A garage door is off track when rollers have left the track, so it hangs crooked, twisted or jammed. Check from a distance. Safety: unplug the opener and keep everyone clear. Cables: a slack or missing cable on one side. Springs: a gap in a coil. Damage: a bent track or a dent from a car. Then leave it for the repair.
Likely causes
- A car or bumper hitting the bottom section or the vertical track
- A snapped or unwound lift cable letting one side of the door drop
- Worn or broken rollers, or a roller stem pulled out of its hinge
- Track brackets loose from the jamb, so the track spreads apart
- The opener pushing the door against something it should have stopped for
What you are seeing
One side of the door sits higher than the other. A roller pokes out beside the track instead of running inside it. The door is twisted in the opening, a section is bowed, or the bottom seal touches the floor at one end and not the other.
It may have happened all at once with a bang or a grinding noise, or right after a car backed into the door. Sometimes the door kept closing with one side hung up and creased a section on the way.
A door in this state is unpredictable. It can shift, drop or swing out of the opening, so treat it as a hazard until it is back in its tracks.
What usually causes it
A car bump. A bumper against the bottom section or the vertical track pushes the track out of line, and the rollers walk out of it. Our guide to a garage door hit by a car covers the first steps after one.
A broken cable. When one lift cable snaps or comes off its drum, that side of the door drops, and its rollers bind or leave the track.
Worn hardware. Rollers with worn bearings, cracked hinges and loose track brackets let the track spread until a roller slips free.
An obstruction. If the door closes onto something and the opener keeps pushing, the door can twist out of its tracks.
Need your door back on its tracks today?
Call or text with your address, single or double door, and what the door is doing. The price is firm before the truck leaves the yard.
What you can safely check in two minutes
Stop using it. On a crooked door the springs, cables and bottom brackets hold uneven tension, so do not force the door up or down.
- Unplug the opener or switch off its breaker so nobody presses a remote.
- Leave the release cord alone if the door is open or partway. Disconnected from the opener, a door out of its tracks has little holding it.
- Look at the cables from a distance. A slack or missing cable on one side tells us the cause.
- Look at the springs for a gap in the coil.
- Take photos of both bottom corners and both tracks from a safe distance.
Which repair fixes it
Putting the rollers back is the easy part. A lasting fix means repairing whatever pushed them out.
- Track bent by a car, or rollers out of the track: off-track door repair.
- A cable that snapped or came off its drum: cable and drum replacement first, then the door goes back in its tracks.
- Worn rollers or cracked hinges that let it walk out: rollers and hinges.
- A creased or buckled section: a strut where that is enough, otherwise measured and quoted on panel and section replacement.
- A broken spring behind it all: spring replacement.
When a repair stops making sense
Most off-track doors are put right with new rollers, a track section or a pair of cables. It stops being worth it when:
- Several sections are creased or cracked, and matching sections are no longer made for that door.
- A lightweight steel door has come off its tracks more than once and is now twisted along its length.
- The wood jamb the track bolts to has rotted, so the brackets will not hold until the framing is repaired.
A new garage door is a job for a licensed contractor, and we say so. See repair or replace your garage door for how to weigh it.
Across San Diego
Tight garages invite car bumps. In Kensington and Talmadge, the typical garage is a detached single-car building at the end of a narrow driveway, built for smaller cars than most people drive now, and a bumper that clips the vertical track on the way in is enough to walk the rollers out.
Off the alleys in Normal Heights, detached garages are entered with a tight turn, and the bottom section takes the hit.
Near the coast, rusted rollers seize and climb out of the track instead of turning.
Off Track or Crooked: common questions
Why are the rollers popping out of my garage door track?
A roller that keeps leaving the track usually has help: a vertical track bent out of line by a bump, track brackets loose from the jamb so the tracks spread apart, or a roller with a worn bearing or a stem pulled from its hinge. A cable going slack on one side does it too. Stop using the door and have the track and rollers checked together.
Is it safe to use a garage door that is off track?
No. Running the opener can twist the door further, crease sections and pull the track off the wall. A door that has left its tracks can also drop or swing out of the opening without warning. Unplug the opener, leave the door where it is and keep people and cars out from under it.
Why is my garage door crooked when it closes?
A door that sits lower on one side usually has a lift cable that has snapped, frayed or unwound from its drum, so that side has lost its support. A spring problem or a bent track can do it too. Look at the cables from a distance, do not run the door again, and book a repair.
What causes a garage door to come off its track?
The usual causes are a car hitting the door or the track, a lift cable breaking so one side drops, worn rollers with loose track brackets, and an opener that keeps pushing after the door meets an obstruction. A lasting fix means finding which one it was, not just putting the rollers back.
Why is my garage door off balance?
Off balance can mean two things. A door that sits lower on one side has lost support there, usually from a frayed or unwound lift cable, and should not be run. A door that feels heavy or drifts when lifted by hand has springs that no longer match its weight. Both are repairs rather than adjustments to make yourself, because the springs and cables are under tension.
The FAQ page has more answers. Not sure which part failed? Send a photo and we will name it.
Where we see this
We cover all of San Diego County, same day in most cases. Some of the places we work:
Related guides
- Repair or Replace Your Garage Door? How to Decide: When a sectional garage door is worth repairing and when it needs replacing: springs, cables, dented sections, rot, rust and typical San Diego costs.
- Garage Door Hit by a Car? What to Do and What Can Be Fixed: Backed into your garage door? Unplug the opener, leave the door where it is and take photos. What usually bends, repair or new door, and insurance basics.
- Garage Door Maintenance Near the Coast: A San Diego Guide: What salt air does to garage door springs, cables, tracks and brackets near the San Diego coast, what you can safely maintain, and a seasonal checklist.
Ready to get the door moving again?
One call or text gets you a straight answer and a firm price before the truck rolls. Mon to Sat 7am to 7pm.