Why won't my garage door close?
Updated August 2026
A garage door that starts down then rolls back up, or refuses to move at all when you press the button, is nearly always a pair of misaligned or dirty photo-eye safety sensors sitting a few inches off the floor on each side of the opening. Those two eyes must see each other for the opener to allow a close, so a bumped bracket, a spider web, or a smear of dust breaks the beam and the door protects itself. Look at the small LED on each sensor: a steady light on both usually means the fix is a wipe and a nudge, and everything below is ordered by how often it turns out to be the culprit.
Safety first: the photo eyes are a federally required child-safety feature that reverses the door before it can crush a person or pet in the opening. Never twist the sensors to face a wall or splice their wires together just to force a close, and if the door only closes while you hold the wall button down, stop and fix the beam instead. A door that free-falls because someone bypassed the sensors can weigh 150 pounds or more.
Causes, most likely first
| Cause | How likely | The fix | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misaligned or dirty photo-eye sensors | Most common | Wipe both lenses with a soft cloth and gently align the brackets until both LEDs glow steady. A zip tie can hold a sagging bracket in place. | Free |
| Obstruction in the tracks | Common | Clear a stray broom, bin, or hardened grease knot from the door path, and run a hand along the track for a dent that stops the rollers. | Free to $20 |
| Close-limit or down-force setting off | Common | Reset the down-travel limit and close force on the opener head per the manual so it stops sensing a false floor. | $0 DIY |
| Cut or stapled safety-sensor wire | Occasional | A staple through the low-voltage wire or a rodent chew opens the circuit. Splice or re-run the two-conductor sensor wire. | $10–60 |
| Broken torsion spring | Rare | If the door is also heavy or crooked, a snapped spring keeps the opener from seating it. A garage-door pro winds and installs a new spring. | $200–350 |
Check these first
- Look at both sensor LEDs. If one is off or blinking while the other is steady, that mismatch is your answer.
- Wipe each lens with a dry cloth, since sun glare, dust, and cobwebs all break the beam.
- Sight down the opening for anything in the door path, then feel along the tracks for dents.
- Nudge each sensor bracket up or down until both lights hold steady, then tighten the wing nut.
- Test the wall button: if the door closes while you hold it but not with a single press, the sensors or their wiring are the problem.
Prevent it next time
The large majority of no-close calls trace to sensors and hardware that a ten-minute seasonal check would have caught. Twice a year, wipe the photo eyes, confirm both LEDs are steady, and run the door through a full cycle while you watch the rollers, using our garage door maintenance checklist. The springs are the one part on a hard clock: plan to replace garage-door springs around the 7 to 12 year mark, because a spring that fails takes the door out of service and can strand your car inside.
When to call a pro
Call a garage-door technician when a sensor is clean and aligned but the door still reverses, when you spot a gap in the coiled torsion spring above the door, or when a section is bent or off its track. A service visit runs $100–200, a spring replacement $200–350, and a bent-section or cable repair $150–400. Torsion springs hold enough stored energy to break a hand, so that one repair is never a DIY job no matter how many videos suggest otherwise.
Most of the causes above are maintenance problems wearing a disguise. OnOtto keeps the boring prevention on schedule so the 2 a.m. version doesn't happen.
Stop chasing symptoms, free for 30 daysFrequently asked questions
Why does my garage door only close when I hold the button down?
That is the opener telling you the safety sensors are unhappy. Most models let you override a blocked or misaligned photo eye by holding the wall button in constant-pressure mode, which is meant only as a temporary way to close up. If a single press reverses the door but holding the button closes it, the beam is broken by dirt, sun, a bump, or a cut wire. Fix the sensors rather than living on the hold-to-close trick, because the override defeats the very feature that stops the door on a child or pet.
Does cold weather make a garage door refuse to close?
It can. In hard cold the metal tracks and rollers contract, grease stiffens, and a door that was borderline starts binding just enough to trip the opener's reverse-on-resistance logic. Some openers also read the extra drag as an obstruction and roll back up. Wipe the sensors first, then hit the rollers and hinges with a garage-specific lithium or silicone lubricant, not WD-40. If the reversal only shows up below freezing and clears when things warm, stiff hardware paired with a slightly aggressive close-force setting is the usual cause.
How much does it cost to fix a garage door that won't close?
Most fixes are free or nearly so, because the top cause is dirty or misaligned sensors you clean and nudge yourself. A new pair of safety sensors runs $30–70, a section of replacement track $50–150, and a professional spring or cable repair $150–350. A full opener replacement lands around $400–650 installed. Before you pay anyone, wipe the eyes, clear the tracks, and check the sensor wires, since those three checks resolve the large majority of no-close problems at no cost.
Can I bypass the garage door sensors to get it closed?
Only as a one-time, stay-and-watch measure, never as a permanent setup. Holding the wall button uses the opener's built-in constant-pressure override to close the door while you keep your eyes on the opening. Physically defeating the sensors by twisting the wires together or aiming them at a wall removes a mandated safety and is genuinely dangerous around kids and pets. If you need the door shut tonight, use the hold-to-close override, then realign or replace the sensors in daylight the next morning.