A broken garage door spring is the most common emergency call we get across Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Plano and all of DFW. And the frustrating thing is — most of the time, the spring gave warning signs before it snapped. Homeowners just didn't know what to look for.
In this guide we'll show you the 5 warning signs that your garage door spring is about to break — so you can get it replaced before you're stuck in your driveway at 7am with a door that won't open.
Most standard garage door springs are rated for about 10,000 cycles. If you open and close your garage door 4 times per day, that's roughly 7 years of life. High-cycle springs rated for 25,000+ cycles are available and last much longer. Texas heat can also shorten spring life — the metal expands and contracts with temperature swings, adding wear over time.
Sign 1 of 5
Your garage door is suddenly very heavy
This is the most overlooked sign. Garage door springs counterbalance the weight of the door — when they're working correctly, a standard garage door should feel almost weightless when you lift it manually. If you disconnect the opener and try to lift the door by hand and it feels extremely heavy or impossible to lift, your spring is losing tension and is close to failing. Try this test once a year — it could save you from getting stranded.
Sign 2 of 5
The door opens unevenly or looks crooked
If one side of your garage door is higher than the other when it opens, or the door looks like it's tilting to one side — this is a classic sign that one spring is weaker than the other or has already partially failed. Most double-car garage doors have two torsion springs. When one weakens faster than the other, the door loses its balance. Left unchecked this can damage your tracks, opener and cables too.
Sign 3 of 5
You hear squeaking, creaking or grinding when the door moves
Some noise from a garage door is normal. But if you start hearing new squeaking, creaking or grinding sounds — especially when the door is near the top of its travel — this can indicate that the spring coils are rubbing against each other as they lose their shape and tension. This is a sign the spring is wearing out and getting close to the end of its life. Regular lubrication can help temporarily but won't fix a worn spring.
Sign 4 of 5
Your opener is straining or running slower than usual
Your garage door opener is only designed to provide a small amount of lifting force — the spring does most of the heavy work. When a spring starts to weaken, the opener has to work much harder to move the door. Signs of this include: the opener running louder than usual, the door moving more slowly, the opener stopping partway and reversing, or the opener light flashing error codes. If your opener seems to be struggling, check your springs — not just the opener.
Sign 5 of 5
You can see a gap in the spring coil
This is the most obvious sign and means your spring has already broken. Look at the torsion spring above your garage door — it runs horizontally along a metal shaft. If you see a visible gap or separation in the coil, the spring has snapped. At this point the door should not be operated at all. The door is extremely heavy without the spring and operating it can damage the opener, cables, and tracks — and cause serious injury.
If you see a gap in your spring or your door suddenly became extremely heavy — stop using it immediately. Keep your family away from the door. A garage door without a working spring can weigh 150–400 pounds and can fall suddenly without warning. Call for professional emergency service right away.
The most dramatic sign of a broken spring is a very loud bang — like a gunshot — coming from your garage. This is the sound of the spring snapping under tension. After this happens the door will feel impossibly heavy and the opener will either struggle, stop, or refuse to move it at all.
We get calls about this across DFW every single day — Dallas, Irving, Plano, Garland, Mesquite, Arlington and everywhere in between. It almost always happens at the worst possible time: early morning when you're trying to get to work, or late at night when you're coming home.
This is one of the most common questions we get from DFW homeowners. The answer is almost always: replace both.
Here's why — if your two torsion springs were installed at the same time, they've experienced the same amount of wear. If one breaks, the other is usually close behind. Replacing just the broken one means you'll likely be calling for service again in a few months when the second one goes.
Replacing both springs at the same time costs only slightly more than replacing one — and saves you the hassle and cost of a second service call. Most reputable garage door companies in DFW will recommend this approach.
Spring replacement in DFW typically costs $150–$350 depending on the type of spring and whether you're replacing one or both. We always give a free estimate before starting work. Read our full garage door repair cost guide for Dallas TX for complete pricing.
Texas weather is tough on garage door springs. The extreme heat in summer and occasional freezes in winter cause the metal to expand and contract repeatedly — adding wear over time. Here's how to get the most life out of your springs:
Don't wait until it snaps. Call us for a free inspection and estimate — same-day service across all of DFW.
(972) 514-5972 — Free Estimate (615) 710-2446 — EmergencyThe most obvious signs are a loud bang from the garage, a visible gap in the spring coil, or a door that suddenly feels extremely heavy and won't open. If any of these happen — stop using the door and call for service.
Technically yes, but you absolutely should not. Without the spring, the door can weigh 150–400 pounds and can fall suddenly. Operating it can damage the opener, cables, tracks and door panels — and can cause serious injury. Use the emergency release cord only to manually operate the door if absolutely necessary, and do so with extreme caution.
A standard spring replacement takes about 1 hour. We carry common spring sizes on our van so most DFW spring replacements are completed in a single same-day visit.
Yes — we offer same-day garage door spring replacement across all of DFW including Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, Plano, Arlington, Garland, Mesquite and surrounding cities. Call us at (972) 514-5972 and we'll do our best to get to you the same day.
Most modern garage doors use torsion springs — these run horizontally above the door on a metal shaft. Older or lighter doors may use extension springs — these run along the sides of the door. We carry both types and can replace either across the DFW area.