Common garage door problems and what they usually mean
| Usually means | What to do | |
|---|---|---|
| Press the button and nothing happens | Power, the remote's battery or the wall button | Check those three first. They are safe, and it may be all it is |
| Loud, grinding, or reverses on the way down | Steel-Line says the tracks and hinges may need cleaning. Brick dust after building work is a common cause | Look for anything across the beams, then see servicing |
| A roller door that won't stay up, rolls loosely or slams shut | Out of balance, Steel-Line says | A professional sets the tension and rechecks the balance. Never try it yourself |
| A bang, then a door that feels far heavier | B&D lists both as signs of a broken spring | Stop using the opener and read the broken spring guide |
| The motor hums or strains but the door barely moves | Also on B&D's list of broken spring signs | Stop pressing the button. B&D says running it strains the motor, cables and tracks |
| It lifts crookedly, or a cable looks frayed | A spring or cable fault. Steel-Line says the cables carry the door's full weight | Stop using it and see springs and cables |
| It has come off its track | B&D says springs or cables may be broken | Keep clear. Don't lift it back on |
| A dent, or a panel out of line | Usually an impact, from a car or a ball | See panels and dents. Stop using it if the door catches or jams |
Springs, cables and tension are not for home repair
Steel-Line's sectional door manual says spring forces are generally equal to the door's weight and are violently released if a spring breaks while wound or stretched. Its instruction is 'If a spring breaks, DO NOT ATTEMPT REPAIR'. On roller doors it says: 'Do not attempt to tension your Roller Door, at risk of serious injury or death.' Take the makers at their word.
Is it worth repairing your garage door?
Ask whether the fault is in a part or in the door. Springs, cables, rollers, seals and motors are parts: they wear out with use and get swapped. The curtain or the panels are the door. When those fail, a repair is usually buying time.
Age matters less than people expect. Steel-Line says a maintained roller door can last 15-20 years or more, so a door that old with one failed part may still have plenty left in it. The opposite is also true: a younger door that has been hit hard or has rusted through can be past saving.
Usually worth fixing
- A noisy or sticky door. It may only want cleaning, so start with a service.
- A roller door that has lost its balance. That is a tension adjustment, not a new door.
- A broken spring on a sound door. Springs are made to wear out, and B&D rates its own in cycles.
- A frayed cable or worn rollers. These are small parts, so long as the door itself still runs straight.
- A failed motor on a door that runs well. Opener and motor repairs deals with those.
- One damaged panel, provided your panel is still made.
What usually means a new door
- Rust through the curtain or the panels themselves, as opposed to hinges, springs and tracks, which Steel-Line says are where rust commonly shows up
- Damage across several panels, or a roller curtain creased along its length
- Parts that are no longer made for your door
- The same fault back again after a proper repair
- An old door in a high wind area that was never built for today's standard
If the door is stuck open or off its track
This is the one repair that shouldn't sit. Move children, pets and cars away from the door and stop using the opener. Don't try to force it: B&D's words are 'Do NOT attempt to lift the door back onto the guiderails on your own'. If the door is open, leave the release cord alone, because Chamberlain warns a door with weak or broken springs may fall rapidly.
Then send it as stuck open or off its track, which marks the job urgent for the door specialist who takes it. We can't put a time on it, and we aren't an emergency service: whoever takes the job tells you when they can get there. The stuck door guide has the safe checks while you wait.
Will the warranty cover the repair?
Sometimes, and it is worth finding the paperwork before anyone comes out. Spring cover is short and varies: Steel-Line lists 1 year on spring tension, Gliderol 3 months on its roller doors, and B&D's sectional door cover excludes springs, seals and lifting cables.
Servicing can decide it. Steel-Line's warranty is invalidated if its products aren't serviced at least annually by Steel-Line or an approved service partner, and B&D makes a service within the first 12 months, then at least every two years, a condition of its own. Separately, the Australian Consumer Law says a service you pay for must be done correctly and with care and skill.
Questions to ask before you agree to a repair
- What caused this, and what else have you checked while you were here?
- Is the part still made for my door, or is this a one-off fix?
- On a door with two springs or two cables, is the other one due too?
- Is the door balanced and tested after the repair?
- Does the door's warranty need the work done by an approved business?
- What cover comes with the repair itself?
What to put in the note on the form
- Roller, sectional or tilt door, and the brand if a label is easy to read
- What it does now, and when that started
- Anything you heard, such as a bang or a new scraping noise
- Whether a car is shut inside
- Roughly when it was last serviced
What you can check, and what to leave
You can
- Try the wall button as well as the remote
- Change the remote's battery
- Check the opener is plugged in and the power point is on
- Move anything blocking the beams or the tracks
- Look at the cables from a distance, without touching them
Leave to a door specialist
- Springs, cables, drums and bottom brackets
- Tensioning a roller door
- Putting a door back on its track
- Straightening panels, tracks or guides
- Opener faults past the battery and the power
- A new power point, by a licensed electrician
What we would do
Before you say yes to a repair, ask what is likely to go next. If the answer is one part, get it fixed. If the answer is a list, ask for a quote on replacing the door on the same visit, and decide with both in front of you. The door specialist is already standing there, and can tell you whether the motor would stay.