Emergency garage door repair: +$100 to $300, do this first

National figures. The surcharge sits on top of the repair itself; springs, cables and openers are priced below.

Do this now: before the garage door company arrives

Keep everyone away from the door and work down this list; most of it takes 2 minutes and none of it needs tools.

1. Look, do not touch. From the floor, look for a gap in the coils of the spring above the door, a cable hanging slack or off its drum, or a door tilted in the opening. Do not touch a snapped spring or a loose cable. DASMA, the door makers' association, says springs under tension cause injury when they break and that cables "should be replaced only by a trained technician"; HomeGuide says DIY spring work "can result in serious injury or death."
2. Leave a door with a broken spring or cable where it is. Chamberlain says that if springs are weak or broken "the door may fall rapidly and without warning," and that the emergency release should be pulled only when the door is fully closed. Angi: opening a door with a broken cable "is never a good idea."
3. Door stuck open and the springs look fine? Check the opener lights. Chamberlain says 10 flashes with a door that will not close means a safety sensor problem and 2 flashes means the LOCK button is on. Clear the sensor beam, then see garage door won't close.
4. Need the car out? If the door is closed, the springs are intact and the opener is simply dead, pull the red release handle with the door fully closed and lift by hand. If the door feels unusually heavy, will not stay open or slams shut, Chamberlain says to stop and call a professional.
5. Car trapped under a door that will not fully open? Do not force it. Say so on the call; the company can prioritize.
6. Call the garage door line. Say whether it is a single or double door, what you saw, and ask for the after-hours fee and the service call fee before anyone is dispatched.

Is it an emergency? What counts and what can wait until morning

An emergency surcharge adds $100 to $300 in Fixr's figures and after-hours labor runs 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate in Housecall Pro's price guide, so it pays to know which problems earn that fee.

• Call now: a door stuck open with the house exposed overnight, a snapped spring or cable with the door hanging crooked, a door that fell or slammed, or a vehicle trapped under a partly open door.
• Worth the surcharge today: a door stuck closed with the only car inside, or a door off its track that will not move either way. HomeAdvisor says to schedule service as soon as you hear grinding or see uneven movement, before it gets worse.
• Can wait for business hours: a noisy door that still runs, a remote or keypad that stopped working, a dented panel, or sensors that need realignment. HomeGuide prices sensor work at $125 to $300 and HomeAdvisor at $150 to $250, with no surcharge if you book a weekday slot.
• Safety test after any repair: the CPSC says to test the auto-reverse with a 2x4 flat on the floor and to disconnect the opener if the door does not reverse. HomeGuide says to ask the technician to run that test before leaving.

Emergency garage door repair cost: the surcharge and the repair

An emergency garage door repair costs the normal repair price plus $100 to $300 (Fixr), and the normal repair runs $150 to $350 for most jobs in HomeGuide's 2026 guide. This Old House says a weekend or after-hours booking "can sometimes double your bill," giving a $300 weekday spring replacement that becomes $600.

Housecall Pro, which publishes pricing guidance for repair companies, lists an emergency service call at $150 to $300 and after-hours labor at 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate. HomeAdvisor puts standard labor at $75 to $150 an hour and says to budget for emergency fees outside business hours without naming a figure. Ask for both numbers on the call: the fee to come out tonight and the price of the repair itself.

What the repair itself costs: springs, cables, openers, off-track

The repair under the surcharge is priced the same as any other visit: both torsion springs $150 to $350 (HomeGuide), cables $150 to $350 (HomeGuide) or $100 to $400 (HomeAdvisor), and an opener repair $100 to $200 (HomeGuide) or $100 to $500 (HomeAdvisor).

Business-hours prices from three publishers; add the emergency fee above for an after-hours visit.

Each repair has its own page: spring replacement, cable repair, opener repair and panel replacement.

Garage door stuck open: what a company would check

A door stuck open with intact springs is usually an opener or sensor problem, which HomeGuide prices at $125 to $300 for sensors and $100 to $200 for an opener repair; a door stuck open and tilted points to a cable or spring.

• Opener lights flashing. Chamberlain's codes: 10 flashes is a sensor problem; 2 flashes means LOCK is on. Sunlight on the receiving sensor can act like a blocked beam.
• Sensors knocked out of line. They sit no higher than 6 inches off the floor (DASMA), where a broom or a bike finds them. The lenses should face each other with a steady LED.
• A cable off its drum. Angi says a misaligned cable can fall off the winding drum in a torsion system, and the door then jams or hangs crooked. That is a trained-technician job (DASMA).
• Opener motor or logic board. Fixr prices a circuit board at $150 to $400 and an opener replacement at $300 to $940. Chamberlain's diagnostic codes are on opener repair.

Garage door making noise: which sounds mean call now

A loud bang from the garage is the classic sign of a spring breaking (HomeGuide), while grinding, rattling and squeaking usually point to rollers, which Angi prices at $150 to $250 to replace.

• Gunshot-like bang: HomeGuide lists it first among the signs of a broken spring. Treat the door as unsafe.
• Grinding or scraping: HomeAdvisor says to schedule service as soon as you hear it. Rollers, tracks or a chain.
• Squeaking: dry hinges and rollers; a tune-up with lubrication costs $100 to $250 (HomeGuide). See garage door tune-up.
• Jerky movement or a door that drops fast: HomeGuide lists both as spring signs. Stop using the door.

Garage door sensor problems: the one fix you can try yourself

Realigning safety sensors costs $150 to $250 at HomeAdvisor and $125 to $300 at HomeGuide, but the homeowner version is free: Chamberlain says to loosen the wing nut and point the lenses at each other until the LED glows steadily.

If the door still will not close, hold the wall button down to close it (the CPSC's 1993 rule lists a constant-contact wall button as one accepted form of entrapment protection, so a held button is the built-in bypass), then book a weekday visit. Reversed or cut wiring and a failed sensor are company jobs. Federal rule 16 CFR 1211 requires the door to start reversing within 2 seconds of hitting an obstruction, so do not run a door with the sensors disconnected.

Paying for an emergency visit: what to ask and what to refuse

Ask for three numbers before anyone is sent: the after-hours fee, the service call fee ($50 to $75 in business hours at HomeAdvisor and This Old House) and the repair price; then get the total in writing before work starts.

• Spring replaced? Ask for both. DASMA says if the door has two springs, replace both even if one is not broken.
• Refuse a new door tonight. A full replacement is a planned purchase ($700 to $3,500, HomeGuide); nothing about it has to be decided at 11 pm. Compare on garage door installation.
• Know the cooling-off rule does not apply. The FTC's 3-day cancellation right does not cover repairs you asked the seller to come and do, so the price you agree to is the price.
• Watch for impersonators. Massachusetts consumer regulators list the warning signs of a garage door scam: a name that resembles a known local business, no verifiable address, unmarked vans, an estimate far above industry prices and money up front. Get the price in writing before work starts, and never pay in advance.

Regular prices and safe checks are on garage door repair; local pages: Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tampa. More home repair prices: home repair costs. Calls go to an independent garage door company that serves your area and takes this kind of job; hours vary. How calls work.