Garage Door Stuck Halfway: What to Do First (and What Not to Do)

A door that stops halfway leaves the garage open and the car stuck inside. Many stops have a simple cause. What matters is checking in the right order, without putting yourself under the door.

First, stay out from under it

A garage door is heavy, and when it stops partway you don't know yet what is holding it up. Until you know why it stopped, treat the space under it as off limits.

• Keep clear. Don't walk, stand or reach under a door that has stopped partway. Keep kids and pets out of the garage.
• Stop pressing the button. Pressing again and again can pull a door further out of line, or strain an opener that is already struggling.
• Leave the emergency release alone. Pulling the red cord on a partly open door disconnects it from the opener. If a spring or cable has failed, the door can drop fast. The release is meant for a fully closed door, as our power outage guide explains.

Look for the warning signs

Take a look from the side of the garage or from outside. These signs mean the problem is in the heavy parts of the door, and it's time to stop and call a professional:

• A loud bang just before or after the door stopped
• A gap in one of the springs above the door
• A cable hanging loose or off its drum at a top corner
• The door sitting crooked, with one side lower than the other
• Rollers that have come out of the track

If you see any of these, unplug the opener so no one runs it, and don't try to close the door by hand. Our guide to a door that's off track walks through what to do while you wait, and our spring warning signs show what a broken spring looks like.

If nothing looks broken, check the simple causes

If the door looks level, the springs and cables look normal and you didn't hear a bang, the cause is often something simple.

• Something in the way. A bin, a ladder, a bike or a bag left on the floor can stop the door. Look along the path and in the tracks, from the side.
• The safety sensors. If the door started down and then stopped or went back up, the photo eyes near the floor may be blocked, dirty or bumped out of line. Wipe the lenses and check that their small lights are steady. Our post on why a door starts to close, then reverses covers this in detail.
• Power. Check whether the opener light comes on. A tripped breaker or outlet will stop the door wherever it is.
• A tired opener. Some openers pause for a while after running several times in a row. Give it time to cool down, then try once.
• Ice or a sticky seal. In cold weather the bottom seal can freeze to the floor. See what to do when a door won't open in cold weather.

Once you've cleared the path or sorted out the sensors, press the wall button once and watch the door from a safe spot.

If the power is out

When the power goes out mid-cycle, the door stays where it is. With the door partly open, the safest move is usually to wait for the power to come back, then run the door with the wall button. Don't pull the release and try to lift or lower a partly open door by hand. If you have to get a car out and can't wait, call a professional rather than guess.

If it stops at the same spot every time

A door that always stops at the same height usually points to one of two things. Something in the track at that spot, like a bent section, a loose bracket or a damaged roller. Or an opener whose travel settings have drifted. You can look at the track from the side. Travel and force settings on the opener are for a professional, because setting them wrong can stop the door from reversing when it should.

What a professional will check

A pro will make the door safe first, then check the springs, cables, rollers, track, balance and opener settings. Ask for the price before any work begins.

How to make it less likely

Doors rarely stop halfway with no warning. New noises, jerky movement and a slower door are the usual early signs. A quick monthly look and a yearly professional tune-up catch most of that. Our garage door maintenance checklist lays out what to look at and when.