form, it is now on my gitea just view the pdf file but if that link goes down, the original source is from here, and if THAT goes down, the manual should be in a plastic bag inside your washing machine somewhere taped to the inside wall (you might have to take the washer apart to get to it.) The sections you will want to consult for information on how to get into manual operation mode are: 1: Page 1 section "ACTIVATION OF AUTOMATIC DIAGNOSTIC TEST MODE" (center of the page) 2: Page 2 section "ACTIVATION OF MANUAL DIAGNOSTIC MODE" steps 1 and 2. If you hate manuals, your interview is in an hour, and you need that special suit that's water-logged. You can watch [This video] [https://youtube.com/watch?v=pV4gBGhBOEg] It's 9 minutes, but if you don't have time for that. I'll describe the process as clearly as possible, because you're probably freaking out right now, so stay calm and focus!

#### How to enter manual operation mode:

0: make sure the washing machine is getting electricity. 1: Spin the middle dial to normal mode (12 o'clock/top option) 2: press the POWER button on the left side of the dial to turn off the display 3: Press and hold the FABRIC SOFTENER button to the right of the lid lock indicator for 3 seconds (1'st time) 4: release for 3 seconds (1'st time) 5: press and hold for another 3 seconds (2'Nd time) 6: release for 3 seconds (2'Nd time) 7: press and hold for another 3 seconds (3'Rd time) 8: release for 3 seconds (3'Rd time) NOTICE! All lights on the display should now be lit up! 8: press the FABRIC SOFTENER button one more time after the dial lights up and release instantly, you should now be in manual operation mode! WooHoo!

#### Spin and Drain Procedure:

0: spin the dial to the Clean washer mode (5 o'clock/bottom right) 1: press the Water Save spray rinse button on the right side of the panel to manually lock the lid 2: press the start button three times, activating the drain pump 3: wait until the visible water is drained out 4: press start button one more time, shutting off the drain pump. [IMPORTANT!] If the clothes in the washing machine look unbalanced at this point, unlock the lid by pressing the save spray rinse button and re-balance the clothes. You will spin the clothes in future steps and the washing machine can not sense if the clothes are unbalanced when in manual mode, which could lead to your washing machine moving VIOLENTLY (5:03 of [This video]), potentially hurting you or damaging the washing machine. If you unlocked the lid and re-balanced the clothes, make sure to lock the lid again after it is shut. [Pre-Explanation] There are 4 modes you can manually spin the washing machine at: 23 rpm ,530 rpm, 1000 rpm, and 0 rpm, every time you click the spin speed button on the right side of the washing machine, it will cycle through these modes, and because your washing machine is hopefully not spinning right now. You're at 0 rpm! [Note!] Note that you can always press the power button or pull the washing machine plug as a precaution if you mess up any future steps or the washing machine starts shaking. Just don't shock yourself when pulling the plug, this machine pulls 8 amps at 120V so it's a good amount of dangerous shock you'll get if you improperly grip the plug when you pull it out of the socket. Just make sure you're grabbing the plastic part of the plug and you'll be good. 5: Press the spin speed button once, wait for it to spin up to 23 rpm, ensure clothes are balanced 6: Press the spin speed button again, ensure load is still balanced as it spins up to 530rpm 7: Press the start button 3 times to activate the drain pump while the machine is spinning [Note] At this point you will get a pretty good spin dry if you leave the machine spinning for about a minute in this state, if you're satisfied with the speed of the spin and you think your clothes are as dry as a normal rapid wash cycle would be, press the spin speed button twice to quickly cycle to 1000 rpm, then to 0 rpm, listen carefully to make sure the machine is slowing down after doing this. If you're feeling bold, press the spin speed button only once to bring it up to 1000 rpm, then press the spin speed button again to bring it down to 0 rpm once satisfied. 8: press the start button again to stop the drain pump, then unlock the lid with the water save spray rinse button. And that's it! If you want to exit the manual operation mode, press the power button and get those clothes in the dryer!

### "How Do I Actually fix This Piece Of Junk!? (The real fix)"

before looking into this section make sure you fully watch the video guide below and complete the check that the guy does in the video to determine if the small plastic piece is really the problem or not. The test is to hold onto the agitator while spinning the barrel and if the agitator is able to spin, then it's a problem and you can go forward with the guide.

After you've completed the first section of this, and managed to get the washing machine drained and now know how to turn your washing machine into a steam-powered locomotive, we can move on to the parts that need to be replaced to stop this from happening for around 4-7 months. (I know, It's annoying.)

This section of the guide can be watched for the most part from onebaddj's video on the subject. Although there are some parts of it that really should have been described more or shown a little closer up, just a personal critique of the matter, other than that, it's amazing and should serve you well.

### Items Needed For The Fix:

0: 280145 W10820039 Washer Hub Kit Replacement Parts Kit (I'll explain this below step 6.) 1: 11mm socket. 2: Ratchet with extension pole (makes things easier). 3: Phillips screwdriver, [flathead, and knife OPTIONAL] . 4: Shoelace or inflatable bags. (hear me out) 5: Popsicle sticks. (I'm serious, I'm about to drop a new method with this.) 6: Another able-bodied human if you're not a complete loner (This isn't a raid encounter, randoms are fine.)

if you've got everything, you're good to go!

When getting the W10820039 parts kit, amazon sellers sell this parts kit, I guess you can just find the cheapest option if you just want the washer to run again for around 5 months. Also, very important, if they offer a warranty, totally exploit it to the highest degree. The best thing about this being a rapidly wearing part, is that it will almost never surpass the 1 year mark of living before that SD error happens again.

Quick note on what was said in step 0, full disclaimer, I don't know how well this works, but I found it a while ago and it seems like a good idea as the smaller white plastic part's inside teeth are a continuous point of failure for this washing machine. This guy sells the W10820039 kit as a full-metal option so if you're up for an adventure, you could try this out and see if it works well. The outer piece that holds the smaller piece in place is never the point of failure, it is always the small inner piece.

### Step 1: Remove The Plastic Cap

The video at 6:22 shows him popping off the cap with his hands, my personal experience was not the same, if it's pretty stuck on there, as gently as you can use a flathead screwdriver or the edge of a knife to work at prying it up without breaking it. Slow is smooth with this, so be patient. Once the cap is off, you should see the 11mm socket nut that you're going to take off later.

### Step 2: Unscrewing The Nut

The video at 6:37 shows him unscrewing the nut with the wrench while using his hand to stabilize the agitator, again it looks insanely easy and was not at all the wrath of hell that I faced trying to get this thing loose the first time.

This is the hardest part of the disassembly for the most part depending on how the Maytag gods have birthed your washing machine into existence. But if this is really hard for you to do alone, I have some awesome loner tips for you to get the job done!

Find the most comfortable torque position under tension that you can get, what I mean by this is experiment with trying to counter-clockwise turn the nut with the ratchet extension pole on and off of the ratchet, you're probably going to notice that once you start turning the nut, the whole agitator assembly moves, so you need to stabilize it with your other hand while you turn. Now.. If it's too hard for you to turn, this is where my first trick comes in, and hopefully why you convinced yourself to get those Popsicle sticks! A quick tip regarding the ratchet extension pole assembly and disassembly, if you're having trouble getting either the socket or the extension pole off of the actual ratchet, you can stick a flathead screwdriver in the gap which connects the two and twist so once side of the flathead screwdriver rises, this should put enough force on the socket or pole to get it off if it's stuck to the ratchet like mine always is. [NOTE!] Don't be dumb like me and drop a lose Popsicle stick through the gap and under the agitator, it won't mess anything up functionality wise as the space under the agitator is mostly solid except for small holes which are too small for the stick the enter. Just work slow and be aware of what your doing. Depending on the thickness of the Popsicle sticks, stack them on top of each other if needed and shove them between the gap separating the outer rim of the agitator and the actual drum so that the agitator won't move when you go to turn it due to the Popsicle stick friction keeping the agitator and drum as a solid unit. I've seen a video of another guy using a car jack or you could use a thin inflatable pillow or something, just get that agitator and drum to not be independently free-spinning. So now the only problem you'll have left is keeping your hand on the inside lip of the actual wash drum while you turn the nut with the ratchet connected to the extension pole. If you can get it off like this, then great. If you can't then you might want to enlist the help of someone to hold the inside lip of the wash drum for you while you unscrew the nut with the Popsicle sticks or whatever you can jam in there still in place. If you're the sole survivor of the apocalypse or something and you really need to get this done alone, you may be able to use a really long shoelace or multiple shoelaces tied together and loop it under the agitator and tie it to something outside before you insert the Popsicle sticks, or if you have two inflatable bags, you can feed one on each side between the washing machine hull and the wash barrel and inflate it to put pressure down and stop the barrel from moving, you would then be able to unscrew the nut without problem, and if the nut is STILL not coming loose, then make sure you're actually turning it the right way to loosen it, and maybe hit the nut with the ratchet to try and loosen any particulates which could be binding the nut's teeth to the screw hole on the inside. These are about all of the ways that I can hypothesize on how to get the job done on your own, but I haven't ever needed to use an inflatable bag or shoelace like this before for this purpose and it's only a hypothesis as to it's effectiveness.

### Step 3: Removing The Agitator Plate

at 7:07, again, he hits the caveman special on the agitator plate and pops it up with enough force to make a bodybuilder shake in his boots. For me this was the absolute worst part of the disassembly, and you have two options to get this spawn of Satan off if you're having trouble. 1: shoelace method feed a thin shoelace under the agitator so you can pull up on it, This video demonstrates the process very well! So thank you The How-To Crew! 2: air pillow thingy method feed the air pillows under the secure spots of the agitator, equally pressurize each one until you get the biggest dopamine dump known to man when it shoots up in the air. That video is one of my favorites by the way. I unironically watch that when I'm having a particularly bad day. If you get this done, you're ready to move on to the final part!

### Step 4: Unscrewing And Removing The Underside Parts

At 8:15 he unscrews the main part of the washer hub kit from the wash barrel, my only advice for this is to unscrew each Phillips screw at the same time, slowly. 3 torques of one screw, move to the opposite side, another 3 torques, then do that until all the screws are loose and you can get the piece off.

once you get the larger part of the hub kit off, there's only the smaller part left, it is shown being taken off at 9:42, again it's very easy for him, and a feat of pure will for me. So my tip for if it's stuck is to either use pliers to grip the teeth and pull up from there, or you can lever it up using a flathead screwdriver by inserting the screwdriver under the piece and the base of the metal rod that the piece is around, you will probably want to pull up on the screwdriver, not push down, as when you push down depending on if your screwdriver has square-shaped edges along it's ridge, you could potentially crack the plastic part of the bottom of the wash barrel.

### Step 5: Putting On The New Parts

Video reference 12:07 Now that the small piece is off, examine it and compare it to the new smaller part. Are the teeth on the old part eroded? If they aren't this may have not been the issue, but if you did the pre-check and determined that the agitator free-spins when holding the wash barrel, then you're good. To put the new part on, just feed it onto the teeth of the metal pole protruding from inside the wash barrel, make sure that the grooves of the metal pole are being filled by the inside teeth of the plastic piece properly and then push it down as far as you can. Now you need to put the larger piece of plastic on top of the smaller piece, compare the original larger part to the new 2 larger parts and use the same matching one for your specific washer. Make sure that when you put the larger part on, it is aligned with the screw holes, it should only be off by a little bit, just move the larger part around a bit by placing it in different grooves of the smaller part until it lines up nicely with the screw holes. Then repeat the same procedure for tightening the screws as you did for loosening them. This is just a theory, but you may be able to extend the life of the small piece of the kit by running some temperature safe tape around the metal bit of the washing machine before you put the small piece down, if the problem if that the teeth wear out, it's because of both the excessive force that months of rapidly moving metal to plastic has on this piece but also because of the small gaps that the piece has which do not make it perfectly fit and allow it to be worn down. So if someone has tried this and reports success, shoot me an email and tell me how it went. All you have to do is pop the wash plate back on and screw the nut back down, be careful to not overturn the nut when fastening it on the washing machine. It also may be good to try tightening the nut again after 2-3 wash cycles to ensure that it is properly fit.

### Conclusion:

Well. That's it, hopefully now that you've put everything back together it runs like normal. If it doesn't I have no clue what to do and additional research might need to be done. Feel free to shoot me an email once I make one to tell me how much you hate me for making you waste hours of your life or like what I did here. Any criticism is welcomed!

It's kind of funny that the most in-depth post on this entire site is barely tech-related when that's the purpose of this site, but whatever, I had a terrible experience fixing this thing so hopefully this post lightens the burden on some poor soul getting this error.

I'll be doing a smaller blog post on using the cryptsetup utility for linux after this, so if you like that kind of stuff, stick around.