Why won't my garage door open?
Updated August 2026
When the opener strains, hums, or clicks but the door barely lifts, the cause is almost always a broken torsion spring, the tightly wound bar above the door that stores the muscle to lift 150 to 200 pounds of panels. The motor was never sized to raise the door on its own; it just nudges a spring-balanced door along. Snap the spring and the opener is suddenly asked to deadlift the whole weight, so it whines and quits. Check the spring first by looking for a visible gap in the coil, then work down the list.
Safety first: a wound torsion spring holds hundreds of pounds of stored force, and the winding bars can whip out of your hands and break a wrist or worse if the spring lets go while you work, which is why spring replacement is a professional job. If the coil has clearly separated, do not pull the emergency release and try to lift the door by hand either, because the counterbalance is gone and a 175-pound door can slam down. Leave it down and call a garage-door company.
Causes, most likely first
| Cause | How likely | The fix | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broken torsion or extension spring | Most common | Look for a two-inch gap in the coiled spring above the door. A pro winds and installs a matched replacement, since this is not a DIY fix. | $200–350 |
| Dead remote or keypad battery | Common | Swap the coin cell in the remote or the keypad batteries, then reprogram if needed. Try the wall button to confirm the opener itself still works. | $5–15 |
| Trolley in manual-release mode | Common | Someone pulled the red emergency cord, disconnecting the door from the carriage. Re-engage it by pulling the cord toward the motor and cycling the opener. | Free |
| Manual slide lock engaged | Occasional | A thumb-turn or slide bar on the door has been thrown, bolting it to the track. Unlock it before running the opener again. | Free |
| Burned-out motor or stripped drive gear | Occasional | The motor hums with no movement, or the plastic drive gear has shredded. A tech rebuilds the gear kit or replaces the opener head. | $80–350 |
| Snapped lift cable or off-track door | Rare | A frayed cable lets one side drop and jam. Stop using the door and call a pro, because the panels can fall. | $150–400 |
Check these first
- Look at the spring above the door for a clear gap in the coil. A broken spring is the number-one cause and ends your troubleshooting.
- Press the hardwired wall button. If it works but the remote does not, the problem is a remote battery or programming, not the door.
- Check that the red manual-release cord has not been pulled, leaving the trolley disconnected from the door.
- Look for a slide lock or thumb-turn latch on the door itself that someone engaged.
- Listen closely: a motor that hums without moving points to a stripped gear or a failed spring, not a dead opener.
Prevent it next time
Springs are wear items, not forever parts, and they almost never warn you before they go. A typical torsion spring is rated for roughly 10,000 open-close cycles, which is about 7 to 12 years for an average household and sooner for a hard-used door. Get ahead of the failure by tracking the interval with our guide on how often to replace garage-door springs and running the seasonal points in the garage door maintenance checklist. Quarterly lubrication of the rollers and hinges also keeps the opener from straining, which is what accelerates gear and spring wear in the first place.
When to call a pro
Call a technician the moment you see a broken spring, a snapped cable, or a door hanging crooked in its tracks, and any time the opener hums without lifting. Expect roughly $200–350 for a spring, $150–400 for cables or a re-tracked door, and $80–200 for an opener gear rebuild. If you would rather stop patching a 15-year-old opener, weigh the numbers with our garage door lifespan guide. The one rule that never bends: springs and cables are under lethal tension, so those two repairs go to a pro every time.
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
How can I open my garage door manually when it won't work?
First make sure the door is all the way down, then pull the red emergency-release cord hanging from the trolley to disconnect the door from the opener. Now you can lift by hand, but only if the springs are intact: a door with a broken spring weighs 150 to 200 pounds and will not stay up, so do not force it. If it lifts smoothly, prop it and get your car out. To reconnect, pull the cord toward the motor or run the opener until the trolley re-latches.
Why does my opener run but the garage door doesn't move?
A motor turning with no door movement points to one of two things. Most often the nylon drive gear inside the opener head has stripped, a $20–40 part and a common failure around the 10-year mark. Less often the trolley has come off the carriage or the emergency release was pulled. If instead you hear the motor strain and stop, look up at the spring, because a snapped spring makes the door too heavy for the opener and mimics a motor problem. Match the sound to the cause before buying parts.
Is it worth repairing an old garage door opener or replacing it?
If the opener is under 10 years old and the fix is a gear kit, a remote, or a spring, repair it, since those run $80–350 and buy years. Replace the opener when it is 15-plus years old, lacks rolling-code security or photo-eye sensors, or needs a motor. A new belt-drive opener installed runs $400–650. The door panels are a separate question: a dented or rotted door pushes you toward a full replacement, which our garage door lifespan guide breaks down by material.