Symptom check
The door lurches and shudders on its way up or down
A jerky garage door is usually rolling on worn rollers or over a bent or loose track joint, and where in its travel the jerk happens tells you which. It is seldom urgent, unless one side lags behind the other.
Updated
Run it once and watch where it hitches
Stand to one side and run the door through one full open and close, noting whether it lurches at the start, catches at one height, shudders on the curve at the top or shakes the whole way. Keep an eye on both bottom corners as they rise. If one edge trails the other, stop using the door and look at the cables from the floor before anything else.
What usually causes it, in order
The point in the travel where the door stumbles matters more than how loud it is, so each sign below names that point.
- Most common
Worn or seized rollers
What you notice: A rough, stuttering ride the whole way, worst on the curve at the top, with wheels that wobble, ride skewed in the track or have stopped turning.
The repair: Replace the rollers as a set, with sealed-bearing nylon rollers where the hinges and track suit them. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $195
- Common
A bent track, a kinked joint or a loose bracket
What you notice: The door hitches at one fixed height trip after trip, at a dent, at a joint where two track pieces meet out of line, or beside a bracket that rocks.
The repair: Straighten or replace the bent piece, line up the joint and fasten the brackets back into solid framing. Garage Door Track Repair, from $165
- Common
A hinge cracked or torn loose
What you notice: One section joint pops or flexes as it rolls over the curve, and the knuckle of that hinge shows a crack or its screws have pulled from the steel.
The repair: Fit new hinges in their numbered positions and check the rollers they carry. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $195
- Common
Lift cables winding unevenly on the drums
What you notice: One side of the door lags and then jumps to catch up, and from the floor one drum shows cable stacked outside its grooves or wound on loosely.
The repair: Rewind both cables in the drum grooves with equal tension, replacing any frayed cable, before the springs are set. Garage Door Cable Replacement, from $185
- Less common
Springs that no longer carry the door
What you notice: Every part of the travel feels labored, the opener groans while lifting, and the door has grown hard to raise by hand.
The repair: Replace both springs with a correctly sized pair and balance the door. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $245
- Less common
An opener chain or trolley out of adjustment
What you notice: A jolt as the opener starts or stops, with the chain whipping below the rail, or a chain stretched so tight the trolley snaps forward.
The repair: Set the chain to the maker's tension and swap out a worn trolley or sprocket. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $155
Safe checks before you call
All of this is done by watching and listening while the opener runs the door, with your hands nowhere near it.
- Put a strip of painter's tape on the jamb at the height where the door catches, then see whether it catches at that tape on the next trip.
- Watch both bottom corners rise together; a corner that trails points at a cable and is the moment to stop.
- Shine a flashlight along each track for a dent, a crooked joint or a bracket standing off the wall.
- Watch the rollers as they round the bend from vertical to horizontal track: a wheel that stops spinning or tips sideways is worn.
- On a chain drive, watch the chain as the opener starts, looking for a whip below the rail or a chain drawn tight as a bar.
- Look at each hinge between the sections for a crack or a screw backing out of the steel.
Where in the travel the jerk happens, and what it points to
Match the moment the door stumbles to a row below, then read that cause in the list above.
| When it happens | Usual cause | Usual repair |
|---|---|---|
| Only as the opener starts or stops | Slack or overtight chain, a worn trolley or sprocket | Chain tension and opener parts |
| At one fixed height, trip after trip | A track dent or joint, one bad roller, a cracked hinge | Track repair or a roller and hinge set |
| On the curve between the tracks | Worn roller stems or a hinge flexing as the sections bend | New rollers and hinges |
| All the way, up and down | Rollers worn out across the set, or springs that lost lift | A roller set, or new springs and a balance |
| One side behind the other | A cable wound unevenly or slipping on a drum | Cable work; treat it as a crooked door |
Is it the door or the opener?
Chamberlain splits the two in its noise troubleshooting: move the door by hand with the opener released, then run the opener with nothing attached.
Try the hand test only with the door shut, both springs whole and the door light to lift; if it feels heavy, stop and leave it closed. A door that stutters under your hands has a roller, hinge, track or balance fault, while an opener that lurches with the door disconnected needs its drive tension checked.
When the shaking started with a new opener
A door that ran smoothly until a new opener went in usually points at how the opener was fitted, not at the door.
LiftMaster's manual calls for reinforcement on lightweight steel doors before the door bracket goes on, and without it the top section flexes and bucks as the opener pulls. A wall-mount opener needs the door maker's provisions too, because DASMA warns that cables can slacken and leave their drums on standard lift track.
What the roller and hinge repair involves
Most jerky doors need a fresh set of rollers and any cracked hinges, fitted in one visit, with the track trued wherever it bends.
Hinges return to their numbered spots so the sections close flush. The bottom rollers ride in the corner brackets that hold the cable ends under spring tension, so they are changed with that tension handled, and the visit ends with a balance check and a reverse test.
Door jerks or shakes: questions and answers
Why does my garage door jerk at one spot on every trip?
Something at that height catches a roller each time the door passes. The usual culprits are a dent or misaligned joint in the track, a bracket that rocks, or one roller or hinge that has failed. Mark the spot on the jamb and study the track there from the floor; a track repair or a single roller usually ends it.
Why does my garage door lurch only when it starts or stops?
A lurch at the ends of the travel usually comes from the opener rather than the door. A slack chain lets the motor spin before it catches the trolley, and an overtight one snaps the door into motion. A worn trolley or sprocket adds a clunk. Chain tension and opener parts fix it, and the door itself is often fine.
Why did my garage door start shaking after a new opener went in?
Usually the opener mounting, not the door. A door bracket bolted to thin steel with no reinforcement lets the top section flex, and a bracket or arm set at the wrong angle makes the opener shove instead of pull. A wall-mount opener on a door without the maker's provisions can also slacken the cables. Have the installation checked.
Do tired springs make a garage door jerk on its way up?
They can, because springs that have lost lift leave the opener hauling extra weight, and the door bucks and labors instead of gliding. DASMA says an unbalanced door wears out other parts before their time. If the door also feels heavy by hand, the springs need replacing before new rollers will help.
Is it safe to keep running a garage door that jerks or shakes?
For a short while, if both sides rise evenly and the jerk is mild. Each lurch still loads the hinges, rollers and opener, so book the repair soon. Stop using it at once if one side lags, a cable looks loose or uneven on its drum, a roller rides outside its track, or the shaking gets worse week to week.
Where to go next
Nearby service areas
This call comes in from Edgewood Park and Southcliff, Harney Heights, Lake Shore and the rest of our Washington service area.
Want a price before anyone drives over?
Call and describe what the door is doing, or text a photo of the door and the spring above it. You hear the likely repair and where its price starts, then decide.