Garage Door Won’t Close
The garage door is open but will not close normally.
Use cautionWhat is your garage door doing?
Symptom-driven guide
What is your garage door doing? Choose the closest symptom below. The first distinction often reveals whether to check controls and sensors or stop because the door may have a mechanical problem.
Door behavior
Garage Door Won’t Open
The garage door is closed and will not open normally.
Use cautionGarage Door Opens a Few Inches, Then Stops
The door begins opening but stops after rising only a few inches.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Stops Halfway
The garage door moves but stops before completing its travel.
Use cautionGarage Door Closes, Then Opens Again
The garage door starts closing but reverses and opens again.
Use cautionGarage Door Making Noise? Start With the Sound
The garage door makes an unusual or unusually loud noise while opening, closing, or operating.
Use cautionGarage Door Moving Slowly? Start With How the Door Moves
The garage door still opens or closes, but it moves noticeably slower than normal.
Use cautionGarage Door Shaking or Jerking? Watch How It Moves
The garage door still moves, but it shakes, jerks, stutters, or travels roughly instead of moving smoothly.
Use cautionGarage Door Opens Unevenly or Looks Crooked? Stop and Check the Door
One side of the garage door rises or falls differently from the other, or the door becomes visibly crooked or out of level while moving.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Off Track? Stop Operating the Door
One or more garage door rollers appear outside the track, or the door is visibly displaced from the track system.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Feels Heavy? Stop and Check the Door
The garage door feels unusually heavy when someone has already tried to move it manually, or it has become noticeably harder to move than it normally was.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Has a Gap at the Bottom
The garage door reaches the closed position but light, air, or a visible gap remains between the bottom of the door and the floor.
Use cautionGarage Door Spring Broken? Stop Using the Door
A garage door spring appears visibly broken or separated, or the homeowner already knows that a spring has failed.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Cable Loose or Broken? Stop Using the Door
A garage door lifting cable appears visibly slack, displaced, frayed, or broken, or a cable problem has already been identified.
Professional repair likelyGarage Door Roller Problems: What to Check
A garage door roller appears worn, cracked, damaged, noisy, or rough-moving while remaining in its track.
Use cautionGarage Door Track Problems: What to Check
A garage door track appears bent, twisted, damaged, unusually loose, obstructed, or otherwise abnormal while the rollers remain in the tracks and the door is not visibly displaced.
Use cautionGarage Door Hinge Problems: What to Check
A garage door hinge appears loose, worn, bent, cracked, broken, rusty, noisy, or otherwise damaged while the door remains normally positioned.
Use cautionComponent symptoms
Garage Door Remote Not Working
One or more garage door remotes do not operate the door normally.
Safe checks firstGarage Door Sensor Blinking
One or both garage door safety-sensor indicator lights are blinking or otherwise abnormal.
Safe checks firstGarage Door Opener Not Working
The garage door opener unit or control system appears unresponsive or abnormal.
Use cautionSafety levels
- Safe homeowner check: observation or a basic check without opening or tensioning hardware.
- Use caution: stop if the door binds, becomes uneven, or shows damaged mechanical parts.
- Professional repair recommended: springs, cables, off-track doors, and other high-tension work.