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A stainless built-in wall oven in a US home kitchen with a thin haze of smoke rising along the top of its closed door, an oven mitt resting on the counter below.

Oven
Burning Smell

A scorched, smoky or hot-plastic smell comes from the wall oven while it heats, sometimes with smoke at the door or vents.

(844) 407-1890

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Gas, fire or electrical risk
  • 5 questions that narrow it
  • 5 causes, cheapest first

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A gas smell means out of the house first; otherwise, breaker off

Treat a smell of wiring or plastic, or smoke from outside the cavity, as a fire risk. Switch the oven off at the breaker, keep a smoking oven door closed, and call 911 if flames do not go out. Do not run the oven again to test the smell.

What it
usually means.

Most burning smells from an oven are food: a spill on the floor of the cavity, grease on a broil element or crumbs under the bottom panel. Those smell like burnt sugar or fat and smoke from inside the cavity. A smell of hot plastic or wiring is a different matter, because it points to a terminal that is overheating, a cooling fan that stopped, or insulation behind the oven that is getting hotter than it should. Anything that smells electrical, or any smoke that does not clear as the spill burns away, is treated as a fire risk first.

A new coiled broil element is held up inside the open cavity of a wall oven in a US home kitchen, just below the old blistered element still mounted on the ceiling. The 5 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

01

Does it smell like burnt food, or like melting plastic and wires?
02

Is there smoke inside the cavity, or coming from the vents, the control panel or the cabinet around the oven?
03

Did the smell start with a new oven, after a spill, or during a self-clean?
04

Is the cooling fan running as usual after the oven switches off?
05

Do the cabinet doors or trim beside the oven feel unusually hot?

Check these
before you book.

Oven burning smell: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

01

Turn the oven off and switch off its breaker; do not open the door if there is smoke or flame inside.

02

If flames do not die down with the door shut, or smoke comes from the cabinet, leave and call 911 from outside.

03

Once everything is cold, look at the cavity floor and the elements for spills or a bright, blistered spot.

Also worth checking

  • Note whether the smell was burnt food or hot plastic; the two point to very different parts.
  • Leave the breaker off if the smell was electrical, and say so when you book.

The causes,
cheapest first.

5 things oven burning smell turns out to be, from food or grease burning inside to convection motor overheating.

The cost guide
  1. 01 no repair

    Food or grease burning inside

    A drip on the oven floor, cheese on the element or grease in the broiler area smokes every time the oven heats. Cleaning the cavity once it is cold ends it.

    No repair: check it yourself
  2. 02 low to moderate

    Overheated wire or terminal

    The connection where power reaches an element, or a terminal at the back of the oven, can loosen, arc and char. It gives off an acrid, electrical odor, and of all the causes here it calls for the most caution.

    Fixed by bake and broil element repair
  3. 03 low to moderate

    Cooling fan not running

    A built-in oven relies on a fan to push heat away from its controls and out of the cabinet. With that fan stopped, the panel, wiring and trim cook, and a hot-plastic smell follows.

    Fixed by cooling fan and thermal fuse repair
  4. 04 low

    Element failing with a hot spot

    A bake or broil element that is about to split often glows unusually bright in one place and gives off a metallic smell before it fails.

    Fixed by bake and broil element repair See oven not heating
  5. 05 moderate

    Convection motor overheating

    A fan motor with dry bearings drags and heats. The smell shows up in convection modes and usually comes with a growl from the back wall.

    Fixed by convection fan and motor repair See convection oven fan not working
  6. What it costs

    Every repair on the site's cost scale, side by side

    Open the cost guide

The makes
it happens on.

30 makes on this site; oven burning smell can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 30 brands

Oven Burning Smell,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

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Questions about
oven burning smell.

My new wall oven smokes and smells on the first few uses. Is something wrong?
New ovens often burn off oils and insulation binders the first few times they heat. Running an empty bake with the kitchen ventilated is the usual advice in the manual. A smell that lasts beyond the first uses, or that smells like wiring, is worth a visit.
Why should I not open the door on a smoking oven?
A grease fire inside a closed oven usually runs out of air. Opening the door feeds it and can push flame toward you and the cabinets above.
The smell only appeared during self-clean. Should I be worried?
Self-clean turns leftover food to ash and smells strongly while it does. It is expected to some degree. Smoke from the vents or panel, or a hot-plastic smell, is not part of it.
Can a burning smell come from the cabinet around the oven?
Yes. Built-in ovens need their cabinet cutout and venting to match the installation guide. A cabinet that traps heat, or a cooling fan that stopped, lets trim and wiring get too hot.

Back to your everyday

Still seeing oven burning smell?

Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 407-1890
(844) 407-1890 Schedule a repair