How many decibels is a Viking dishwasher?
39, 42 or 45 dB, depending on the series; the door style never changes the figure. Prices are Viking's "Starting At" figures from November 6, 2026.
| Figure | Series | Model | Door | Price |
|---|
| 39 dB | 7 Series | VDWU724SS | Installed stainless panel | $2,619, marked "LIMITED QUANTITIES" |
| 39 dB | 7 Series | FDWU724 | Panel ready | $2,469, marked "LIMITED QUANTITIES" |
| 42 dB | 5 Series | VDWU524SS | Stainless | $2,249 |
| 42 dB | 5 Series | VDWU524WSSS | Stainless, water softener | $2,389 |
| 42 dB | 5 Series | FDWU524 | Panel ready | $2,099 |
| 42 dB | 5 Series | FDWU524WS | Panel ready, water softener | $2,249 |
| 45 dB | 3 Series | VDWU324SS | Stainless | $1,449 |
All seven are 24 inch built-under models with the same cutout, 24 inches wide and deep, and a height that adjusts from 33-7/8 to 35-7/8 inches. Viking lists no 18 inch or drawer dishwasher.
The 7 Series prints 39 dB
Both the stainless VDWU724SS and the panel ready FDWU724 carry it. Viking's Clean products page calls the line "one of the quietest (39 dB) dishwashers on the market", and the spec sheet goes further with the heading "BEST IN CLASS QUIET CLEAN™ PERFORMANCE PACKAGE - 39DB". Which class, and what the rest of it prints, goes unsaid.
It is also the most fully equipped Viking. It adds the CornerClean wash arm, which "rotates on a movable axis", OpenAir drying, which "automatically opens door during end of cycle", interior LED lighting, a blue floor light and an "Energy Star Qualified as Most Efficient 2022" line.
Stock is the open question. Both 7 Series pages carried a "LIMITED QUANTITIES" badge on November 6, 2026, and no other Viking dishwasher did. No end date is given, so a dealer quote should confirm the model can still be delivered.
In each series the FDWU models match the stainless VDWU models: 39 dB for the FDWU724, 42 dB for the FDWU524 and FDWU524WS.
The prices look lower than they are. The FDWU724 starts at $2,469 against $2,619 for the stainless VDWU724SS, but choosing Viking's stainless PDDP524SS panel in the configurator added $389, leaving the panel ready model $239 dearer than the one sold with a stainless door already fitted. The configurator also offers a "Customer Supplied Custom Panel", plus Viking panels in the Professional, RVL and Tuscany styles, and the page data priced the colored Professional panels at $1,139. A PHK23 handle kit for FDWU models is listed on the spec sheets as a separate accessory.
The panel ready versions make sense when the panel comes from your cabinet maker.
For other makers' integrated models, see our panel ready dishwasher ranking.
What does Viking's Quiet Clean package include?
Three layers of insulation, "bitumen, cotton, and full side walls", on every series, with a brushless motor added on the 5 and 7 Series. Viking credits the package for the figure but never explains the 3 dB steps between series.
| Series | Insulation | Motor | Drying |
|---|
| 3 Series, 45 dB | The three layers, described in the same words as the 5 Series sheet | No brushless motor listed | Condensation, "without the need for heat or fans" |
| 5 Series, 42 dB | The three layers | "Brushless discharge and circulation motor" | Turbo Fan Dry |
| 7 Series, 39 dB | The three layers | "Brushless discharge pump and circulation motor" | Turbo Fan Dry plus OpenAir door opening |
A fan adds a sound the 3 Series does not make, but there is no figure for the drying phase on any model.
The motor is the only noise-related hardware that differs on paper, and it lines up with the gap between 45 and 42 dB. Viking does not draw that link, so treat it as context, not cause.
Does Viking print dB or dBA?
Plain "dB", without the A that would mark an A-weighted figure. The 5 Series page reads "42dB", the 3 Series page "45db" and the 7 Series sheet "39DB".
None comes with a named cycle, microphone distance or test standard, on the product pages, the spec sheets or the two use and care manuals, and neither manual prints a noise figure. Within Viking that hardly matters, since one label covers all seven models. Beside another brand's dBA figure, though, a Viking number is harder to place, and our dishwasher noise table keeps each maker's wording for that reason. The wider problem is covered in comparing decibel ratings.
Why is my Viking dishwasher making noise?
The use and care manuals have no troubleshooting entry for noise. The installation guide is more useful, because it treats sound insulation as part of the install.
Foam tape and toe kick insulation
"This step is not imperative, but it will help you improve your soundproofing," step 6.1 says of the foam insulation tape. Step 15.1 has the installer "Apply gray cotton insulation to the metal panel below the door" so that "the felt touches the floor", then fit a black mastic piece to the bottom of the door. A machine that seems louder than its rating may be missing one of these.
Pauses and clinking glasses are expected
A Viking can go quiet partway through. In the 3 and 5 Series manual's words, it may "remain silent in pause mode" while water drains off the dishes and the softener is cleaned, and then it "will resume running in drying mode." A stop followed by a restart is normal.
Both manuals also warn that "Striking of the glasses to each other or to other dishes due to the impact of water during washing can cause breaks", and say to lean glasses on the rack instead. Our guide to dishwasher sounds goes through each noise by cycle stage, and making a dishwasher quieter covers fixes after installation.
Beeps can be switched off, the floor light cannot
Both manuals list a warning sound setting reached through the Menu key: "S:0" off, "S:1" medium and "S:2" high. The 3 and 5 Series manual gives "S:2", the loudest, as the factory setting. Interior lighting, where fitted, has a separate "L:0" off and "L:1" on setting.
The floor light is another matter.
It shows that a cycle is running ("Your machine reflects a light to the floor during the washing process," says the 7 Series manual), and both manuals add that floor illumination "cannot be cancelled by the user". In an open kitchen that is dark at night, that light will be on for every evening cycle.
The FDWU324 is the one model gone
The panel ready 3 Series FDWU324 is still listed at 45 dB in the spec sheet, manual and installation guide, but its product page returned an error on November 6, 2026 and the listing skipped it. Both 7 Series models were still listed that day, under the "LIMITED QUANTITIES" badge, and earlier Viking dishwasher families, such as the RVDW models, did not appear at all.
That leaves the 5 Series with the widest choice: two stainless models and two panel ready ones, all at 42 dB, with and without a water softener.
Is a Viking dishwasher worth it for a quiet kitchen?
Mainly if it has to match other Viking appliances, since the lower figures cost $2,099 or more. While 7 Series stock runs down, the 42 dB 5 Series is the steadiest choice.
Within the range, the steps are easy to price. The 3 dB from 45 to 42 dB costs $800 in stainless, from the VDWU324SS to the VDWU524SS; the next 3 dB, to the 39 dB VDWU724SS, costs $370 more. Both steps fall below the roughly 10 dB that listeners hear as a doubling.
The spec sheets list a two-year full warranty on the "complete product", five years limited on electronic controls, racks and motor and pump assemblies, and a lifetime limited warranty on the "tank and inner door". For a ranking across brands, start with our quietest dishwashers guide, and read a gap of a couple of decibels between two makers as a draw.
