Something's wrong with your garage door and you want to know two things fast: what's causing it, and whether it's safe to look at yourself. Pick the symptom that matches what your door is doing. Each one lists the likely causes, says plainly whether there's anything you can safely check, and points you to the right fix.
One rule before anything else: garage door springs and the cables attached to them hold a lot of tension. Never adjust, loosen or repair a spring, a cable, or the bottom brackets the cables attach to. If the cause looks like a spring or a cable, stop and call a technician.
The Door Won't Open at All
Check the simple things first. Stop if you see a spring or cable problem.
Likely causes: a broken torsion spring, a snapped cable, an opener problem, the manual release cord pulled by accident, the wall console's lock mode switched on, or no power at the opener.
What you can safely check:
- Does the wall button work when the remote doesn't, or the other way round? That narrows it to the remote or the opener.
- If your wall console has a lock or vacation mode, is it switched off?
- Does the opener have power? Check the outlet it's plugged into and the breaker.
- Has the manual release cord, usually a red handle, been pulled?
Stop and call if: you can see a gap in the spring above the door, a cable is loose or hanging, or the door is far heavier than normal. Don't keep running the opener against a door that won't move. More detail: top causes of a door that won't open, or get emergency garage door repair.
It Starts to Close, Then Goes Back Up
Usually safe to check yourself.
Likely causes: the safety sensors near the floor are blocked, dirty or knocked out of line. Bright sun or headlights shining into a sensor, damaged sensor wiring, or something in the door's path or tracks can do it too.
What you can safely check:
- Clear anything in the door's path and along the tracks.
- Wipe both sensor lenses with a soft cloth.
- Make sure the two sensors face each other squarely. A broom, bike or car bumper can knock one out of line.
- Look along the sensor wires for pinched or chewed spots.
Call if: the sensors are clean and lined up but the door still won't close, or the wiring is damaged. Full guide: sensor problems that stop closing. Service: garage door opener repair.
You Heard a Loud Bang and Now the Door Won't Lift
Stop. Call a technician.
Likely cause: usually a broken spring (most often the torsion spring above the door) or a snapped cable. A spring that snaps often makes a loud bang, and you may see a gap in the coil.
What to do: don't run the opener, don't try to lift the door by hand, and don't pull the manual release, especially if the door is open or partway open. The spring is what holds the door's weight, so without it the door can come down fast. Keep people and cars away from the door until it's repaired.
Read why DIY spring repair is risky. Service: garage door spring repair.
The Door Is Crooked or One Side Hangs Lower
Stop. Call a technician.
Likely causes: a cable that has slipped off its drum or snapped, a roller that has left the track, or a spring problem on one side.
What to do: stop using the door, don't try to pull it level, and don't pull the manual release. A crooked door is under uneven tension and can bind or drop. Read why cables slip and how it's fixed. Service: garage door cable repair.
The Door Came Off Its Track
Stop. Call a technician.
Likely causes: the door was hit, an obstruction stopped it, a cable slipped, or worn rollers or bent track let it jump the rail.
What to do: don't run the opener, don't force the door, and don't pull the manual release. If your car is stuck inside, call. Service: garage door repair.
Grinding, Squeaking or Rattling
Lubrication is safe to do yourself. Leave the springs, cables and bottom brackets alone.
Likely causes: dry rollers and hinges, worn rollers, loose hardware, or a dry or worn opener drive.
What you can safely do: with the door closed and the opener unplugged, lubricate the hinges and the roller bearings, not nylon roller wheels or the inside of the tracks.
Call if: the noise is a grinding or popping from the spring area, or it keeps up after lubricating. Read noisy doors: rollers, hinges and alignment. Service: tune-up and maintenance.
The Remote or Keypad Stopped Working, but the Wall Button Works
Safe to check yourself.
Likely causes: a dead battery in the remote or keypad, a lock or vacation mode switched on at the wall console (if yours has one), a remote that has lost its programming, or an opener receiver problem.
What you can safely check: replace the remote or keypad battery, check that any lock or vacation mode is off, and try the remote from closer to the door. Your opener's manual explains how to re-pair a remote.
Call if: none of that works, or none of your remotes work. Service: garage door opener repair.
Nothing Works, Not Even the Wall Button
Safe to check the power. Only use the manual release with the door closed.
Likely causes: no power to the opener (outlet, breaker, or a power outage), or an opener that has failed.
What you can safely check: make sure the opener is plugged in, that the outlet has power, and that the breaker or a GFCI outlet hasn't tripped. In California, residential openers sold or installed since July 1, 2019 must have a battery backup. If yours has one and still won't run during an outage, the backup battery may be flat. See California garage door rules.
The manual release: only pull the red release cord with the door fully closed. If the door is open or partly open, don't pull it: a door with a weak or broken spring can drop fast. Keep clear and call. Once it's released, lift slowly using the handle, and stop if the door feels heavy. Service: garage door opener repair, or a new opener.
The Door Feels Heavy or Won't Stay Half Open
The balance test is OK to do carefully. Adjusting springs is not.
Likely cause: springs that are wearing out or out of balance. A door that's hard to lift, or slides down or shoots up when left half open, isn't being held by its springs the way it should be.
What you can do carefully: run the balance test. Close the door fully before pulling the release, keep your hands off the joints between sections, and stand clear when you let go. If the door is very hard to lift, stop and call. Never adjust spring tension yourself. If the door fails the test, call. Service: garage door spring repair.
It Doesn't Reverse When Something Is in the Way
Stop using it automatically. Call a technician.
Why it matters: California law has required residential openers sold or installed since 1993 to have automatic reverse and a safety sensor (photo-eyes or an edge sensor) that makes a closing door reopen. Anyone hired to service or repair a residential opener has to check afterwards that it reverses on contact with a rigid two-inch-high obstacle. A door that won't reverse would fail that test.
What to do: keep people, pets and cars clear of the door, and stop using the opener until it's repaired. Background: California garage door rules and sensor problems. Service: garage door opener repair.
Dented, Cracked or Damaged Panels
Safe to look. Call if the door doesn't run smoothly.
What to look for: a dent can be just cosmetic, or it can stop a section from bending at its hinges as the door rolls up. If the door binds, sticks or runs crooked past the damaged section, stop using it.
Next steps: garage door panel repair, or, if the door is old and damaged in several places, read repair vs replace.
Light, Air or Water Gets in Under the Door
Usually safe to deal with yourself.
Likely causes: a worn or torn bottom seal, worn side weatherstripping, or a door that no longer closes evenly against the floor.
What you can do: see weatherstripping and bottom seal replacement tips. If getting the old seal out means loosening the bottom brackets or bottom fixture, stop and call: those hold the lift cables. If the gap is bigger on one side, the door may be out of level. Check the crooked-door symptom above. Service: tune-up and maintenance.
Still Not Sure What's Wrong?
Call Door & Roll Garage Door and describe what the door is doing. If anything above says "stop", don't use the door until it's been looked at.