Oven Not Heating Properly? 5 Things to Check Before You Call

Before you call

1. Verify the temperature with a separate oven thermometer. Built-in displays can be off by more than you'd expect — an inexpensive oven thermometer tells you if it's a real problem or just a calibration issue.
2. Check if the oven light and display work. If the display is dead too, it may be a power issue rather than a heating-element failure.
3. For gas ovens, watch the igniter. A glowing igniter that never produces a flame after 30-90 seconds points to a gas-flow or igniter issue, not something to keep re-trying.
4. Check the door seal. A door that doesn't close tightly lets heat escape and can cause uneven or slow cooking that looks like a heating problem.
5. Try the self-clean calibration setting, if your model has one. Some ovens have a simple offset adjustment in the settings menu that fixes a hot-or-cold oven without any parts.

When it's time to call a technician

If the thermometer confirms a real temperature problem, or a gas igniter glows without lighting, that's a technician visit — a clicking igniter that never lights shouldn't be left running unattended. If you smell gas at any point, stop: don't operate the oven or any switches, leave the area, and call your gas utility or 911 before doing anything else.