Symptom check
The garage door is stuck partway open
A garage door stuck halfway has usually lost a lift cable off its drum or a spring, and the opener stopped when the load changed. Leave it there; pulling the release on a partly open door can drop it.
Updated
Keep the red cord alone and the space under the door clear
Do not pull the emergency release while the door is partway up. If a spring or cable has failed, the opener may be the only thing holding the door, and releasing it lets the full weight fall. Unplug the opener, park nothing under the door, and send a photo of both drums and the springs.
What usually causes it, in order
Where the door stopped, and whether it sits level, points to the cause more reliably than the noise it made.
- Most common
A lift cable off its drum
What you notice: One cable has gone slack or unwound from its drum at the top, and that side sits lower or the door has jammed in the track.
The repair: Hang a new pair of cables and wind them evenly onto both drums. Garage Door Cable Replacement, from $185
- Common
A spring that broke during the trip
What you notice: The door stopped where the opener gave up, and a spring on the shaft shows a split coil.
The repair: With the door secured, fit a new spring, or the pair, and balance the door before the opener moves it again. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $245
- Common
A roller jammed or a hinge cracked
What you notice: The door sits level but caught at one height, with a roller twisted in the channel or a hinge split at the same joint.
The repair: Replace the damaged rollers and hinges, then check the track at the spot where it stuck. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $195
- Less common
Ice or debris inside the track
What you notice: After freezing rain a roller rests against a ridge of ice in the lower track, or a tool or toy is wedged in the channel.
The repair: Clear the channel, then straighten or replace any track the jam bent. Garage Door Track Repair, from $165
- Less common
A travel limit or force setting
What you notice: Springs and cables look normal, the door sits level, and it stops at exactly the same height on every trip.
The repair: Reset the limits and force, or repair the limit switch or logic board on an opener that keeps losing them. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $155
Safe checks before you call
Do these from the doorway or the side wall of the garage, never from under the door.
- Unplug the opener so a remote in a car or a phone app cannot start it again.
- From the side, see whether either drum at the ends of the spring shaft has a cable hanging off it or gone slack.
- Scan the springs over the opening for a coil with a gap in it.
- See whether the door sits level, or whether one side hangs lower than the other.
- On a freezing morning, look into the lower tracks for a ridge of ice under a roller.
- Check the floor under the door for anything that may have stopped it, without reaching under to move it.
Why the door stopped where it did
A door stops partway when the opener senses the load change, and a cable or spring failing mid-trip changes the load more than anything else.
Openers are set to quit or reverse when the force they need jumps past a limit. A spring that breaks on the way up hands the motor the whole door at once, and a cable that slips off its drum lets one corner sag until the door binds. Either way the opener stops, which is the safety system working rather than the opener failing.
If the door is level, the springs look whole and it stalls at the same height every time, a jammed roller or a drifted limit is more likely than a broken part.
Why pushing or pulling a half-open door makes it worse
Pushing or pulling a half-open door moves weight onto parts that have already failed, and the door can come down faster than you can step away.
With a cable off one drum, a push can lift that side enough for the cable to spring loose and tangle, and a pull can bring a sagging corner down on a hand. Under the federal opener standard, the release detaches with no more than 50 pounds of force. On a door stopped by a broken spring, it frees the only thing holding the door up.
Why ice in the track can stop a door partway
Ice can stop a door partway when rain runs down the vertical tracks and freezes around the rollers, a problem of freezing rain more than of a dry cold snap.
North of the city, near Hazel Dell, the weather station logs about 66 freezing nights in a normal year, and the January 2024 storm laid down ice as thick as an inch around Vancouver. If the door stalls at a roller sitting in ice, unplug the opener and let the day warm the garage; chipping ice beside a door under spring tension is not worth the risk.
If the door has to stay partway open tonight
A door stuck open is a security problem, so tell us when you call that it will not close, and the visit is set up to get it down and locked first.
Until then, move bikes, tools and anything valuable out of reach, lock the door from the garage into the house, and leave the opener unplugged. The repair is usually new lift cables cut to the height of the door, drums checked for wear and cracks, bottom brackets checked for rust, and the springs reset and balanced so the door travels level. Same day is possible in most cases.
Door stuck halfway: questions and answers
Why did my garage door stop halfway and stay there?
The opener hit its force limit, usually because a cable came off its drum or a spring broke partway through the trip. Both change the load suddenly, and the opener is built to stop rather than keep pulling. Look from the side for a slack cable or a split spring coil, unplug the opener and let the door stay put.
Can I push a garage door stuck halfway the rest of the way up?
No. If a cable or spring has failed, pushing shifts the load onto parts already damaged, and the door can drop or twist out of the track. A door stuck partway can also be far heavier on one side than you expect. Leave it, unplug the opener and call; securing the door is the first step of the repair.
Should I pull the emergency release if my garage door is stuck halfway?
Not while the door is partway open. On a door stopped by a broken spring or a failed cable, the opener may be what holds it up, and the release lets it fall. The cord is meant for a balanced door, ideally one that is fully closed. Leave the cord hanging and make sure nobody walks beneath the door.
Can ice in the track leave a garage door stuck halfway?
Yes, after freezing rain, water can freeze around the rollers in the lower track and stop the door at that point. The opener reads the ice as an obstruction and quits. Unplug it and let the garage warm rather than forcing the door, then have the rollers it was pushing against checked before running it again.
How do I know if a cable came off the drum on my half-open garage door?
A cable off its drum hangs slack below the drum or sits outside the grooves, and the door usually tilts toward that side. Look from the side wall, not from under the door. Do not touch it, because the other cable and the springs still carry tension, and a cable off the drum calls for new cables and a reset of the springs.
Why does my garage door go up halfway and stop every time?
When it stops at the same height on every trip and sits level, a travel limit or a roller binding at one spot is the likely cause. Limits can drift after an outage or an opener reset. If the springs and cables look whole, an opener adjustment or new rollers usually ends it.
Where to go next
Nearby service areas
This call comes in from Orchards, West Minnehaha, Burnt Bridge Creek and Parkside and the rest of our Washington service area.
Want a price before anyone drives over?
Call and describe what the door is doing, or text a photo of the door and the spring above it. You hear the likely repair and where its price starts, then decide.