Garage door closes but stops short of the floor
This is almost always a close-limit setting, or debris in the track. Repair costs $125 to $300 and takes 30 to 45 minutes. Safe to operate: Yes, but it will not seal.
Check this first — it may cost you nothing
Look along both tracks near the floor for grit, a stone or a bent section. Then check the close-limit adjustment on the opener — most units have a labelled screw or button for it.
Why this happens
A door that stops an inch or two short has usually drifted out of its close-limit setting, which tells the opener where the floor is. The other common cause is a small obstruction in the track that the door meets before it reaches the ground.
The travel limits tell the opener where the floor is. If the down limit is set short, the opener stops early and thinks it has finished.
Less likely, but possible
- A worn or stretched chain letting the trolley sit slightly off
- A bottom seal that has hardened and is stopping the door short
- One cable slightly longer than the other, which also shows as a small tilt
What happens if I ignore it?
The door does not seal, so heat, water and pests get in, and in winter the gap is enough to freeze the bottom seal to the slab. Nothing gets mechanically worse quickly, but the running cost does.
The repair: 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.
Read the full opener repair guide →Get a tech dispatched
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