Signs Your Garage Door Spring Is Broken
If your garage door won’t budge, feels unusually heavy when opening manually, or made a loud bang from the garage recently, a broken spring is the most likely cause. Garage door springs carry the full weight of the door — when one fails, the door can become impossible to open safely, and in some cases can slam down without warning.
Common signs of a failing spring:
- The door won’t open, or only opens a few inches
- A loud “bang” from the garage (the sound of a spring snapping)
- The door looks crooked or uneven when opening
- The opener strains or stalls trying to lift the door
- A visible gap in the spring above the door
Torsion Springs vs. Extension Springs
Most residential garage doors use one of two spring types, and knowing which one you have matters for both safety and repair.
Torsion springsmount horizontally on a metal shaft directly above the closed door. As the door closes, the spring winds up and stores torque; as it opens, that torque unwinds to help lift the door’s weight. Heavier doors (like double-wide doors) often use two torsion springs working together. Torsion springs are generally considered more durable and give smoother, more controlled movement, which is why most newer installations use them.
Extension springsrun along the horizontal tracks on either side of the door and stretch as the door closes, then contract to help pull it open. They’re common on older installations and lighter doors. Because they store energy by stretching rather than winding, a snapped extension spring can release suddenly — which is why code requires safety cables running through them, so a broken spring doesn’t become a projectile.
We identify which type your door uses during the on-site visit and replace it with a correctly sized match — mixing spring types or using the wrong size isn’t a safe workaround.
How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?
Spring life is measured in open/close cycles, not calendar years — one cycle is one full open-and-close. Standard-duty springs are typically rated for 10,000-15,000 cycles, with higher-cycle springs (20,000-25,000+) available for doors that see heavy daily use. For an average household opening the door 3-5 times a day, that works out to roughly 7-10 years before a standard spring wears out — sooner if the garage sees frequent use (multiple vehicles, a home workshop, or a door that doubles as a main entrance).
Getting the Right Spring for Your Door
A spring has to be matched to your door’s exact weight, the wire gauge, and the coil length — not just “a torsion spring” or “an extension spring” generically. An undersized spring wears out fast and can strain the opener motor; an oversized one can make the door difficult to control manually and can also stress the opener. This is the main reason DIY spring replacement kits sold online cause repeat failures — the sizing has to match the specific door, not a generic average.
What Replacement Involves
Replacement means releasing all stored tension from the damaged spring safely, removing it, installing a correctly sized replacement rated for your door’s weight and cycle needs, and running the door through a full open/close cycle to confirm it’s balanced — meaning it stays in place at any point when disconnected from the opener, without drifting up or slamming down. An unbalanced door is a sign something’s still off, even if it technically opens and closes.
Why Call Jones Valley Garage Door
- We come to you — on-site diagnosis, no guessing over the phone
- Upfront pricing— you’ll know the cost before we touch the door
- Same-day availability in most cases — a broken spring usually means you’re stuck, so we prioritize getting to you fast
What to Expect
- Call or reach out— tell us what you’re seeing (won’t open, loud bang, etc.)
- On-site diagnosis— we confirm it’s the spring (not the opener or cables) and identify the correct replacement part
- Replacement — old spring removed, new spring installed and tensioned correctly
- Test — full open/close cycle check to confirm the door is balanced and running smoothly
Most spring replacements are completed in a single visit.