Why Your Garage Door Won’t Close and What to Do About It

When your garage door won't close, your vehicle and any belongings you store in the garage aren't protected from the elements and can be at risk of damage or even theft. Faulty sensors, a glitchy remote, or a busted spring are a few things that can all lead to a stuck garage door. Learn how to identify the issue and what you can do to get your garage door moving again.

1. Sensors Are Blocked, Broken, or Misaligned

Garage doors typically have infrared sensors that indicate whether an object or a person is blocking the garage door. If the sensors detect anything, they'll prevent the door from closing. So check the sensors for any blockages and ensure they're facing each other. They're usually located near the base of the door.

If you notice any blockages, remove them from the sensor's sightline. If the sensors aren't facing each other, aka they're misaligned, you can usually manually realign them. Most sensors have an LED light that emits a steady glow to indicate when the sensors are aligned. 

2. Rollers Are Blocked

Garage door rollers and the tracks they sit on can accumulate dirt, grime, and rust, all of which can prevent them from moving properly. Closely examine the rollers and tracks, looking for any issues, then clean them using a brush and a silicone-based lubricant.

3. Bent Tracks

Your garage door is heavy, and its weight can cause the tracks to bend out of alignment over time. If your car hits the tracks, it can deform them, too. Tracks can also bend as a result of usual wear and tear. When that happens, the rollers can catch in the tracks, causing the door to stick or the motor to switch into reverse.

Fixing bent tracks is a repair best left to a professional, as you can cause more damage to the garage or injury to yourself if you try to fix them on your own. A local professional garage repair company can investigate the extent of the damage and let you know if it's time for new tracks, rollers, or both.

4. Remote Is Glitching

In some cases, a garage door won't close simply because the remote needs new batteries, so if you suspect this might be the case, replace the old batteries with fresh ones. If your garage door remote still isn't working, it might need to be reset.

Check with the remote manufacturer to determine if there's a resetting process and how to do it. But it usually involves pushing a tiny button on the remote that says "learn" or "reset" for several seconds. Then you might need to press the button again while opening the garage door from your keypad. 

5. Check the Limit Screws

Garage doors have screws that determine how far the door goes down before closing and turning off. If the screws aren't properly calibrated, the door might close prematurely. Look for the screws on the garage door keypad, or opener unit. They might be on the sides of the unit or under a cover. They might also be screws, knobs, or dials depending on your unit.

To increase the garage door's downward travel, aka help it close down farther, you usually need to turn the knob or screws clockwise. Turn them a quarter of a turn at a time, testing after each turn until the door closes properly. 

6. Broken Springs

Sometimes the door doesn't close because you need a garage door spring adjustment. Well-functioning garage door springs are critical to safely opening and closing the garage door. But they can break or accumulate lots of rust over time.

Inspect the springs for damage or rust. If you think they need to be replaced, it's best to call a pro since the springs' high tension coupled with the weight of the garage door can make this project potentially hazardous. The cost to replace garage door springs usually ranges from $150 to $350.  

7. The Disconnect Switch Is Enabled

Automatic garage doors have a disconnect switch that allows you to manually operate the door during a power outage. But when it's set to manual, the door will no longer open electronically, so make sure the switch is set to automatic rather than manual.

The switch is usually on the garage door's carriage or slider, which is the mechanism that moves back and forth along the door's tracks. It often has a red handle or rope that makes it easy to spot.

How to Manually Close a Garage Door

Even if you’re unable to troubleshoot the problem on your own, you’ll likely still need to close the garage door. Fortunately, there’s a way to close it manually. Note that if your garage door won't close due to a broken spring or problem with the tracks, it's best not to try and close it manually. Leave the door alone until a repair person can look at it.

In other cases, you can close a garage door by hand by unlocking the emergency release, which is a cable located near the top of the door. You may need to unlock the cable before you can pull it.

Once you've released the cable, look for a second lock, often near the bottom of the door. Unlock it, then grab the door's handle and slowly glide it along the tracks, until it is closed.

Troubleshooting a Garage Door Yourself vs. Hiring a Pro

While some cases of a stuck garage door are easy and safe to fix, such as checking the sensors or wiping debris from the tracks, others aren't. If your garage door is at risk of coming off the tracks, it can cause serious injury to you and your family.

 It's best to leave more complicated repair cases, such as broken springs or bent tracks, to the pros. They'll have the tools, expertise, and safety equipment required to safely troubleshoot the problem and get your door up and running again.

Having a pro repair a garage door costs an average of $260, but that price is determined mainly by the type of fix required, your location, and the style of door you have installed.

Kelly Weimert contributed to this piece.