Amana Washer Making Noise: What to Check and What to Do Next

Use only checks that match the exact appliance or system and its official guide.

1. Check 1

   Describe the noise from a safe position without touching the washer: rattling or tapping, thumping or banging, grinding or rubbing, humming or whirling, clicking, clunking, scraping, or a hot-rubber or burning smell. Record whether it occurs during fill, sensing, wash/agitation, drain, or spin, and whether the cabinet moves, leaks, or shows a code.

   Expected result: The sound is a brief click or clunk at a documented transition, a steady hum during sensing or drain, a rattle at the rear, thumping during spin, or persistent grinding, scraping, metallic noise, odor, or severe vibration.

   Next step: Keep the washer closed while the basket moves and follow the matching external check. Stop the washer for severe or worsening noise, movement, leak, burning smell, smoke, sparking, or damaged electrical parts.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana documents several motor, pump, lock, and drive sounds as normal, while the phase and accompanying symptoms make imbalance, external contact, foreign objects, or internal failure more likely.

2. Check 2

   When the washer is stopped, check around and on top of it for coins, hangers, tools, detergent containers, a wall, cabinet, or other object touching the cabinet. Inspect the visible drain and inlet hoses where they pass behind the machine; if they can knock against the cabinet, secure them using the model-supplied restraint or the manual-approved method without pulling on connections.

   Expected result: An object is leaning against the washer, a hose contacts the rear cabinet, the area is clear, or the noise continues with no external contact.

   Next step: Remove only the external object or correct visible hose contact, then monitor one cycle. If the noise is metallic, scraping, or still present, do not open the cabinet; continue with the load and level checks or request service.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana says hoses and ordinary household objects can create rattling or tapping that is transmitted through the cabinet. If the exterior is clear and the sound persists, the source is more likely load, leveling, drain, drive, or another internal condition.

3. Check 3

   If the noise is thumping, banging, or strongest during spin, pause through the normal control and wait until the basket stops. Redistribute clothing in loose heaps, remove some items from an overloaded load, and avoid washing one bulky item alone unless the cycle guide provides a balancing method. Do not add water or reach into a moving basket.

   Expected result: The load is bunched, tightly packed, a single blanket or heavy item is present, the washer repeatedly adds water and rotates to rebalance, or the load is evenly distributed but banging continues.

   Next step: Correct the load once and monitor. If the machine still bangs, walks, or aborts spin, stop using it and arrange qualified service rather than forcing a high-speed cycle.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana says an unbalanced load can cause movement, noise, vibration, longer cycles, and a correction process that adds water and agitation. A balanced load that still bangs makes leveling, suspension, drive, or another mechanical issue more likely.

4. Check 4

   With the washer empty or safely stopped, check whether it rocks diagonally and whether all four feet are firmly on the floor. Look for a flexing floor or a drain pan that could rub the tub bottom. Use the installation instructions for any leveling adjustment; do not place hands beneath a running washer or remove the drain pan while the machine is operating.

   Expected result: The cabinet rocks, one foot is not in contact, the floor flexes, a drain pan is present and may contact the tub, or the washer is stable with no pan contact.

   Next step: Correct an accessible leveling issue only as described in the installation instructions, then run a small monitored load. If the washer cannot be leveled, the pan is damaged, or abnormal noise remains, request service.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana says an unlevel washer or a drain pan rubbing the tub can worsen grinding, rubbing, vibration, and off-balance noise. Stability with no pan contact makes a load or external-source explanation less likely if the noise continues.

5. Check 5

   For clicking, clanking, scraping, or metallic noise, stop the washer and check the empty visible basket for a coin, button, zipper, or other loose object. Empty pockets before the next load and do not fish between the basket and tub or reach into the pump; if the sound comes from underneath or the object cannot be removed without disassembly, leave the washer off.

   Expected result: A loose object is visible and removable from the basket, no object is visible but the metallic noise persists, the sound changes with the pump or drain phase, or a suspected object may be between the basket and tub.

   Next step: Remove only a clearly accessible object when the washer is stopped. For a hidden object, persistent scraping, or pump-related noise, stop using the appliance and arrange qualified repair.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana says loose objects can rattle in the tub or fall into and block the pump, and that service may be necessary to remove them. A drain-phase metallic sound may be a pump obstruction rather than a leveling problem.

6. Check 6

   If the sound is humming or whirling, compare it with the normal phase: motor hum during sensing or agitation, a pump hum during drain, or a brief lid-lock click can be expected. Do not deliberately run repeated cycles to reproduce a loud or unsafe sound. Record whether water drains, the basket turns, and the sound stops when the phase ends.

   Expected result: The hum or click occurs only in the documented phase and ends normally, the pump hums while water remains, the motor hums without basket movement, or the sound becomes grinding, hot, loud, or continuous.

   Next step: If the phase completes normally, monitor with a correctly loaded washer. If water remains, the basket does not move, the sound is loud or abnormal, or a code appears, stop and request service.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana describes phase-specific motor, pump, and lock sounds as normal, but a hum without expected movement or draining, or a transition to grinding or overheating, points to a blocked pump, drive, motor, or control issue.

7. Check 7

   Use the exact Amana model manual to compare the recorded sound and phase with its normal-sounds and troubleshooting sections. Before any repair or replacement work, disconnect power using the normal accessible disconnect only when there is no immediate danger; do not open panels, test live wiring, or attempt to repair a motor, pump, suspension, bearing, or drive system from the sound alone.

   Expected result: The manual identifies a normal sound or accessible correction, the sound is not listed, the same noise returns after the correction, or the washer has a leak, burning odor, smoke, sparking, severe vibration, or damaged cord.

   Next step: Keep the washer out of service and arrange qualified appliance repair. Give the technician the model, sound description, phase, load, location, and all external checks already completed.

   Why this matters

   Why: Amana layouts and operating sounds vary by model. A recurring or unlisted noise with a safety or performance symptom has reached the professional boundary and cannot be assigned to one part from audio alone.