I had the same issue (water not heating and machine not drying) but was able to fix it today, thanks to this thread, with little effort and no parts at all.
Back in June 2019 I had to replace the circulation pump on my Kitchenaid KDFE204ESS2. The dishes were not coming clean and after a little troubleshooting I determined a bad circulation pump was the issue. I ordered and changed the pump and thought everything was fine because I could now hear the water spraying vigorously inside the machine when it was running. What I didn’t know was the machine was now leaving a film of undissolved detergent on some of the dishes and the inside surfaces of the machine. My niece (she does the dishes) never told me about the film and would rinse the dishes in the sink after the cycle and dry them by hand.
Last month when my niece moved into her own apartment and my wife and I were now on “dishes duty” is when we discovered the issue with the detergent film. After some troubleshooting I determined I was having the same issue as everyone in this thread. Water was not getting hot and the dry cycle was not working. I figured it was the heating element but after some research realized it could also be the high temp limit thermostat.
This morning I was getting ready to test for continuity of the high limit thermostat and if necessary the heating element as well. I was hoping it would be the thermostat since it’s an easier job to test and replace.
Before I started I was surfing for more info and came across this thread. That’s when I realized that earlier last year when I replaced the circulation pump, I had unplugged the wires to the high temp limit thermostat so they would not be in the way. Then I thought to myself that unplugging the sensor might have the same effect as replacing it and maybe I just need to do a diagnostic/reset cycle on the machine.
Here’s what I did:
# Power cycle - Shut off circuit breaker for 5 minutes then turned it back on.
# Diagnostic/reset cycle - For my model this involved pressing any three buttons in succession three times. The machine runs for a while switching between cycles and testing all components.
# Drain cycle - For my model this involved pressing and holding in the “cancel” button until the machine started the drain cycle.
After the above I loaded up the washer, started it, and hoped for the best. During the wash cycle I opened the door several times to check if the water was hot and was immediately met with a face full of steam. Then during the dry cycle I again opened the door to see if it was getting hot inside the machine… and it was.
When the wash cycle was complete I immediately opened the machine and there was no detergent film on any of the dishes or inside surfaces of the machine, everything was clean, dry and still very hot to the touch….
Problem solved!!!!