Whirlpool Washer Out Of Balance: 3 Causes, Ranked
Shock Absorber
- 99.3%of repair attention
- $32.95part on Amazon ›
- 30 minto check
- Basic toolsDIY
A tub that bounces several times after you let go has worn shock absorbers, and that's what lets the machine walk or bang during spin.
Check yours now ↓Two checks cost nothing — do those first.
⚠ Unplug the machine and shut off both water valves before opening it. A washer holds water even when the cycle looks finished — expect the drum and hoses to drain when you disconnect them.
Two checks that cost nothing
- Redistribute the load Open the door, spread bunched-up clothes evenly around the drum, and separate a heavy single item like a comforter or a pair of jeans from a light load. An uneven load is the single most common cause of this symptom and needs no tools at all.
- Check the load size A single heavy item, or a very small load of one or two things, throws off balance more easily than a full, mixed load. If it happens every time with a specific type of load, add a few more items or run heavy items separately.
- Confirm the machine is level Push down on each corner — the machine shouldn't rock. Check the feet are adjusted evenly and their locknuts are tight against the cabinet. A machine that isn't level will read as out of balance even with a perfectly good load.
Check each cause, easiest first
Ordered by how hard each is to check, not by how likely it is — so the cheap answers get ruled out before you open anything. The badge on each row shows where the smart money is. Percentages are share of repair-video attention, not a measured failure rate.
shock absorber#1 most-watched · 99.3% of repair videos $32.95
How to check. Press down on the top of the tub and release it — it should settle back smoothly in one motion, not bounce.
A tub that bounces several times after you let go has worn shock absorbers, and that's what lets the machine walk or bang during spin.
We earn a commission on Amazon purchases made through these links. It never changes which cause we rank first or what a part costs you.
Price checked 27 Aug 2026. Amazon prices move — the link always shows the current one.
damper#2 most-watched · 0.7% of repair videos $34.95
How to check. Check the damper — the friction pad or brake that controls tub movement on some top-load designs — for wear or looseness by feeling for excess play between the inner basket and the outer tub.
A worn damper lets the tub move more than it should during agitation and spin, adding noise and imbalance that isn't explained by the load itself.
Price checked 27 Aug 2026. Amazon prices move — the link always shows the current one.
suspension rod#3 most-watched · 0.1% of repair videos $49.62
How to check. Check the rods that suspend the tub for a spring that's stretched out, a rod disconnected at either end, or one that's visibly broken, by looking underneath and around the tub with the cabinet open.
A disconnected or broken suspension rod lets the tub swing and slam during spin. This is usually the source of loud banging that gets worse as the cycle speeds up.
Price checked 27 Aug 2026. Amazon prices move — the link always shows the current one.
Is it worth fixing at all?
Most pages answer this with the “50% rule” — spend no more than half a replacement's price. We went looking for the origin of that number and could not find one: it is widely credited to ENERGY STAR, whose actual published guidance is an age-and-condition checklist with no percentage in it. We use your machine's own measured running cost instead. We hold it for 758 Whirlpool washer models.
We rank every washer we hold certification data for within its own size and configuration class — so you are comparing machines that would actually fit the same space. See the washer rankings →
When to stop and call someone
Leave the appliance alone, ventilate, and call the gas utility. Nothing on this page is worth doing around a suspected leak.
Compressor and refrigerant repairs need EPA certification — that is a legal requirement, not a difficulty rating. A service call runs roughly $75–$150 before parts, so read the repair-or-replace maths above before booking.
Common questions
Share of repair-video views for this symptom across 96 videos. The walkthroughs shown on this page come from AppliancePartsPros, PartSelect and RepairClinic.com. It measures what people watch. That correlates with what fails, but video age, channel size and search visibility all influence it, so we publish it as attention and never as a failure rate. Each cause shows the video count and total views behind its percentage.
We only show a part when it comes from a repair on a machine in the same Whirlpool family. Where we have no family-matched part we say so rather than substitute another brand's. For parts confirmed on one exact machine, use the model page above.
Usually yes for simple mechanical parts like belts, fuses and thermostats; less reliably for control boards and sensors, where tolerances and firmware matter. Every listing is labelled.
Know your model number?
These Whirlpool washers have a fully verified repair page — every failure sourced, every part confirmed on that exact machine, rather than matched at family level as above.