Rheem's own service manual treats a code on a tankless display as the unit's diagnostic system reporting which safety check failed, not a general malfunction light. The Eagle Tankless manual lists two character codes tied to gas supply, overheating, a failed thermistor, a blower or bypass motor, low water flow, or a blocked vent, each pointing at its own fix.
Hot Water Brief is an independent cost-research site. We are not a contractor and do not perform the work ourselves.
Before calling anyone, Rheem's manual gives a simple reset. Turn off the hot water faucets, press the power button on the remote to shut the unit off, wait about 5 minutes, then restart and recheck the display. If the code returns, unplugging the unit for about 30 seconds and plugging it back in clears many temporary faults. A code that keeps returning after that is a call for service, not more resetting.
The chart below covers the codes Rheem documents for its Eagle indoor and outdoor tankless line. Codes are specific to the model family, so a code on a different Rheem series may carry a different meaning, and the remote control or front panel display is the only accurate place to read it.
| Code | What it reports | What Rheem's manual recommends |
|---|---|---|
| 1L | Lime deposit buildup in the unit | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| 11 | Gas shut-off valve not fully open | Check the shut-off valve and open it completely |
| 12 | Gas service interrupted, or LP tank running low | Contact the gas utility, or refill or replace the LP container |
| 14 | Water heater overheating | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| 31 | Faulty inlet thermistor | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| 33 | Faulty outlet thermistor | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| 61 | Faulty blower motor | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| 66 | Faulty bypass motor | Contact a dealer or qualified service technician |
| P1 | Not enough water flow to operate the unit | Increase the hot water flow at the fixture |
| 88 | Maintenance reminder, not a fault | Flush the heat exchanger or replace the water treatment filter |
| 90 or 99 | Air intake or vent exhaust blocked, or vent not connected properly | Clear the blockage, or contact a dealer if the vent connection is at fault |
Source: Rheem, Eagle Tankless Indoor and Outdoor Use and Care Manual, Form AP22009 Rev. 04, Service Error Code Chart.
Two details matter before that call. Code 88 is not a failure: Rheem built it to appear after a set number of combustion hours, 500, 750 or 1,000, set by the installer, purely as a maintenance nudge, and it clears once the heat exchanger is flushed, not once a part is replaced. A unit that will not fire sometimes shows no code at all, since Rheem's troubleshooting chart lists a closed shut-off valve, a partly open faucet, frozen piping, or a low temperature setting as more common causes of no hot water than any electronic fault.
Code 11 has its own page with Rheem's reset sequence and costs: how to clear Rheem code 11. Older Classic Plus units can also show code 13, which is not on the Eagle chart; see Rheem tankless code 13. If P1 will not clear with a tap wide open, the Rheem tankless P1 code guide covers Rheem's 0.4 GPM rule and the recirculation cases.
A Rheem storage tank tends to fail at its heating elements, thermostat, gas valve or the tank itself, the failures covered symptom by symptom on the general problems page. A Rheem tankless unit tends to fail at the thermistors, blower or bypass motor, or from scale in the heat exchanger, which is what its error codes are built to catch.
Rheem sells its tank and tankless lines across several tiers, which affects both what tends to fail and what the warranty pays toward fixing it. On the tank side, Rheem's Performance Platinum gas models add a self-cleaning feature aimed at reducing sediment, a powered damper with its own diagnostic valve, and a premium anode rod, features Rheem's own product listing names as the difference from its standard tank line. On the tankless side, the RTG-R and RTGH series both carry LeakGuard leak detection and WiFi monitoring through the EcoNet app, while the Professional Classic electric point-of-use units use a polymer shell with no gas components and no venting, so an ignition or venting fault does not apply to them.
For the mechanics of any one symptom, no hot water, a leak, a pilot that will not stay lit, or a rumbling tank, the general water heater problems and repair cost page covers cause and typical repair range across brands. What is specific to Rheem is which faults its own diagnostics are built to flag, covered above, and what its warranty pays toward repairing them, covered next.
Coverage depends on the model tier and what failed. Rheem's standard residential tank models carry tank warranties from 6 years up to as long as the original owner keeps the home, and component parts from 1 to 10 years, but labor is only covered for the first year of operation on any of it, tank or parts.
Rheem's Performance Platinum tank models are the exception: Rheem's own product listing gives them a 12-year tank and parts warranty paired with a 3-year full in-home labor warranty, longer than the standard tank line's labor coverage.
Tankless warranties split by installation type rather than tier alone. For a residential single-family install, Rheem's Limited Warranty for its Rheem, Ruud, Richmond, Paloma and EcoSmart tankless gas water heaters covers 12 years on the heat exchanger, 5 years on parts, and 1 year of labor. Rheem's newer RTG-R and RTGH condensing series list a 15-year heat exchanger warranty on their current product pages. A recirculating system on an uncontrolled, continuously running pump drops that same tankless coverage to 3 years on both the heat exchanger and parts.
What voids or excludes coverage is where people get caught out. Rheem's tankless warranty excludes damage from lime, mineral buildup and scale, so a heat exchanger that fails from never being descaled is a maintenance failure, not a covered defect. It also excludes damage from improper installation, from parts not authorized by Rheem, from freezing, and from running the unit above its rated pressure or above a 140°F incoming water temperature. Rheem's general residential policy adds that a non-Rheem replacement part ends coverage on that component unless Rheem's Technical Service Department authorizes it first, and that any claim must be filed within 90 days of when the defect occurred.
| Rheem product line | Heat exchanger or tank | Component parts | Labor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard residential tank | 6 years up to lifetime of original ownership | 1 to 10 years | 1 year |
| Performance Platinum tank | 12 years | 12 years | 3 years |
| Tankless gas, single-family, standard install | 12 years | 5 years | 1 year |
| Tankless gas, RTG-R and RTGH series | 15 years | 5 years | 1 year |
| Tankless gas, uncontrolled recirculation loop | 3 years | 3 years | 1 year |
Source: Rheem, Residential Gas Tankless Water Heater Warranty; Rheem, Eagle Tankless Use and Care Manual, Form AP22009 Rev. 04; Rheem Water Heating, Summary of Rheem and Ruud Residential Water Heater Warranty Policy, Form WP-110 Rev. 3; Rheem product listings for the Performance Platinum, RTG-R and RTGH series.
Rheem does not publish repair prices, so the best available figures are market-wide. Fixr's national data puts the average water heater repair at $450, typically $150 to $750, and the average tankless repair at $375, typically $100 to $650. What changes on a Rheem unit specifically is whether the part and the labor are still inside the warranty windows above.
Inside the first year, a warranty claim on a Rheem unit should cost only the technician's trip and diagnosis, since Rheem covers the part and the labor during that window. Past year one on a standard tank or tankless install, the part may still be free under warranty, but the labor becomes an out-of-pocket cost, which is where Fixr's part-level figures apply again: a heating element runs $200 to $750 installed, a thermostat $100 to $250, and a thermocouple $150 to $325, nationally.
For the complete breakdown by symptom and by part, the general water heater problems and repair cost page carries the full set of ranges, and the cost guide covers what a full replacement runs when a repair estimate starts getting close to that number.
For a warranty question or a code you cannot resolve, Rheem's Technical Service Department is the manufacturer's own line, staffed Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM Central. For the physical repair, Rheem's Find a Pro tool lists independent local contractors, and tankless warranty labor has to be done by one trained on Rheem's tankless products.
Rheem's own directory notes the listed contractors are independent third parties, not employees or agents of Rheem Manufacturing Company, and that it cannot vouch for whether a listing's details have changed since being submitted. That does not change the basic step for any repair, Rheem-authorized or not: confirm the company is licensed before it touches gas piping or the electrical connection. Hot Water Brief does not perform repairs, set prices or promise how quickly any company responds.
| Need | Contact | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Technical support or a warranty question | Rheem technical support | Rheem's current water heating support line, Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM Central |
| Customer service or a warranty claim | Rheem customer service | Listed on Rheem's residential warranty documents |
| An independent local contractor | Rheem's Find a Pro tool, searched by zip code | Contractors are independent, not Rheem employees or agents |
Source: Rheem, Help and Support; Rheem, Find a Pro; Rheem Water Heating, Summary of Rheem and Ruud Residential Water Heater Warranty Policy, Form WP-110 Rev. 3.
Rheem's own manual gives a two step reset before anyone calls for service. Turn off the hot water faucets and power the unit off for about 5 minutes, then restart it. If a code remains, unplug the unit from its power source for about 30 seconds, plug it back in, and check the display again.
Rheem's manual also warns against opening the cover for anything beyond this reset. Its warning next to the error code chart says not to attempt repair of electrical wiring, gas piping, the remote control, burners or vent connectors, and to refer that work to a qualified technician, consistent with the general guidance on which water heater problems need a licensed professional, for any brand.
Every figure on this page traces to a Rheem document or a published cost guide, listed below with a link.
Rheem's Eagle Tankless manual lists 1L as a lime deposit buildup, and its recommended fix is contacting a dealer or qualified service technician rather than a home fix. Lime and scale damage is also specifically excluded from Rheem's tankless warranty, so a unit that has never been descaled can see this repair billed in full even inside its coverage window.
No. Rheem's Limited Warranty for its residential tankless gas water heaters excludes damage caused by lime, mineral buildup or scale, treating it as a maintenance issue rather than a covered defect. The same document lists recommended water quality ranges, including pH and total hardness, meant to prevent the problem before it starts.
For most part-level claims, Rheem's general residential policy does not require the installer to be Rheem-authorized. For labor to be covered under a tankless warranty claim, Rheem's warranty document requires a contractor that is licensed, state qualified, and trained to install and service Rheem's tankless products, which Rheem's Find a Pro tool can help locate.
It is a maintenance reminder, not a fault. Rheem's manual explains the unit can be set to display code 88 after a chosen number of combustion hours, 500, 750 or 1,000, to prompt flushing the heat exchanger or replacing the water treatment filter, and the feature is switched off by default.
It depends on the model and installation. Rheem's standard residential tank line carries tank warranties from 6 years up to as long as the original owner keeps the home, with parts from 1 to 10 years, while a standard single-family tankless install carries 12 years on the heat exchanger and 5 on parts. Labor coverage is narrower in every case, generally 1 year, unless the model states otherwise, as Rheem's Performance Platinum tank line does with its 3-year labor window.
Rheem's Find a Pro tool searches by zip code and lets you filter by equipment type and Pro Partner or authorized service provider status. Rheem states these are independent third-party contractors, not Rheem employees or agents, so the usual step still applies: confirm the company's license before any gas or electrical work begins.
Independent Research
Published ranges for tank and tankless replacement, the failures that justify a repair, and the ones that do not. Sourced, dated, and free to read.
