The short answer
The reading E12 on this oven names the gas sensor circuit. Read the table for the documented wording, then work down the ranked causes rather than across them. Do not keep using it: this one is a same-day call.
The documented code and its meaning
Reference| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| E12 | There is a problem with the Gas Sensor or the associated wiring. |
What you actually observe
- The oven runs normally on any function that needs no gas — Which narrows the fault to the gas side and nothing else.
- The code appears as soon as heat is called for — It is reported at the moment the circuit is consulted.
- A smell of gas near the appliance — Stop here. Leave the building and call the gas utility or 911 from outside.
- NEAR MISS — no display and no response at all — That is an electrical supply question first.
Causes, most likely first on this oven
- The sensor or its circuit reporting outside the expected band — The control refuses a reading it cannot trust rather than running the burner on a doubtful signal, which is the safe direction.
- A slack or heat-damaged connector on the sensor lead — That lead runs close to the burner compartment, so its plug sees more heat than anything else in the circuit.
- Wiring damage between the sensor and the control — A conductor grounding against the chassis produces the same reported fault as a failed sensor.
- A control input fault — Possible, and last: the other three are cheaper and far more common.
Check in this order, and why
- Stop using the appliance for gas cooking while this code is present — The control has already refused to trust part of the burner management chain, and that is a reason to leave it alone.
- Confirm there is no smell of gas near the appliance — This comes before every other check, every time.
- Power the unit down and note whether the code returns on restart — A code that returns immediately is a live fault, not a stored one.
- Book the visit rather than opening the burner compartment — Gas components are not owner-serviceable, and the code says the control has lost confidence in one of them.
What an owner can safely check
- If you smell gas: leave the building and call the gas utility or 911 from outside — Do not hunt for the leak yourself. This step comes before everything else on this page.
- Otherwise, turn the appliance off at its control and leave it off — There is no owner-side test for this circuit, so the useful action is to stop using it.
About 2 min
- Set down the code and what was running when it appeared — It shortens the visit and makes sure the right parts are on the van.
Tools: pen and paperAbout 5 min
Before anything is opened
Safety
Nothing comes off until the power is off. Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A built-in oven is normally hard-wired, so the breaker is the isolation point rather than a plug. The cavity and the door glass stay hot for a long time after a bake cycle ends. The switches on the door are there to cut power at a particular moment. Leave their wiring as it was found.
When this stops being an owner job
Arrange a visit immediately — this code is a service call from the moment it appears. From there on it is a meter on a de-energised circuit, and reaching the rear of a built-in oven means unseating it from the cabinetry first. Three things override that timing: a burning smell, scorch marks near the controls, and a breaker that trips on start-up. Any of them means stop and call now.
Nearest error-code pages
What this page does not cover
What is written here about E12 comes from the code set shared across Maytag oven model lines on one control platform. It does not extend to earlier control generations that happen to display the same characters for a different condition. Wiring colours, pin assignments, torque values and part numbers are all left out on purpose: they are family-specific and belong on the page for that family. Where such a page exists, it is the more specific answer and takes precedence over this one; the linked index is where to find it.
Other Maytag oven codes
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