If you heard what sounded like a gunshot in the garage and now your door won’t open, or the opener strains and lifts it a few inches before giving up, a broken spring is the most likely cause. It’s one of the most common garage door repairs in America, and on a typical door a technician replaces it in about an hour.
The good news: it’s a routine fix. The bad news: it’s the one garage door repair you should never try yourself. Here’s how to confirm what’s happened, what to do right now, and what you should expect to pay.
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Signs your garage door spring is broken
- A loud bang from the garage, often when nobody was using the door. Springs usually break while under full tension, with the door closed.
- A gap in the spring. Look at the spring on the bar above the door. A broken torsion spring shows a clear two- to three-inch gap where the coil has snapped.
- The door feels incredibly heavy. With the springs working, a balanced door can be lifted by hand with little effort. With a broken spring, you’re lifting the full 130 to 250 pounds yourself.
- The opener hums or lifts the door a few inches and stops. Most openers have a force limit and quit when the door is too heavy.
- Loose cables hanging beside the door, or the door rising crooked.
- On older doors with side springs: a stretched-out or missing extension spring running alongside the horizontal track.
Torsion or extension springs: which do you have?
Knowing your spring type helps you describe the problem on the phone and spot a fair quote.
| Torsion springs | Extension springs | |
|---|---|---|
| Where they are | On a metal bar (the torsion tube) directly above the closed door | Running alongside the horizontal tracks on each side, above the open door |
| How they work | Twist to store energy and turn drums that wind the lift cables | Stretch as the door closes, then pull it up as it opens |
| Found on | Most doors installed in the last 20 to 30 years | Older and lighter doors, often single-car |
| What a break looks like | A two- to three-inch gap in the coil | A stretched, sagging or missing spring, sometimes hanging by its safety cable |
If you have extension springs, check that each one has a safety cable running through the middle of it. That cable stops a snapped spring from flying across the garage. If yours don’t have them, ask the technician to fit them. They’re inexpensive and important.
Why garage door springs break
Your springs do the heavy lifting, not the opener. The opener only guides a door the springs have already balanced. Every time the door goes up and down, the steel flexes, and eventually it fatigues and snaps.
Most standard springs are rated for around 10,000 cycles. One cycle is one open and one close. A family that uses the door four times a day burns through that in about seven years. Rust, a lack of lubrication and big cold snaps speed things up, which is why technicians get a rush of spring calls on the first freezing mornings of the year.
What to do right now
- Stop using the opener. Pressing the button again can strip the opener’s gears or bend the door’s top panel.
- Leave the door where it is. If it’s closed, leave it closed. A door with a broken spring can drop fast if it’s partly open.
- Keep everyone clear, especially kids and pets.
- Need your car out? If the door is closed and you’re confident, you can pull the red emergency release cord and lift the door with at least two adults. Prop it fully open with locking pliers clamped on the track below a roller. If it feels too heavy, don’t force it.
- Call a technician. Most companies offer same-day spring repair.
For step-by-step help with the release cord, see our guide to opening your garage door manually.
Why you shouldn’t replace a spring yourself
You’ll find videos showing DIY spring replacement. Please don’t. Torsion springs hold enough stored energy to lift a door weighing a few hundred pounds, and winding or unwinding them takes proper winding bars, the right spring size for your door’s weight, and practice. A slipped bar or a wrong-size spring can break bones or cause a head injury, and a badly balanced door wears out your opener fast.
There’s no shame in calling a pro for this one. Plenty of experienced DIYers who’d happily rewire a light switch leave springs alone.
What a technician will do
A good technician should:
- Weigh or measure the door and fit springs matched to it (not just whatever is on the truck)
- Replace both springs if your door has two. They’re the same age, so the second one usually fails soon after the first
- Check the cables, drums and bearings, and replace frayed cables while the tension is off
- Balance the door so it stays put when lifted halfway by hand
- Lubricate the springs and hinges and test the opener’s auto-reverse
How springs are matched to your door
Springs aren’t one-size-fits-all. A spring that’s too weak leaves the opener doing the lifting; one that’s too strong makes the door fly up and won’t let it stay closed. A technician sizes the new spring from:
- Door weight. The single biggest factor. A good technician weighs or calculates it, especially if the door has been changed or insulated since it was installed.
- Wire size. The thickness of the spring wire, measured with a wire gauge or by measuring a set of coils.
- Inside diameter. Usually 1¾ or 2 inches on residential doors.
- Length. The overall length of the unwound spring.
- Wind direction. Two-spring doors use one left-wound and one right-wound spring.
This is also why buying a spring online by length alone often goes wrong, and why the industry’s own measuring guide warns that wrong measurements lead to costly call-backs. Let the technician measure.
Standard vs. high-cycle springs
Every spring is rated for a number of cycles: one cycle is one open and one close.
| Spring type | Typical rating | Lasts about (at 4 cycles a day) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | ~10,000 cycles | 7 years | Light use, or if you plan to replace the door soon |
| High-cycle | ~20,000 – 30,000 cycles | 14 to 20 years | Busy households where the garage is the main entrance |
A family that comes and goes through the garage four times a day uses about 1,460 cycles a year, so a standard spring lasts around seven years. High-cycle springs usually cost a little more on the day, but you may never pay for another spring visit while you own the house. Ask for both prices and compare.
Questions to ask the technician
- Are you replacing both springs, and are they standard or high-cycle?
- Will you replace the cables while the tension is off?
- Is the quote a total price, including the service call?
- What’s the warranty on the springs and on the labor?
- Will you balance the door and test the auto-reverse before you leave?
How much does broken spring repair cost?
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Torsion spring replacement (one door, parts and labor) | $180 – $350 |
| Cable repair or replacement (if needed) | $100 – $350 |
| Service call or trip fee (often waived with the repair) | $50 – $150 |
| Same-day emergency or after-hours surcharge | +$100 – $300 |
Replacing both springs on a two-spring door usually lands toward the top of the range. Be wary of quotes far above $500 for a standard residential door unless the technician has found other damage, and ask for a line-by-line breakdown.
For the full picture of repair prices, see our garage door price estimator.
Repair or replace the whole door?
A broken spring alone is almost never a reason to replace a door. But if your door is 15 to 20 years old, has dented or rusted panels, or this is your third repair in a couple of years, it’s worth comparing. Our repair or replace guide walks you through the decision, and the garage door replacement cost guide shows what a new door would run.
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Get your broken spring fixed
Enter your ZIP code to get matched with trusted local garage door pros. It takes about two minutes.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I still open my garage door with a broken spring?
You can lift it by hand with help after pulling the emergency release, but it will be very heavy. Don’t use the opener, and don’t leave the door partly open.
How long does spring replacement take?
Usually 45 minutes to 1.5 hours for a standard residential door.
Should I replace both springs?
Yes, if your door has two. They’ve done the same number of cycles, and replacing both keeps the door balanced.
Torsion or extension springs: which do I have?
Torsion springs sit on a metal bar above the door. Extension springs run alongside the horizontal tracks on each side. Most newer doors use torsion springs.
Is a broken garage door spring covered by homeowners insurance?
Usually not. Springs wear out with use, which insurers treat as maintenance.
How do I make my new springs last longer?
Spray the coils with a garage door lubricant twice a year and keep the door balanced. Our 15-minute maintenance checklist covers it.