door would not close/lock on Maytag dishwasher
 

We have Maytag dishwasher model MDB7600AWS that is about 5 yrs old. Its door would not close/lock. It appears that the problem is mechanical, i.e. something broke inside the lock assembly. Normally, I would have to push the latch up when locking the door. Now I can't do it and the "tongue" piece that is supposed to go into a hole in the main body of the unit to lock the door does not move.

I want to see if I can just replace a part. I went to Maytag's parts website and got a list of parts for my model. However, they do not have any pix of the individual parts or a schematic of the unit, so i am not sure what part I need. There is a latch assembly (Part Information) but it's more than $40 and so I want to make sure it's indeed the part I need.

I took the cover off the door and pulled out the latch assembly. Its shown in the photo. The plastic piece in the middle has this imprinted on top of it:

PA-GF
EMZ
380210

6 916777
040719 08

Questions:
1. Is the latch part what I need?
2. Is it possible to avoid paying $40+ for this part and fix it cheaper?

Thanks much!

From the sound of it this "might" be the solution to your problem; make sure not to damage the part when installing it in case you need to return it.

Unless you can figure out exactly what's causing the issue you'll need to replace the part, even if you could "temp-fix" it you'll end up needing to replace it in the future. Isn't there a warranty still on it if it's only 5 years old?