Garage Door Opens a Few Inches Then Stops: Here's Why

Check the spring from a safe distance

Stand inside the garage, keep the door closed, and look at the shaft above the opening. Do not touch anything.

• A two-inch gap in a coil means a snapped torsion spring.
• A stretched, sagging spring alongside the track is a failed extension spring.
• A loud bang heard earlier in the day, like a gunshot, is the spring breaking.
• A door that feels far heavier than usual by hand confirms it.

The other likely causes

When the springs look intact, the resistance is coming from somewhere else.

• A roller that jumped its track and is binding at the curve.
• A bent track section from a bumper tap.
• The manual slide lock left engaged on one side.
• Ice bonding the bottom seal to the slab after a freeze.
• An up-force setting on the opener set too low after a recent adjustment.

Stop operating the door

Every attempt with a broken spring puts the entire door weight on the opener's gear and the lift cables. That is how a $300 spring job turns into a spring, a gear, a cable set and a bent panel. Unplug the opener and use the other door until service arrives.

What a proper spring repair includes

We measure wire size, inside diameter and length to size the replacement correctly, replace both springs so the balance stays even, inspect cables, drums and bearings, then re-tension and balance the door so it holds at mid-height on its own. Finally we reset the opener's travel and force and test auto-reverse.