How long do garage door springs really last?

How long do garage door springs last?

Most standard springs are rated for about 10,000 cycles. For a typical household, that works out to roughly 7 to 10 years. Busy homes that use the garage as the front door can wear through them in 4 or 5.

What counts as a cycle

One cycle is one full open and one full close. If you leave in the morning and come home in the evening, that's two cycles a day. Add a school run, a trip to the store and kids grabbing bikes, and it climbs fast.

Cycles to years at a glance

These are estimates. Climate, door weight and maintenance all move the number up or down.

Torsion vs. extension springs

Most doors in the Valley and across LA County use one of two spring systems. Both wear out on a similar cycle rating, but they fail differently.

• Torsion springs mount on a metal bar above the door and twist to store energy. They're smoother, safer and usually last longer.
• Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on each side and stretch as the door closes. They're common on older homes and should always have safety cables running through them.

What shortens spring life

• Heavy daily use. More cycles means an earlier replacement.
• Rust. Coastal air near the Westside and South Bay speeds up corrosion on bare springs.
• A door that's out of balance. When one spring is doing more work, it wears faster.
• No lubrication. Dry coils create friction that eats into the spring's life.
• The wrong size spring. A spring that's undersized for the door's weight fatigues quickly.

5 signs your spring is close to breaking

1. A visible gap in the coils of a torsion spring. That usually means it has already snapped.
2. The door feels very heavy when you lift it by hand with the opener disconnected.
3. The opener strains, slows down or stops partway up.
4. The door sits crooked or one side rises before the other.
5. A loud bang from the garage, like a gunshot, when nobody was using the door.

What to do if a spring breaks

1. Keep people, pets and cars out of the door's path.
2. Leave the door where it is. If it's open, don't close it.
3. Unplug the opener so nobody triggers it by accident.
4. Call a technician to replace the spring and check the cables.

Springs are under enough tension to cause serious injury, which is why spring replacement is a job for a trained technician with the right winding bars. See our garage door spring repair service for how we handle it.

How to make new springs last longer

• Ask about high-cycle springs. They're rated for 20,000 cycles or more and are worth it for busy households.
• Replace springs in pairs. If one broke, the other has done the same amount of work.
• Book a yearly tune-up so the door stays balanced and the springs get lubricated.
• Watch for early signs and fix small issues before they turn into a stuck door.