How long should a garage door spring last?

Springs are rated in cycles, not years — commonly 10,000, which is roughly seven to ten years of normal use. A household that opens the door six times a day gets there considerably sooner.

Only one spring broke. Do both need replacing?

Yes, in practice. The second spring has done exactly the same number of cycles and is near the end of its life. Replacing one leaves you paying the call-out twice and running an unbalanced door in between.

Can I still use the door until it's fixed?

We would not. The door is unbalanced and much heavier than it looks, and forcing the opener to lift it damages the opener as well. If the car is trapped inside, that is exactly what emergency slots are for.

Why did it break in the middle of the night with nobody near it?

Springs fail from metal fatigue after a set number of cycles, and the drop in temperature overnight contracts the metal slightly. Breaking unattended is normal and does not mean anything was done wrong.

How do I know if my garage door spring is broken?

Broken garage door spring? Here's how to be sure

A garage door weighs between 130 and 350 pounds, and the springs — not the opener — carry that weight. When one breaks, the opener is suddenly trying to lift the whole door on a motor sized to lift almost nothing, so the door becomes extremely heavy, lifts a few inches, or does not move at all. The usual first sign is a single very loud bang, often heard from inside the house and mistaken for something falling over.

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Before you go further

Do not attempt to replace or adjust a torsion spring. They are wound to hundreds of pounds of force and release it instantly if mishandled. Serious injuries happen every year to people doing this with the wrong tools. If both springs are on one door, they are replaced in pairs — the second is the same age as the one that just failed.

Work through it in order

How to narrow it down

Cheapest and safest first. The ones marked you can do this genuinely need no tools and no technician.

Look at the spring above the door

A torsion spring sits on a bar above the opening. If it has broken you will usually see a clear gap of an inch or two where the coil has separated. It is the fastest way to confirm it.

You can do this yourself

Try lifting the door by hand

With the opener disconnected at the red cord, a healthy door lifts with moderate effort and stays where you leave it. One with a broken spring is extremely heavy and drops as soon as you let go. Do not stand under it while testing.

You can do this yourself

Check whether the door sits crooked

Doors with two springs can lose one and still move, badly. If one side lifts higher than the other, or the door twists as it moves, one spring has gone and the other is now carrying a load it was not sized for.

You can do this yourself

Listen to what the opener does

Straining, humming, or lifting a few inches then stopping usually means it is fighting the door's full weight. Continuing to run it that way will strip the gear and add an opener repair to the spring one.

Replacement

Springs are wound to a specific tension for the weight of that particular door. Fitting the wrong size is dangerous and puts the door out of balance, so the door is weighed rather than guessed at.

Still not right? We'll tell you what it is on the phone.

Describe what the door is doing — we usually know from the description alone. No service fee to come out, and the price is agreed before any work starts.

$0 Service Fee — Call Now(480) 944-5114 Garage Door Spring Repair

Also asked

Questions that come with this one

How long should a garage door spring last?: Springs are rated in cycles, not years — commonly 10,000, which is roughly seven to ten years of normal use. A household that opens the door six times a day gets there considerably sooner.
Only one spring broke. Do both need replacing?: Yes, in practice. The second spring has done exactly the same number of cycles and is near the end of its life. Replacing one leaves you paying the call-out twice and running an unbalanced door in between.
Can I still use the door until it's fixed?: We would not. The door is unbalanced and much heavier than it looks, and forcing the opener to lift it damages the opener as well. If the car is trapped inside, that is exactly what emergency slots are for.
Why did it break in the middle of the night with nobody near it?: Springs fail from metal fatigue after a set number of cycles, and the drop in temperature overnight contracts the metal slightly. Breaking unattended is normal and does not mean anything was done wrong.

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