VAN NUYS, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year thousands of holiday meals are needlessly stressful because of unidentified problems with the oven; from incorrect temperatures, to uneven cooking. Most common problems can be easily fixed by the owner at a minimal cost.

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The repair experts at AppliancePartsPros.com receive many requests for advice during the holiday season from people whose oven has stopped working while preparing the meal. Preventative maintenance is not only easy to do, but can mean the difference between an expensive service call, and a wonderful holiday dinner.

"Nothing is worse than an undercooked turkey or ham," according to Roman Kagan, CEO of Appliance Parts Pros. "Apart from the health concerns of a malfunctioning oven, there is the added stress of trying to find a repair person or appliance part at the last minute to save the family meal."

• If your oven temperature is off, the most likely cause is a bad oven sensor. The sensor is mounted to the back wall inside the oven cavity and looks like a metal rod about 3-6 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Replacing the sensor is easy. Two screws hold it to the back wall and there is a quick disconnect harness plug on the other side.
• When baking takes too long it is typically due to a weak oven igniter. The igniter comes on several times during the baking cycle to fire up the oven burner. If the igniter is too weak, it won't start up every time. Replacing an oven igniter is simple and inexpensive.
• If uneven cooking is an issue it is usually the result of not preheating enough. After your oven tells you it is done preheating, let it preheat for another 5 to 7 minutes. The oven sensor heats up and signals the oven to shut off the preheat cycle. The oven inner walls however are still not hot enough and will keep on absorbing the heat, thus lowering the temperature inside the oven.
• Do not use the self cleaning cycle on or before a major holiday like Thanksgiving. The oven may overheat and damage a key component such as the fuse or the main control board.

For more helpful tips and advice to keep your oven performing like new, visit AppliancePartsPros.com Repair Blog and Forum (http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/).