Garage Door Off Track? What to Do and What Not to Do

Short answer: if your garage door has come off its track, stop. Do not run the opener, do not try to push the door back into place and do not pull the red release cord. A door that is out of its track is not supported the way it was designed to be and can fall or twist without warning. Make the area safe, then call for repair. This is not a job to attempt yourself.

What to Do Right Now

1. Stop using the opener. Unplug it, or switch it off at the wall control, so nobody presses the button out of habit.
2. Keep people, pets and cars away from the door, on both sides.
3. Leave the door where it is. Do not force it up or down, and do not try to lever rollers back into the track.
4. Do not pull the emergency release. Disconnecting the opener takes away one of the things still holding the door.
5. If a car is inside, leave it there unless the door is fully open, stable and clearly out of the way.
6. Take a couple of photos from a safe distance: the whole door, and the side where the rollers have come out. They help the technician bring the right parts.
7. Call for repair. If the door is stuck open and the house cannot be secured, treat it as an emergency: emergency garage door repair.

How to Tell the Door Is Off Track

• One or more rollers are visibly outside the metal track.
• The door sits crooked in the opening, with a gap at one top corner.
• It jammed partway with a bang or a grinding noise.
• One side moves and the other does not.
• A lift cable is slack, tangled or hanging loose.

What Causes It

Warning Signs Before It Happens

Doors rarely leave the track without warning. Have the door looked at if you notice:

• rubbing or scraping at the same point on every cycle;
• the door shaking or jerking as it moves;
• a visible gap between the rollers and the track, or a track that looks bent;
• the door hanging slightly lower on one side;
• frayed strands on a lift cable.

Any of these is far cheaper and safer to deal with before the door comes out. See garage door repair.

Why This Is Not a Do-It-Yourself Repair

A residential garage door commonly weighs well over a hundred pounds, and the springs and cables that normally carry that weight are under high tension. Once the door is out of its track, that tension is no longer evenly held. Putting the door back involves supporting its weight, releasing and resetting cable tension, and often straightening or replacing track, which is exactly the work that injures people. Forcing the door with the opener usually bends more track and can damage the sections and the opener as well.

What the Repair Involves

• Securing the door so it cannot move.
• Finding the cause, not just putting the rollers back.
• Straightening or replacing damaged track and brackets, and replacing damaged rollers.
• Replacing a cable or spring if that is what started it.
• Realigning the tracks, rebalancing the door and testing it through several cycles.

If door sections were creased or cracked when it came out, the technician can tell you whether they can be replaced or whether a new door makes more sense: repair or replace?

Reducing the Risk

• Keep the tracks clear. Do not store things where they can fall into them.
• Watch and listen to the door once a month.
• Have worn rollers and frayed cables replaced when they are first noticed.
• If the door or track is hit by a car, have it checked even if it still seems to work.

Related Guides

• Garage door stuck open: what to do
• Garage door won't open? What to check first
• Why is my garage door making noise?

Frequently Asked Questions