Will a tune-up fix a garage door that won't open?

Usually not. A tune-up adjusts and services a door that still works. When a door will not open at all, something has typically failed. Most often it is a spring, but power, the controls, the opener or other door hardware can also be responsible, and that calls for diagnosis and repair first.

Simple checks before you call

• Confirm the opener has power and the outlet or breaker has not tripped.
• Try the wall button as well as the remote, and check whether a lock feature on the wall control is turned on.
• Look for a blinking light on the opener or the safety sensors.
• From a safe distance, look for a gap in a torsion spring above the door, or a slack or snapped cable.

When to stop trying

If you heard a loud bang, see a broken spring or loose cable, or the door is heavy, crooked or stuck partway, stop pressing the button. Repeated attempts can strain the opener and pull the door further out of line. Do not try to lift a door with a broken spring by hand, and do not pull the emergency release on an open or damaged door, because it can drop.

What happens on the visit

A technician finds the cause and gives you a written price before any work, with a $45 diagnostic trip fee for the visit. A broken spring is the most common result and means spring replacement; an opener fault points to opener repair. Once the door works again, a tune-up is a sensible follow-up to catch wear elsewhere in the system.

Read more

• Garage door spring replacement
• Garage door tune-up
• Garage door tune-up tips

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