Garage Door Won't Open: $150 to $350 Fixes, Spring First

Garage door won't open: causes and costs. Installed prices from HomeGuide (Jan 2026), HomeAdvisor (Jun 2026) and Fixr (Jan 2025); causes from Chamberlain, Family Handyman and The Home Depot.

When a garage door that won't open is an emergency

• Stop and call now: you heard a loud bang, the door feels very heavy, or it lifted a little and tilted. Those are spring or cable signs, and Chamberlain says a door with weak or broken springs may fall rapidly and without warning. Do not lift it by hand and do not keep pressing the button.
• Call today: the only car you need is trapped, or a medical or work trip depends on it. Fixr says same-day service adds $100 to $300, and This Old House says a weekend or after-hours booking can sometimes double the bill.
• Check first, no fee: the opener shows no lights, the remote alone is dead, or the motor runs but the door does not move. The steps below cover these.
• Can wait: the door opens with the wall button but not the remote or keypad.

Why won't my garage door open? Rule out a broken spring first

Springs do the heavy lifting on a garage door; HomeAdvisor says they hold hundreds of pounds of tension. Clopay says that when a spring snaps the door can become too heavy for the opener to move, and Family Handyman describes the result: the opener starts, then shuts off almost right away. HomeAdvisor calls broken springs one of the most common and dangerous garage door problems.

Look up from the floor without touching anything. HomeGuide lists a gunshot-like bang, a gap in the coils of the spring above the door, a door that tilts, and a door that is very hard to lift by hand as the signs. Torsion springs last 7 to 14 years or 10,000 to 20,000 cycles in HomeGuide's figures, so a door that is a decade old with a spring that just went is normal wear, not bad luck. HomeGuide prices both torsion springs at $150 to $350, and Fixr puts torsion spring replacement at $200 to $350. The garage door spring repair guide covers spring types and what to do if the car is trapped.

Should you pull the emergency release? When not to

The red cord disconnects the door from the opener so you can move it by hand. Chamberlain's rules for it are short:

• Pull it only when the door is fully closed, if at all possible.
• Never pull it to raise or lower the door.
• If the door feels unusually heavy, will not stay open, or slams shut, stop. Chamberlain says a heavy door indicates a spring problem that needs professional service.
• Do not go further if the springs, cables or rollers look damaged.

The Home Depot puts the danger plainly: pull the release with the door open and it could come crashing down. To reconnect afterward on a standard rail opener, Chamberlain says to pull the cord toward the opener and run one full open and close cycle; the trolley should reconnect during that cycle. On a wall-mount opener, it says to disengage any manual door lock before pulling the release handle.

Garage door won't open in a power outage

If the opener shows no light or LED at all, it has no power. Chamberlain's check is to plug a lamp or other working 120-volt device into the same outlet. If the lamp is dead too, look at the breaker and check whether the outlet is on a wall switch; Chamberlain says not to run an opener on a switched outlet and to call an electrician if power cannot be restored. If the breaker keeps tripping, see breaker keeps tripping. Chamberlain also warns against unplugging and replugging the opener over and over, which can damage it.

During a real outage, you can open the door by hand from inside only if the door is closed and balanced, using the release as described above. Getting in from outside is harder. Chamberlain says an outside keyed release only disconnects the opener and does not lift the door, and that without one, or another way into the garage, manual operation from outside will not be possible. LiftMaster says an outside release is required in many areas for garages with no secondary access door.

A battery backup keeps the opener running. California has required one on openers sold or installed in the state since July 1, 2019, under SB 969, with a civil penalty of $1,000 per opener. HomeAdvisor prices an aftermarket battery backup at $50 to $150, and Fixr puts adding one at $75 to $175.

Door locked, or the LOCK button is on

A manual slide lock on the inside of the door stops it cold. Family Handyman says the motor starts and then cuts out to avoid overloading when the door is locked; slide the bolt back and try again. HomeGuide prices lock repair at $100 to $325 if the lock is broken. A separate LOCK button on Chamberlain wall controls blocks the remotes: Chamberlain says the opener lights flash twice when it is on, and pressing LOCK again turns it off.

Garage door won't open with the remote, but the wall button works

When the wall button works, the door and opener are fine and the problem is the signal. Family Handyman starts with the remote battery. For a keypad, Chamberlain says the battery is usually 9-volt (12-volt on older models) and the PIN may need to be reprogrammed after a new battery. Fixr prices remote programming at $115 to $150 if you would rather have it done, and HomeAdvisor lists remote reprogramming at $100 to $350. More keypad steps are on garage door opener repair.

Opener runs but the garage door doesn't move

• Motor runs and the chain or belt moves, door stays still. Family Handyman says the door has come off the trolley, usually because someone pulled the release. Reconnect it with a full cycle as Chamberlain describes.
• Motor hums or clicks, door moves a few inches or not at all. Family Handyman points to a worn capacitor. Chamberlain's code 1-5 means the opener did not sense the motor spinning, and the door moves less than 6 to 8 inches, then stops or reverses. A broken spring can look like this too, so check the springs first.
• Motor runs, makes rough noises, and the chain does not move. The Home Depot says the main gear drive may have broken, and Family Handyman says worn gears leave the chain unable to move.
• Opener dead, lights blinking in a pattern. Chamberlain's codes 2-1 to 2-5 point to the logic board; it says to unplug the opener for 5 seconds, plug it back in and test the door again.

Opener repairs run $100 to $200 on HomeGuide's repair page and $150 to $350 on its opener page; Fixr gives $100 to $300 and $150 to $400 for a circuit board. HomeGuide says openers last 10 to 15 years, and puts a new one installed at $300 to $900, so a stripped gear in an old unit is often the point to replace.

Garage door won't open all the way

A door that rises a few feet and stops is usually meeting resistance. Chamberlain's code 4-2 means resistance while opening: it says to test the door's balance and call a professional if it is out of balance. Its code 4-4, an unexpected drop in motor speed while opening, also calls for a balance test and a look at the torsion springs. The CPSC's test for balance is simple: a balanced door stays put when stopped partway open. Family Handyman adds two mechanical causes, a roller that came off the track and an overhead track that is out of line; if the door also looks crooked, read garage door off track before running it again.

Garage door stuck open instead?

A door stuck in the up position is a different problem with its own checks, and most of them are about the safety sensors at the bottom of the track. Clopay lists something blocking the path and dirty or misaligned sensors among the first things to check. Keep everyone out from under a door that is stuck up, and do not pull the release on it: with a weak spring it can come down hard. The full checklist is on garage door won't close, and after-hours pricing is on emergency garage door repair.

Garage door frozen shut

In cold weather, Clopay says ice and snow can seal the bottom of the door to the floor or freeze the tracks, and that you should never force the door open. Running the opener against a frozen seal strains the opener and the springs. Clear the ice along the bottom edge first.

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

HomeGuide puts garage door repair at $150 to $350 on average, and HomeAdvisor's 2026 national average is $265. Several causes cost nothing to fix yourself: a tripped breaker, a lock, a disconnected trolley or a dead remote battery. The service call alone runs $50 to $75 for a simple fix in Fixr's and HomeAdvisor's guides. The expensive ends are a new opener at $300 to $900 installed (HomeGuide) and a spring replaced outside business hours.

Questions to ask before a technician comes out

• What is the visit fee, and is it credited if I approve the repair?
• If it is a spring, will you replace both? (DASMA says to replace both even if only one broke.)
• Will you quote the part and the labor in writing before you start?
• Will you test the auto-reverse with a 2x4 when you finish?
• Where my state or city licenses this work, what is your license number, and can I see proof of insurance?

Calls go to an independent company that serves your area and takes this kind of job; hours vary. How calls work. Massachusetts consumer regulators warn about garage door scammers who use names similar to known businesses and ask for money up front, especially in cash, so get the price in writing.

Garage door won't open: what to do now

1. Look at the spring above the door from the floor. A gap in the coil or a slack cable means stop and call.
2. Check the opener for lights. No lights: test the outlet and the breaker.
3. Check for a slide lock on the door and the LOCK button on the wall control.
4. Try the wall button. If it works, change the remote battery.
5. If the motor runs but the door does not move, reconnect the trolley with a full cycle.
6. Pull the release only with the door fully closed, and stop if the door feels heavy.
7. Call with what you saw and heard, and ask the visit fee first.