Garage Door Won't Close? Check Sensors, Fixes $150 to $350

Installed prices: HomeGuide (Jan 2026), HomeAdvisor (Jun 2026), Fixr (Jan 2025). Causes from Chamberlain's support pages and Bob Vila.

Do this now: garage door won't close

Work from the floor, keep your hands off the moving parts, and stop at the first sign of a broken spring.

1. Keep people, pets and cars out from under the door. DASMA says never to put fingers between door sections.
2. Look at the springs and cables without touching them. HomeGuide lists a gunshot-like bang, a gap in the spring coil, a crooked door and slack cables as signs of a broken spring. If you see any of them, stop: do not run the opener and do not pull the emergency release. Chamberlain says a door with broken springs may fall rapidly and without warning, and that the release should be used only with the door fully closed.
3. Count the opener light flashes. Chamberlain says 10 flashes mean a safety sensor problem and 2 flashes mean the LOCK button is on.
4. Clear and aim the sensors. Remove anything between the two photo eyes, wipe the lenses, and point them at each other until the LED glows steadily. Chamberlain says they sit no higher than 6 inches off the floor and that sunlight on the receiving sensor can block the signal.
5. Need it closed tonight? With the springs intact and the path clear, Chamberlain says pressing and holding the wall button until the door is fully down can close it. Openers or logic boards made after February 3, 2022 no longer have this override.
6. After any fix, test the auto-reverse. Lay a 2x4 flat in the door's path. If the door does not reverse, the CPSC says to disengage the opener until it is repaired.

Is it an emergency? When a door that won't close needs a call today

A garage door that won't close needs a call today when it is stuck open overnight, a spring or cable is broken, or it will not reverse on an obstruction; Fixr says same-day emergency service adds $100 to $300 to the bill.

• Stop using it now: the door does not reverse on the 2x4 test. The CPSC counts about 73 children trapped and killed under automatic garage doors since March 1982.
• Call now: a bang, then a crooked or very heavy door. That is usually a spring; see garage door spring repair.
• Call now: a cable is loose, frayed or off its drum. Chamberlain says to stop using the door.
• Same day: the door is stuck open and the house is not secure.
• Can wait: a dead remote while the wall button still closes the door.

Garage door won't close: the safety sensors

Blocked or misaligned safety sensors are the most common reason a garage door won't close: Chamberlain says the opener lights flash 10 times when the sensors cannot see each other. The fixes in its support pages, in order:

• Clear the beam. Bob Vila says clutter blocking the sensors is the first thing to look for.
• Aim them. Loosen the wing nut, point the lenses at each other until the LED glows steadily, then tighten (Chamberlain). The CPSC puts the electric eye 4 to 6 inches above the floor.
• Shade the receiver. Chamberlain says sunlight hitting the receiving sensor can act like a blocked beam.
• Check the wire. Chamberlain's code 1-2 means the sensor wires are reversed or shorted: look for a pinched or damaged wire. A short-wire test is a technician's job.

Do not bypass the sensors. Federal rule 16 CFR 1211 requires openers made on or after January 1, 1993 to have a photoelectric sensor or similar second layer of protection, and to start reversing within 2 seconds of hitting something. Sensor repair runs $100 to $150 in Fixr's figures and $125 to $300 in HomeGuide's. More on openers and sensors is on garage door opener repair.

Why does my garage door close and then open back up?

A garage door that touches the floor and goes straight back up usually has its close limit set too high or is meeting resistance: Bob Vila says the opener then reads the floor as an obstruction, and Chamberlain's code 4-1 covers resistance while closing. Chamberlain's steps for 4-1:

1. Remove anything in or near the door's path and look along the tracks.
2. Check the rollers and hinges for wear or obstructions, and lubricate them per the door maker's instructions.
3. If the door keeps traveling after it reaches the floor, reprogram the travel limits using the opener's manual.

Chamberlain's cautions for the same code: do not disconnect an open garage door from the opener, never adjust or loosen springs, cables, pulleys or brackets, and call a trained door technician if you cannot find the obstruction. Its code 3-5 (cable tension monitor) also sends the door back up when a cable goes slack.

Why does my garage door open by itself?

Most doors that seem to open by themselves are reversing right after they close, which Chamberlain ties to the safety sensors (code 1-1), resistance while closing (code 4-1) or a slack cable (code 3-5). Count the light flashes or the code on the opener and tell the company what you see.

If the door opens when nobody pressed anything, the opener maker pages we checked do not name one cause, so treat it as a fault for a technician. On Chamberlain openers with a LOCK button, its troubleshooting shows the remote will not move the door while LOCK is on, so turning LOCK on at the wall control can keep remotes from opening it until someone checks the system. The CPSC also says to keep remotes away from children. Tell the company:

• When it happens, and whether it is at the same time of day.
• Whether you use a smart garage app, a keypad or a timer-to-close setting.
• Whether the wall button moves the door an inch or two and stops; Chamberlain lists that under code 1-2 (sensor wiring).

Garage door won't close all the way: tracks, rollers and springs

A door that stops partway, binds or hangs crooked has a mechanical problem, and HomeGuide prices track realignment at $200 to $350 and both torsion springs at $150 to $350. Fixr lists roller replacement at $100 to $150 and an off-track repair at $100 to $300.

Springs and cables are not homeowner jobs. HomeAdvisor says springs hold hundreds of pounds of tension, DASMA says cables should be replaced only by a trained technician and brackets adjusted only by a trained door systems technician, and the CPSC says an unbalanced door should be serviced by a professional. If the car is trapped behind a door with a broken spring, read how to open a garage door with a broken spring before you touch anything.

How much does it cost to fix a garage door that won't close?

Fixing a garage door that won't close usually costs $150 to $350, HomeGuide's 2026 range for most repairs, and HomeAdvisor's 2026 average is $265 with most paying $155 to $379. A sensor that only needs cleaning and aiming costs nothing. HomeAdvisor puts a quick service call for a simple fix at $50 to $75, and Fixr says a same-day emergency visit adds $100 to $300. Full repair prices are on garage door repair cost, and a new door on garage door installation.

Garage door repair near me: what to ask before you book

• What is the service call fee, and is it credited to the repair?
• Will the quote list parts and labor separately?
• Will the technician run the 2x4 auto-reverse test after the repair?
• What is the license number, and can I see proof of insurance?

Massachusetts consumer regulators warn about garage door scams: company names that copy a known local business, unmarked vans, prices far above normal, and demands for cash up front. Get 2 to 3 written estimates if the door is not an emergency. Local pages: Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Tampa. Prices for other jobs are on home repair costs. Calls go to an independent company that serves your area and takes this kind of job. How calls work.