Should You Repair or Replace a Dryer?

For a dryer, repair it almost every time. Thermal fuses, door switches, belts, pulleys, rollers, heating elements, and motors are all inexpensive, well-understood dryer repairs — worth paying for even well past year 11. Replace only for a cracked drum, a motor failure past year 12, a burning smell that persists after a full vent cleaning, or a repair quote that genuinely approaches half the price of a new unit.

This is for a homeowner deciding what to do about a dryer that's making noise, taking too long, or not heating right. If clothes are just taking longer than they used to, check the vent before you do anything else — see the section below.

Should you repair or replace a dryer?

Consumer Reports frames this decision differently than most appliances: compare the repair cost to what the dryer originally cost to buy, not a flat age or dollar rule. Their own example makes the point — a $118 repair on a $600 dryer at 9 years old may not be worth it, but a $188 repair on a $2,200 dryer at 3 years old almost certainly is. The same repair bill means something different depending on what the machine was worth to begin with.

That said, dryers rarely reach the point where this math even matters. Dryers are the most repairable major appliance in the house — a drum, a belt, a motor, and a heating element, and every one of those parts is individually cheap and easy to reach.

What's worth fixing, and what isn't?

Fix it — cheap, well-understood repairs at any age:

Replace it — the machine itself is the problem:

Full cost table for every part, not just the ones that decide repair vs. replace: dryer replacement cost.

How much does a dryer repair cost?

$180 on average (HomeAdvisor), but Consumer Reports' member survey found the real number scales with the dryer's original price:

A service charge of $120 to $170 applies on top of the repair itself, running higher in major cities. Gas dryer repairs cost $50 to $100 more than electric for the same fault.

Is it actually broken, or just the vent?

Check this before paying for a service call. A restricted vent is the single biggest cause of dryer complaints, and Consumer Reports' own pre-repair advice starts here:

• Clean the lint trap fully — not just the visible surface, but underneath if your model has a removable screen assembly.
• Check the external ducting for kinks, crushing, or a flap that won't open — walk the full run from the machine to the outside vent hood.
• Replace flexible foil or plastic ducting with rigid metal, if you haven't already — flexible ducting sags and collects lint at every low point.
• Check the manufacturer's self-diagnostic system, if your model has one — many current dryers display an error code that names the actual fault.

If dry times improve once the vent is genuinely clear, there was no part to replace.

When should you replace instead of repair?

Any one of these means replace, regardless of age:

• The drum is cracked, or bearings are worn enough to score it.
• The motor fails on a unit past 12 years old.
• A burning smell persists after a thorough vent and lint-path cleaning — a fire risk, don't wait.
• Clothes still need two full cycles after the vent has been properly cleared.

If you decide to replace it

A new dryer comes with a full warranty, and if you're switching from a standard model to a heat pump dryer, meaningfully lower energy use at the cost of longer cycle times. What a replacement actually costs covers unit prices by fuel type and what installation adds. Since a dryer failure is a when-not-if expense, the maintenance budget calculator folds one into a yearly figure so it isn't a surprise.