Garage door opener repair
Garage door opener repair costs $150 to $400 depending on the fault, and takes 45 to 90 minutes. A stripped drive gear or a failed logic board is a repair; an opener over 15 years old is usually worth replacing instead.
- Typical cost
- $150–400
- Time on site
- 45–90 min
The plastic drive gear is the part that usually goes. It is deliberately the weakest link — it strips so the motor survives. That is why the opener runs at full speed with nothing moving.
Try these three things first — they are free
Check the trolley. If the motor runs but nothing moves, the carriage may simply be disconnected from the emergency release cord. Pull the cord toward the door and run the opener; it usually re-latches on its own.
Check the wall panel for a lock or vacation button. When it is on, remotes stop working entirely while the wall button still functions. This is one of the most common service calls in the trade and it costs nothing to rule out.
Check the photo-eye sensors near the floor. If the door opens but will not close, and the opener light blinks, it is almost always sensor alignment rather than the opener itself.
What actually fails, and what it costs
Stripped drive gear — $150 to $250. The most common mechanical failure on chain and screw-drive units. You will hear the motor run at full speed with no movement, often with a grinding noise.
Logic board — $200 to $400. Symptoms are erratic: intermittent response, lights flashing in patterns, the door reversing for no reason. Common after a power surge or lightning strike.
Capacitor — $120 to $200. The motor hums but will not start, or starts only sometimes.
Limit switch or travel module — $150 to $250. The door stops short, or reverses just before touching the floor.
Repair or replace
Under 10 years old: repair almost always makes sense. Parts are available and the mechanics are sound.
10 to 15 years: depends on the fault. A gear kit is worth it; a logic board on a 14-year-old unit usually is not.
Over 15 years: replace. Parts availability drops sharply, and a pre-1993 unit lacks the photo-eye safety reversal that has been federally required since then. A new opener runs $400 to $800 installed.
Should you do this yourself?
Some of this is genuinely DIY. Reconnecting a disengaged trolley, replacing a remote battery, and clearing a lock-mode wall button are free and take two minutes. Gear kits and logic boards are doable if you are comfortable with small mechanical work. Anything involving the door's springs or cables is not.
Symptoms that lead here
- Check this first
Opener runs but the door doesn't move
Disengaged trolley, stripped drive gear, or broken spring
- Book soon
Loud grinding or rattling when it moves
Worn rollers, dry bearings, or a failing opener gear
- Safe to wait
Nothing happens when I press the remote
Dead remote battery, lost programming, or a tripped opener
Common questions
Why does my opener run but the door doesn't move?
Either the trolley is disconnected from the carriage — pull the red emergency release cord and re-latch it, which is free — or the drive gear has stripped, which costs $150 to $250. If the door is also very heavy to lift by hand, a spring has broken and that is the real problem.
Is it worth repairing a 15-year-old garage door opener?
Usually not. Parts availability drops off after 15 years, and openers made before 1993 lack the federally mandated photo-eye safety reversal. Replacement runs $400 to $800 installed.
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