The short answer
E23 means the heating did not go as the control required. The documented meaning is that the oven did not reach pre-heat temperature within the manufacturer's stated window. An element that has partly failed, a relay that is not closing reliably, and a sensor reading wrong all land here, which is why the diagnosis matters more than the code.
This code and its neighbours on this appliance
Reference| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| E23 | The oven did not reach Pre-Heat Temperature within 30 (thirty) minutes. There may a problem with the Heater, the Appliance Control Board, or the associated wiring. |
| E24 | The oven reached an overheat condition of 500F (260C). There may a problem with the Thermal Sensor, the Gas Sensor, the Appliance Control Board, or the associated wiring. |
| E22 | The Thermal Sensor circuit reported a short to the control board. There may a problem with the Thermal Sensor, the Appliance Control Board, or the associated wiring. |
What you see alongside the code
- The code appears at the end of a preheat that never completed — The control waited out its window and stopped.
- Food is undercooked at the usual times and settings — A cavity below its set point cooks slowly without anything looking wrong.
- NEAR MISS - the oven does not attempt to heat at all — No attempt at all is a supply or control fault rather than a heating performance one.
What triggers it, most likely first
- A partly failed heating element — First because it is the most common and often visible: elements fail progressively, producing less heat for weeks before they open completely.
- A relay not closing reliably on the control — The element is fine and never gets full power.
- A temperature sensor reading high — The control believes the cavity is hotter than it is and cuts heat early.
Check in this order, and why
- Watch the element with the cavity cool and the light on — Uneven glow or a dead section is a diagnosis on sight, and it costs nothing.
- Check the door gasket all the way round — Gaps, hardening and flattened sections are visible and are a genuine cause.
- Listen for the relay click at the start of a cycle — A click with no heat following separates the control from the element.
The owner-safe procedure
- Switch off at the breaker and let the cavity cool completely — Every visual check on this fault is done cold, and the element is the thing you are about to look at.
About 45 min
- Inspect the element for breaks, blisters or dull sections — With a flashlight and without touching it. You are looking for a visible defect, not testing anything.
Tools: flashlightAbout 10 min
- Run a hand along the door gasket for hard or flattened spots — Cold cavity only. A gasket that no longer springs back is letting heat out.
About 8 min
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel - a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Heating elements carry full supply voltage and stay hot long after a cycle ends, so every check described here is done on a cold appliance with the breaker off. If the oven has tripped a breaker, leave it off and do not reset it repeatedly.
When this is a service call
Call once the visual checks are clean and the code still appears. What remains - element resistance, relay operation, sensor value and supply voltage - all need a meter on live circuits carrying full element current. Call immediately, and leave the breaker off, if the code came with a burning smell or a tripped breaker.
Neighbouring codes on this appliance
What this page does not cover
Read this as generalized information. It is written for E23 as the KitchenAid oven code list documents it across the brand rather than for one family or model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the more specific answer and is linked from the code index for this appliance. The codes listed beside it in the table above are documented differently, so read the characters on your display carefully rather than working from a code that merely looks similar.
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