diff --git a/src/math/p5.Vector.js b/src/math/p5.Vector.js
index 97b72ab61b..50a3b695d5 100644
--- a/src/math/p5.Vector.js
+++ b/src/math/p5.Vector.js
@@ -2191,7 +2191,21 @@ class Vector {
    */
   setHeading(a) {
     if (this.isPInst) a = this._toRadians(a);
-    let m = this.mag();
+    if (this.z !== 0) {
+      p5._friendlyError(
+        'p5.Vector.setHeading() only supports 2D vectors (z === 0). ' +
+        'For 3D or higher-dimensional vectors, use rotate() or another ' +
+        'appropriate method instead.',
+        'p5.Vector.setHeading'
+      );
+      return this;
+    }
+    const m = this.mag();
+    if (m === 0) {
+      this.x = 0;
+      this.y = 0;
+      return this;
+    }
     this.x = m * Math.cos(a);
     this.y = m * Math.sin(a);
     return this;