An off-track garage door is more than an inconvenience – it can be a sign of a bigger issue and, in some cases, a safety hazard. Here’s what typically causes it and what to do.
Common Causes
The most frequent culprits are a bent track from an impact (a car bumper is a common one), broken cables or springs throwing off the door’s balance, worn-out rollers, or loose track brackets that let the track shift out of alignment over time.
Signs Your Door Is Off Track
Look for a visible gap between the rollers and the track, a door that hangs unevenly, or one that stops and reverses partway through its cycle. In some cases, you’ll actually see the door has partially come out of the track.
What Not To Do
Don’t try to force the door back on the track or keep operating it with the opener – this can bend the track further or cause the door to fall. Disconnect the opener and leave the door where it is until it’s inspected.
What a Repair Involves
Depending on the cause, fixing an off-track door might mean realigning and re-securing the track, replacing bent sections, swapping worn rollers, or addressing a spring or cable issue that caused the imbalance in the first place.
Not sure what’s wrong with your door? The team at Garage Repair Master has been fixing garage doors across Houston since 2016. Request a service appointment online or call us at (346) 434-8345 and we’ll usually have someone out within the hour.
