Despite those aforementioned anecdotes, self-clean disasters are the exception, not the rule. Sutton has seen little evidence to suggest that running the self-clean cycle is likely to damage your oven. “I recall hearing of a few malfunctions during self-cleaning over the years, but it’s not a common thing,” he says. In fact, such problems emerge in only 1 percent of the self-cleaning ranges covered in our most recent reliability ratings. Ignition problems, unrelated to self-cleaning, are far more likely, occurring in 8 percent of gas and pro-style ranges. The same holds true for cooktop chips and scratches, which occur with roughly eight times the frequency of broken self-clean cycles.
Chris Zeisler, technical service supervisor at Repair Clinic, says it’s possible that certain parts might break or malfunction during a self-clean cycle, including door latches, electrical components, bake or broil elements, igniters (in gas ranges), and gaskets. “The biggest takeaway is that if you’re hosting a big gathering, like Thanksgiving, you want to run the cycle several weeks in advance,” he says.
