Broken Garage Door Spring? 7 Signs and What to Do Next

Most Redmond homeowners find out their garage door spring broke the same way: a sound like a gunshot from the garage, followed by a door that won’t open the next morning. Springs are the part of a garage door that do the heavy lifting, and when one fails the door becomes a 150- to 250-pound weight the opener was never designed to carry on its own.

Here’s how to tell whether a broken spring is your problem, why springs fail, and what to do (and not do) until it’s fixed.

How garage door springs work

Most attached garages in the Eastside use torsion springs: one or two tightly wound springs on a steel bar just above the door. As the door closes, the springs wind up and store energy. When you open the door, they unwind and lift it, with the opener only guiding the movement. Older homes and some detached garages use extension springs, which run along the horizontal tracks and stretch as the door closes.

Either way, a properly balanced door feels light enough to lift by hand with the opener disconnected. When a spring breaks, that balance is gone.

7 signs your garage door spring is broken

1. A loud bang from the garage. Torsion springs release a lot of energy when they snap. Many people think something fell or a tire burst.
2. A visible gap in the spring. Look at the spring above the closed door. A broken torsion spring usually shows a 2- to 3-inch gap between coils.
3. The door opens a few inches and stops. Many openers sense the extra weight and reverse or stop to protect themselves.
4. The door is extremely heavy by hand. With the opener disconnected, a healthy door lifts with modest effort. A door with a broken spring feels like a wall.
5. The door slams shut. Without spring tension, there’s nothing slowing the door on the way down.
6. Loose or tangled cables. When the spring loses tension, the lift cables can go slack and jump off their drums.
7. The door looks crooked or the top section is bent. If the opener kept trying to lift a door with a broken spring, it can bend the top panel.

Why garage door springs break

Springs are rated by cycles, one cycle being one open and one close. Standard springs are rated for about 10,000 cycles. A family that uses the garage as its main entrance can put four to six cycles a day on the door, which means a standard spring often lasts 7 to 10 years.

Other factors shorten that life:

• Undersized springs. Builder-grade doors in many newer Redmond subdivisions came with a single spring sized for the lightest door. Add insulation or windows and that spring works harder.
• Rust. Damp Puget Sound winters and uninsulated garages lead to corrosion, which adds friction between coils.
• Cold snaps. Steel is more brittle in the cold, so a worn spring often lets go on the first chilly morning of the season.
• No maintenance. Springs that are never lubricated or adjusted wear faster.

What to do if your spring breaks

• Stop using the opener. Running it can strip the opener’s gear or bend the door.
• Leave the door closed if you can. A closed door is the safest position.
• If the door is stuck open, keep people, pets and cars out from under it. Don’t try to force it down.
• Unplug the opener so nobody presses the button by accident.
• Book a repair. Explain that you heard a bang or see a gap in the spring, so the technician brings the right parts.

Why spring replacement isn’t a DIY job

Online videos make it look simple, but torsion springs hold enough energy to break bones. The job requires winding bars, the right spring wire size, inside diameter and length for your door’s weight, and a balance test afterward. The wrong spring leaves a door that drifts open or crashes closed and wears out the opener.

Our garage door spring replacement service includes weighing the door, matching springs (with a high-cycle option), checking cables and drums, balancing the door and testing the opener’s force and safety reversal.

Should you replace both springs?

If your door has two springs, yes. They were installed at the same time and have the same number of cycles. When one breaks, the other is usually close behind, and replacing both at once saves a second visit.

How to make new springs last longer

• Choose high-cycle springs (25,000 cycles or more) if the garage is your main entrance.
• Lubricate springs lightly once or twice a year with garage-door spray.
• Book a yearly garage door tune-up so worn parts are caught early.
• Keep the door balanced; an unbalanced door strains springs and opener alike.

The bottom line

A loud bang and a door that won’t lift almost always means a broken spring. Keep the door closed, unplug the opener and let a trained technician replace and balance the springs. If you’re in Redmond, Kirkland or anywhere in the Eastside, Redmond WA Garage Door Repair carries common spring sizes on the truck and quotes the price before any work starts.