What HO means on your Frigidaire dishwasher (frigidaire ho error)
A frigidaire ho error (also shown as Hd) is not a fault on your Frigidaire dishwasher — it is a heat-delay status meaning the cycle is paused while the water heats. Heated cycles wait until the water reaches temperature, which can take a minute or two per degree on cold incoming water. It should clear on its own.
Symptoms
Checking these signs against your Frigidaire dishwasher keeps you from chasing the wrong fault, because look-alike problems call for quite different repairs. A dishwasher can show a single symptom or several combined, creeping in gradually or appearing suddenly after a surge, a spill, or fresh install work.
- The cycle appears to pause with HO or Hd showing
- The timer seems stuck
- The pause is longest at the start of a heated cycle
- The cycle resumes once the water warms
Common causes
These symptoms on a Frigidaire dishwasher can spring from several different faults, so look at the likeliest first before anything exotic. That order makes it clear whether your dishwasher needs no more than a check or a proper repair with correct Frigidaire parts.
- Cold incoming water — the heat-up time is extended
- A long heated or sanitize cycle — the wait is normal
- Water heater set low — supply water arrives cool
- Weak element or thermistor — only if HO never clears
Troubleshooting steps you can try
Go through the following on your Frigidaire dishwasher in the order shown, and stop as soon as the fault clears. Any step on the dishwasher that puts you near live wiring, gas, a hot oven cavity, water, or a sealed system is one to leave to a qualified technician.
- Allow extra time, as HO is normal on heated cycles.
- Run the kitchen hot tap before starting so hot water reaches the unit.
- Raise the household water heater toward 120F if it is set low.
- If HO never clears and the water stays cold, see the i60 heating fault.
Parts a technician may replace
For this condition on a Frigidaire dishwasher, the components a technician may inspect, test, or replace are the heating element, thermistor, and incoming water temperature. The correct item for your dishwasher is matched from the model and serial number, and genuine OEM parts are supplied through trusted parts suppliers rather than generic substitutes, so performance, safety, and the working life of the dishwasher are all preserved. Proving which part failed before it is ordered means nothing extra is fitted to your dishwasher.
When to call a technician
HO that never clears, with the water never heating, needs a technician to test the heating element and thermistor. Low severity means the dishwasher can wait, but not indefinitely: if HO keeps returning once you have finished the checks, a technician should confirm the cause on the dishwasher before parts are bought. This is independent repair work — we are not affiliated with the manufacturer, the technicians who service your dishwasher are experienced and skilled, the parts fitted to the dishwasher are genuine OEM items from trusted parts suppliers, and a 30-day labor warranty covers our workmanship. Have the model and serial number of your Frigidaire dishwasher ready when you book so the right part is matched before the visit and the HO condition cleared in as few trips as possible.
Related help and Frigidaire resources
If the HO condition keeps returning after these checks, book Frigidaire dishwasher repair, browse our dishwasher error-code guides and step-by-step repair guides, or schedule service in your area on our locations page. See also the related i60 heating error. To pull the manufacturer specifications for a Frigidaire dishwasher or run a model lookup, go to frigidaire.com.
