Garage Door Spring or Cable Broken: What Happens Now

Stop using the door, switch the opener off at the wall, and keep children, pets and cars away from the opening. Do not pull the release cord or try to lift it. If the door was open when the spring went, leave it open rather than bringing it down. Then call: with the right spring and winding bars it is a routine job, and without them a dangerous one. We rebalance the door and check the opener's force settings on the same visit.

Not safely, and usually not at all. The spring carries most of the door's weight so the motor only has to guide it. Without it a double sectional is dead weight and the opener strains, stalls and strips its gear. Some single doors will still crawl up on the motor, which tempts people to keep using them, but every cycle wears the opener and the door can drop without warning.

You can, but on a two-spring door we recommend both. They were fitted together and have done the same cycles, so the survivor is not far behind. A fresh spring beside a tired one balances the door unevenly and usually means a second callout within months. Single-spring doors obviously get one. We give you both options and prices first, and our garage door springs guide explains the reasoning.

Almost always. A spring is a wear part, and replacing it puts a sound door back into full service for a small share of what a new door costs. The exceptions are a door that is rusted through, badly buckled, or old enough that its panels and track are finished as well; then the money is better spent on a new door. We will tell you plainly which side of that line yours is on.

The spring sets most of it: torsion or extension, one or a pair, the size and wire gauge the door needs, and whether cables and bearings are replaced too. Door type and size, access, and whether you need us after hours shift it further. We price after measuring the door and before starting, and the spring replacement cost guide lays out typical jobs. There is no call-out fee.

Look up, then look sideways. A broken torsion spring shows as a gap in the coil above the door, and the whole door feels evenly heavy. A broken or slipped cable shows on one side: that side sits lower, the door hangs crooked, and a length of cable is slack or loose on its drum. A spring break often throws the cables too, so finding both is common.