The power cord is bolted to the back of the machine on purpose. Freeing it only removes one of the four bolts.

Four bolts. The one holding the cord is only the first

LG fastens the power cord to the back of the washer with a shipping bolt precisely to prevent operation with the bolts in place, and it is an excellent idea that solves most of the problem. What it cannot do is make you remove the other three. Count them. LG’s own sequence is to start with the bottom two, use the wrench included with the machine, and turn counterclockwise to take out all four. Then remove the plastic retainers by turning them slightly while pulling. If a bolt will not come out, LG says service is required rather than force.

The ten second test that works on any front loader, any time

This is the most useful thing on the page and it needs no tools at all. Open the door and push the tub gently forward and backward. If it moves, the shipping bolts are out and the suspension is doing its job. If it feels solid, the bolts are still in. LG publishes exactly this test, and it is worth knowing for reasons beyond a new install: it works on a machine somebody else delivered and set up, on a used machine, on a rental, and on any front loader that has been making an alarming noise. A tub that does not move is a tub bolted to the frame.

Cap the holes once the bolts are out

The accessory pack contains hole caps, and they are the step most likely to be skipped because the machine works without them. LG’s instruction is to rotate and press them into the empty shipping bolt holes. Those holes go through the rear panel into the cabinet, and leaving them open is an invitation for dust, lint and anything else in a laundry room to get inside the machine over the years. It takes two minutes with the machine still pulled out and it is properly annoying to do later.

There is a foam block too, and the bolt count will not find it

This is the one that defeats people who did the bolts correctly. LG front load washers ship with a foam block in the base supporting the tub, and it can remain wedged under the tub after every bolt is out. The result is a machine that passes every check you know about and still vibrates hard. LG’s instruction is to tilt the washer back and look, with the explicit caution to do it with two people to avoid injury. Do that as part of the install rather than as troubleshooting three weeks later, because by then the machine is in a corner with a dryer on top of it.

Keep the bolts, and put them somewhere you will find them

The bolts exist to stop the weighted drum swinging and stretching the springs and dampers when the machine is tilted or laid down. That risk does not go away after installation day; it comes back the day you move house, or the day somebody wheels the machine out to redo the floor. Tape the four bolts, the retainers and the wrench together in a bag and tape the bag to the back of the machine, or put it with the manual. The alternative is what usually happens, which is a front loader making a cross-country move with an unrestrained drum.

Level it properly, and understand what levelness is doing here

On most appliances leveling is about looking right. On a front loader spinning at high speed it is structural. LG’s method is to loosen the locknut on a foot, adjust it up or down until vibration is minimized, then tighten the locknut so the setting cannot drift. Test by placing your hands on diagonal corners and trying to rock the machine, then repeat on the other diagonal. The floor matters as much as the feet: LG specifies level, solid flooring, and a wood floor with any flex under the weight of the machine will produce vibration that no amount of foot adjustment fixes.

Do the whole washer before a dryer goes on top

Stacking is common and it makes everything behind the washer unreachable. Finish completely first: bolts out, retainers out, caps in, foam block checked, hoses connected, machine leveled, and a test spin run. Only then stack. If a stacked machine turns out to have a shipping bolt still in it or a foam block underneath, fixing it means unstacking a dryer, which is a two-person job in a space that is usually a closet. This is the single best argument for doing the checks in order rather than the order things come to hand.

If it has already been run with the bolts in, stop and have it looked at

Opinions circulate on both sides of this and none of them are LG’s. What LG says is that the failure can lead to permanent damage, and the components at risk are the suspension springs and shock absorbers. What that means in practice depends on how many cycles were run and at what spin speed, which nobody on the internet knows about your machine. The sensible response is to stop using it, remove the bolts, run an empty spin, and if there is any unusual noise, movement or knocking, have it inspected while it is still a warranty conversation rather than a repair bill.