Garage door symptoms
My garage door came off the track and is hanging crooked
A garage door hanging crooked or off its track usually has a snapped or unwound lift cable, a broken roller, or a track bent by a car. It needs a technician: unplug the opener and leave the door exactly as it hangs.
Updated
Unplug the opener and let the door hang
Do not run the opener, push the door back into line or hammer on the track. A crooked door can be hanging from one cable and a few rollers, and moving it can fold a section or drop one side. Park the car elsewhere and keep kids, pets and helpers out of the garage until we secure the door; we cover the whole Portland metro.
Likely causes, most common first
The way the door hangs points to what failed, and a door that dropped on one side nearly always started with a cable.
- Most common
A lift cable snapped or unwound
The sign: One bottom corner sits low, the door sits jammed at a slant in its opening, and a cable lies frayed or limp beside the track.
The fix: Swap in two fresh lift cables, inspect drums and bottom brackets, and rehang the door square. Garage Door Cable and Drum Repair, from $189
- Common
A car or mower hit the door
The sign: There is a crease or dent near bumper height, a vertical track is bowed, and rollers were forced out at that height.
The fix: Reset the door, replace the bent track, and straighten or replace the creased sections. Off-Track Garage Door Repair, from $179
- Common
A cracked or worn-out roller
The sign: A roller wheel is cracked, missing or wobbling on a bent stem, and the door left the track at that hinge.
The fix: Replace the rollers as a set, swap cracked hinges, and set the door back into true tracks. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $199
- Less common
A track bracket pulled loose
The sign: A track flares away from the door, or a bracket has torn out of soft jamb wood, letting rollers slip past the lip.
The fix: Re-anchor or replace the track and brackets where the wood is sound, then line up both sides with the door. Garage Door Track Repair and Replacement, from $169
- Less common
The opener kept pushing a jammed door
The sign: The door bound up, the opener kept driving, and the top section is now bent or cracked where the opener arm bolts on.
The fix: Reset the door, replace or reinforce the top section, and turn the opener force down so a jam stops it. Garage Door Panel and Section Replacement, from $449
What you can safely check in two minutes
Everything worth checking on a crooked door can be seen from a few steps back, so look and take photos rather than touch.
- From the driveway, note which side hangs lower and roughly by how much.
- Count the rollers sitting outside the track on each side and photograph them.
- Look for a lift cable lying on the floor or dangling near a top corner, and leave it there.
- Check for fresh dents near bumper height and for a track bowed toward the opening.
- Confirm the opener is unplugged and that remotes are out of reach of kids and visitors.
Why a crooked door is more dangerous than it looks
A crooked door is often carrying its full weight on one cable and a handful of rollers, so a small push can shift it suddenly and hard.
The sections are joined by hinges, and once one side drops they twist against each other. Push on the wrong spot and a section can fold inward, or the high side can slip down its track in one rush.
The bottom brackets on each corner still carry cable tension on a crooked door, and the springs above may be fully wound. That is why we never unbolt a bracket or loosen a cable to straighten things, and why nobody else should either.
Soft jambs and tight approaches in older neighborhoods
In older neighborhoods, doors also leave their tracks because rain has softened the wood that holds the track, or because the approach is so tight that a car brushes it.
Track brackets are lag-screwed into the jambs, and wood left outdoors through a Portland winter stays close to the moisture level where decay can begin. The bottom of a jamb that catches splash can soften until the screws lose their bite and the track leans out.
That pairing turns up in the McLoughlin district of Oregon City, where homes from the 1850s into the 1920s sit on narrow lots and some detached garages still hang older wood doors, and in small alley garages behind inner Portland houses. Little margin on the approach means a bumper finds a loose track quickly.
Repair or replace a door that came off its track
Most off-track doors are worth repairing, since track, cables and rollers are all replaceable and a single creased section can often be swapped.
A new door starts to make sense once a second section is creased, the panels are no longer made and cannot be matched, or the door had few good years left anyway. We tell you which side of that line your door is on before quoting either, and when repair wins, the work runs in this order.
Lock it in place
Locking pliers or track clamps go on below the rollers so the door cannot shift while anyone works near it.
Unload the springs
If the springs are still wound, that stored energy comes off first, so nothing snaps back while sections are moved.
Reset and replace
Rollers go back into straightened or new track, and frayed cables, cracked rollers and bent hinges are swapped out.
Balance and test
The springs are wound back to suit the door, it runs by hand and by opener, and the auto-reverse is checked.
Door off track or crooked: common questions
Why is my garage door lower on one side than the other?
One lift cable has stretched, slipped on its drum or broken, so that side is no longer held at the same height. Less often a drum has crept around its shaft or a bottom bracket has torn loose. Because those cables hold the door up, leave them alone, keep the opener off, and have both cables replaced as a pair.
What should I do right after backing into my garage door and knocking it off track?
Stop using the opener, back the car away only if the door is not resting on it, and photograph both tracks and the damaged sections. Even a light hit can bend a track or crack a roller stem, and the next opener cycle can pull the door further out of line. Our guide on doors hit by cars covers the rest.
Can a crooked garage door still be opened to get the car out?
Not safely, so leave it and call. A crooked door is already out of its normal path, and lifting it, by hand or with the opener, can pop more rollers or let the low side fall. Tell us a car is trapped when you call; freeing it is the first thing we do once the door is secured.
Do the cables need replacing when a garage door goes off track?
Often, yes. If a cable caused the drop, both get replaced as a pair so the door lifts evenly. If a car or a roller caused it, a cable that went slack can still be kinked or partly unwound, and it gets inspected before reuse. A kinked cable is never worth saving, given the weight it holds.
Can a garage door that came off its track be repaired, or does it need replacing?
Most can be repaired with new track, cables and rollers, plus a section if one is creased. Replacement wins when several sections are damaged, matching panels are discontinued, or the door was already worn out. We explain which case yours is and price the repair before suggesting anything bigger.
Why does my garage door look crooked even though it still opens and closes?
An early warning: one cable is likely wearing, slipping on its drum or wound unevenly, or a track bracket is working loose. The door still runs, but it rides higher on one side and strains the rollers on the other. Have it checked soon, because that slight tilt is often how a derailment begins.
Related pages
Areas we cover for this
Calls about a door off track or crooked come in from Gresham, Lake Oswego, Piedmont and Humboldt and every other part of the metro we serve.
Ready to get the door moving again?
Call with the symptom, or text a photo of the door and the opener, and we will name the part and the posted price before anyone drives out.