Garage door off track or a cable snapped
If your garage door is off track or a cable is hanging loose, stop using the door and keep everyone clear: it’s held by the springs and can fall. Don’t try to rehang the cable. Repairs usually cost $100 to $400 for an off-track door and $75 to $300 for cables.
What should you do right now?
- Stop using the door. Unplug the opener so nobody presses the button. A garage door off track can twist further or fall if it moves.
- Keep people, pets and cars away from it. Don’t stand under a door that’s partly open.
- Leave the cables, drums and springs alone. They hold the door’s weight under heavy spring tension.
- If it’s stuck open, lock the door from the garage into the house and move valuables out of sight.
- Take a photo of both sides of the door from a safe distance. It helps a company know what to bring.
How does the cable lift the door?
A lift cable runs from a drum at each end of the spring bar, down beside the door, to a bracket at the door’s bottom corner. As the door rises, the springs turn the bar and the drums wind the cables into their grooves. Both cables have to stay tight and even, or one side of the door drops and the rollers leave the track.
Tonight, or can it wait?
| What you see | When to call | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Door hanging crooked, partly open | Tonight | It can fall. Keep people, pets and cars clear and don’t run the opener. |
| A cable hanging loose or off its drum | Tonight if the door is open; tomorrow if it’s closed and level | The cable is part of the spring system. Leave it alone. |
| One roller out of the track, door still level and closed | Usually tomorrow | Stop using the door until it’s reset; running it can bend the track. |
| A bent or dented track, door working | Book a visit soon | The rollers can jump out where it’s bent. Ask whether the track can be straightened or needs replacing. |
For a door stuck open after dark, see emergency garage door repair.
Why did the cable come off?
- A spring broke. The most common cause. Without spring tension the cable goes slack and slips off the drum. If you heard a bang first, see broken spring repair.
- Something hit the door or a track. A car, a bin or a bike bumping a track can knock the rollers out.
- The opener kept running against a stuck door. When the door jams but the opener pushes on, the cables lose tension.
- A worn cable or bottom bracket. Frayed cables and rusted brackets give way over time, often on one side first.
- Grit in the tracks. Dust storms push dirt into the tracks, and rollers that bind can jump out. Wiping the tracks after a big storm helps.
Can you put the cable back on yourself?
We don’t recommend it. Rehanging a cable means working against the springs, which store enough force to break bones. Repair companies use winding bars and clamp the door in place before they touch a cable. A cable that came off usually points to another problem, such as a broken spring or a bent track, that has to be fixed at the same time.
What you can safely do: keep the tracks clean, and watch for frayed strands near the bottom brackets when the door is closed. Fraying is the time to book a repair, before it lets go.
What does the repair cost?
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Off-track door or track repair | $100 to $400 | More if the track or bottom panels are bent |
| Lift cable replacement | $75 to $300 | Often done together with a spring repair |
| Evening, weekend or holiday visit | Add $100 to $250 | Some companies charge no extra |
Ranges, not quotes, checked October 2026. See where our prices come from.
What to ask before you hire
- Will you replace both cables, or just the one that failed? Why?
- Will you check the springs, drums and bottom brackets while you’re there?
- If a track is bent, will you straighten it or replace it, and what does each cost?
- Is the trip fee applied to the repair?
- What warranty comes with the parts and the labor?
- Is your company licensed? Check with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors at roc.az.gov.