No heat at all
The display works and the oven starts a cycle, but the cavity stays room temperature.
Start here: Check whether the oven is gas or electric, then look for any sign of flame, glow, or element heating.
Oven heating problem
Maytag Oven Not Heating
Direct answer: If your Maytag oven is not heating, the most common causes are a failed oven igniter on gas models, a burned-out oven heating element on electric models, or a temperature sensor problem. Start by separating gas from electric and checking whether the oven shows any heat signs at all.
Most likely: Gas oven: weak or non-lighting bake igniter. Electric oven: visibly damaged bake element or missing one leg of power. If the oven heats a little but never reaches temperature, the oven sensor moves up the list.
Watch what the oven actually does when you start Bake. Does a gas igniter glow but never light? Does an electric bake element stay dark or show a split spot? Does Broil work while Bake does not? Those field clues save a lot of wrong parts. Reality check: most no-heat calls end up being one heating part, not the whole oven. Common wrong move: replacing the temperature sensor just because the oven is slow, when the real problem is a weak igniter or a burned bake element.
Don’t start with: Do not start by ordering an oven control board. Controls do fail, but they are not the first bet when the oven is dead cold or heating poorly.
Gas oven clueIf the igniter glows for a long time and you never get flame, suspect the oven igniter first.
Electric oven clueIf Broil works but Bake stays cold, inspect the oven bake element before chasing controls.
Last reviewed: 2026-04-17
What the oven is doing tells you where to look first
Broil works but Bake does not
The upper heat works, but normal baking leaves food undercooked and the oven barely warms.
Start here: Focus on the oven bake igniter for gas models or the oven bake element for electric models.
Glows but never lights
On a gas oven, you can see an orange glow near the burner, but there is no steady flame and little or no heat.
Start here: A weak oven igniter is the leading cause, even if it still glows.
Heats some, but not enough
The oven eventually gets warm, but preheat takes too long or the temperature is far off.
Start here: Check for a weak igniter, a partially failed bake element, a loose connection, or an oven sensor issue.
Most likely causes
1. Weak or failed oven igniter on a gas oven
A gas oven can have a glowing igniter that still is not drawing enough current to open the gas valve. That gives you little heat or no flame at all.
Quick check: Start Bake and watch through the bottom openings. If the igniter glows for 30 to 90 seconds with no flame, the oven igniter is the top suspect.
2. Burned-out oven bake element on an electric oven
When the bake element opens up, the oven may stay cold on Bake or heat only from the broil side very poorly.
Quick check: With power off and the oven cool, look for blistering, a split, a rough burned spot, or a section that never glows red.
3. Power supply problem on an electric oven
An electric oven can have lights and a working display on partial power, but still not heat correctly if one leg of power is missing.
Quick check: If both bake and broil are dead or very weak after a breaker trip, check for a tripped double breaker before opening the oven.
4. Out-of-range oven temperature sensor
A bad sensor can make the oven underheat, overheat, or stop preheating properly, especially when the heating parts look normal.
Quick check: If the oven does heat but is consistently far off temperature with no visible element or igniter failure, the oven sensor becomes more likely.
Step-by-step fix
Step 1: Confirm the basics before opening anything
A surprising number of oven no-heat calls come down to settings, delayed start, or a power issue that looks like a part failure.
- Make sure the oven is not in Delay Start, Sabbath, or a timed mode that is preventing normal Bake.
- Set Bake to a clear test temperature like 350°F and give it several minutes while you watch and listen.
- If it is an electric oven, check the home's double breaker. Turn it fully off, then back on once if it looks tripped.
- If it is a gas oven, confirm the cooktop burners work if your unit has them. That helps separate a house gas issue from an oven-only issue.
Next move: If the oven heats normally after correcting settings or resetting a tripped breaker, you likely had a control setting or supply issue, not a failed oven part. If the display works but the oven still does not heat, move to the heating-pattern check next.
What to conclude: You are ruling out the easy lookalikes first so you do not chase parts for a simple setup or supply problem.
Stop if:
- The breaker trips again right away.
- You smell gas and do not have ignition.
- You see sparking, smoke, or melted wiring signs.
Step 2: Separate gas-oven symptoms from electric-oven symptoms
Gas and electric ovens fail differently. The visible clues are usually strong enough to point you in the right direction fast.
- For a gas oven, start Bake and look through the lower oven openings or remove the bottom panel only if your model allows easy access with the oven unplugged and cool first.
- Watch for an igniter glow and listen for burner ignition. A healthy gas bake burner usually lights shortly after the igniter gets bright.
- For an electric oven, start Bake and look for the lower oven bake element to heat. Some elements glow visibly red after a short warm-up.
- Try Broil as a comparison. If Broil works but Bake does not, the problem is usually in the bake side, not the whole oven.
Next move: If you clearly identify glow-no-flame on gas or a dead bake element on electric, you have a strong direction for the repair. If there is no clear clue yet, keep going and inspect the heating parts more closely with power disconnected.
What to conclude: This step narrows the problem to the bake heat source instead of treating every no-heat complaint the same.
Step 3: Inspect the main bake heating part closely
Most ovens that will not heat have an obvious failure at the bake heat source once you look carefully.
- Disconnect power to the oven. If it is a gas model, also shut off the gas supply if your access puts you near the burner area.
- On an electric oven, inspect the oven bake element for a split sheath, bubbled metal, burn marks, or a section broken clean through.
- On a gas oven, inspect the oven igniter for cracks, chips, or a dull weak glow during operation. A glowing igniter can still be bad if it never gets the burner lit promptly.
- Check the wire connections you can safely see at the bake element or igniter area for loose terminals, heat damage, or brittle insulation.
Next move: If you find a visibly failed oven bake element or a gas igniter that glows without lighting the burner, that is enough to support replacing that part. If the heating part looks normal and connections look intact, check temperature sensing and overall heating behavior next.
Step 4: Check for underheating clues that point to the oven sensor
When the oven heats some but never reaches the set temperature, the sensor becomes more believable than a dead control board.
- If the oven still produces some heat, note whether it is consistently slow to preheat or always far below the set temperature.
- Locate the oven temperature sensor inside the oven cavity, usually a slim probe on the rear wall.
- Inspect the sensor area for obvious damage, loose mounting, or a connector problem if accessible from the back after power is disconnected.
- If you have a multimeter and know how to use it safely, compare the sensor resistance at room temperature to the expected value for a typical oven sensor. A reading far off spec supports replacement.
Next move: If the sensor tests far out of range or is physically damaged, replacing the oven temperature sensor is a reasonable next move. If the sensor checks out and the bake heat source also looks good, the problem may be in wiring, relay output, or another control issue that is better confirmed by a pro.
Step 5: Make the repair that matches the clue, then verify on Bake
Once the symptom pattern is clear, the fix is usually straightforward: igniter, bake element, or sensor. If none of those fit, it is time to stop guessing.
- Replace the oven igniter if you have a gas oven with the classic bright-glow-but-no-flame or very delayed ignition symptom.
- Replace the oven bake element if you have an electric oven with visible element damage or a bake-only failure.
- Replace the oven temperature sensor if the oven heats but runs clearly off temperature and the sensor tests bad or is physically damaged.
- After reassembly, restore power, run Bake at 350°F, and confirm the oven now preheats normally and cycles heat instead of staying cold.
- If the oven still does not heat after the supported part check above, stop before ordering a control. At that point, a wiring or control diagnosis is the better next step.
A good result: If the oven reaches temperature and cycles normally, the repair path was correct.
If not: If the same symptom remains, the remaining suspects are wiring, relay output, or a control issue that needs deeper testing.
What to conclude: You have either finished the repair with a supported part or narrowed it down enough to avoid a random parts swap.
Replacement Parts
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FAQ
Why does my Maytag oven igniter glow but not light?
That usually points to a weak oven igniter on a gas model. It can glow and still fail to draw enough current to open the gas valve, so you get little heat or no flame.
Why does Broil work but Bake does not?
That usually means the bake side has failed while the rest of the oven still has power. On an electric oven, suspect the oven bake element first. On a gas oven, suspect the oven igniter for the bake burner.
Can an oven have power but still not heat?
Yes. Electric ovens can lose one leg of power and still light up at the display. Gas ovens can also have a working display and a failed igniter, so the controls look normal while the oven stays cold.
Is the oven temperature sensor a common cause of no heat?
It is more often a cause of wrong temperature or poor preheat than a completely dead-cold oven. If the oven shows no real heat at all, the igniter, bake element, or power supply is usually more likely.
Should I replace the control board if the oven is not heating?
Not first. Control problems happen, but they are less common than a weak oven igniter, a failed oven bake element, or a bad sensor. Rule out the visible and testable parts before spending money on a control.
Can a bad door gasket keep the oven from heating?
A bad oven door gasket usually causes heat loss, long preheat times, and uneven baking, not a total no-heat condition. It matters more when the oven warms up but struggles to hold temperature.