How does one fix a "Water system fault?" The manual says call Miele technical services. What typically causes this error message?

Miele coffee system CVA 615, water tank model

M Peterson, January 2008

I freaked out when this machine, which is the best appliance I ever owned, suddenly died like this. Turns out that the maids decided to get adventurous and "clean" the whole inside of it instead of just the outer water tray for a change. I used the baster like you guys said and itr worked like a charm. Thanks to all of you who contributed to this!!!

Tony Z Vegas, March 2014

Works for the Miele 620 as well - worked a treat in fact!

TW - Lincolnshire, February 2013

i was able to pull mine forward and tilt it with a towel on the floor! thanks for the help on here!!!

dave t, February 2013

Removing the water with a turkey baster, has worked for us.

FroggyAZ, February 2012

I couldn't find a turkey baster, but used a sponge that I cut in half so it would fit. Took a while, but it worked!

dg, January 2011

Thank you! I tried the turkey baster technique and it worked!

Nillynyc, November 2010

The steps mentioned above worked for me as well. I syphoned the water and dried that area with some paper towels. Once dried, I turned on the machine and it worked perfectly.

jj2mom, August 2010

I tried sucking out the water only I didn't have a turkey baster so I used strips of rags and soaked up the water that way through the small hole. It took a while but once the water was removed, it started working again.
Thanks so much for the answer!

Patricia, August 2010

Yeah the shop vac. hack of a way to make coffee.

sam, January 2010

I used a shop-vac and it worked great!

I am in need of a new water container and can't find the part anywhere on line. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Tricia, December 2009

the other option for this problem is to syfon it out with a piece of hose

Tony, August 2009

Yep the baster works........gotta love the internet!!!

David Oregon, February 2009

If you live in an area with hard water, the problem is usually caused by scale around the seal in the water container. This seal can easily be removed & either cleaned or replaced.

Bernii, February 2008

Here is the reply I got back form Miele and it worked for me:
Thank You for your e-mail. The "water system fault" is a common error with the CVA615. This means that when you put the water container into the coffee machine the valve open prematurely and drained the water into the bottom pan. If you open the door and take out the water container you will find a hole about the size of a half dollar. If you put your finger in this hole you will find the water that is causing the fault. Do you have a turkey baster in the kitchen? If not get one at your local super market. When you have a CVA615 it can come in handy and you may need it again sometime. What you will do is put the end of the turkey baster into the hole and extract the water. Once you remove as much water as possible leave the door open and allow the unit to dry out, around an hour. The float will drop and the water system fault will disappear. You can now refill your water container and carefully replace it into the coffee machine so that it properly fits into the valve receptacle.

Please contact our Technical Support Department at (800) 999-1360 if you have any further questions or concerns.

Tami Scheibach, January 2008

I had this problem and called the tech support and here is what fixed the issue: remove the water tank, take a turkey baster and place it in the hole where the tank dispenses the water and draw out all excess water. This is what caused my water fault and after drawing out several basters full of water the fault went away.

db, January 2008