Last Updated: January 9, 2025
Garage Door Won’t Open or Close In the Cold
While your garage door is supposed to help maintain an optimal environment inside your home, extreme cold temperatures may cause havoc on this layer of protection. Cold weather can affect a garage door, making it harder or impossible to open and close. Understanding why your garage door doesn’t work in the cold will ensure you’re proactive with maintenance to avoid issues in all seasons. Scheduling an annual garage door tune-up before winter arrives can prevent most cold-weather malfunctions.
Common Reasons a Garage Door Won’t Open or Close in the Cold
The following are some of the most common reasons your garage door doesn’t work in cold weather. Many problems are no different from those that occur at other times of the year but are exacerbated when temperatures drop.
1. Contracting Metal
Garage doors include many metal components, such as hinges, tracks and springs. Extreme cold temperatures cause these metal parts to seize up, causing the door to stop functioning, lock up completely, open partially or get stuck open. The metal contraction may result in irregular noises or warping.
Increase the temperature in your garage to expand the metal and overcome the effects of contracting metal. Lubricating these metal parts using a silicone-based lubricant protects them from freezing, keeping the garage door working smoothly throughout the winter.
2. Hardened Lubricant
Non-silicone lubricants tend to freeze and harden when the temperatures are too low. The hardened lubricant around your garage door parts impairs proper functioning. To remedy this, you’ll need to remove the hardened lubricant from the metal parts by dissolving it using a grease solvent. Apply the solvent on the metal parts using a small brush or a firm bristle toothbrush that you can easily work into the cracks and devices.
Replace it with silicone-based lubricant, which waterproofs parts, ensures they can displace moisture and prevents metal parts from sticking together. Silicone lubricant does not easily harden at lower temperatures or allow dirt, dust, oil and grime to accumulate, extending the life of your garage door parts.
3. Misaligned or Worn Tracks
Proper closing and opening of garage doors depends on the ability of the springs to pull the door along the tracks. During the winter months, the tracks, springs and rollers contract, causing misalignment or separation of the tracks. Additionally, when the lubricant on the rollers freezes, your door may get stuck because it can’t move along the tracks.
Extreme temperatures or wear and tear may cause the tracks to warp, preventing the garage door from operating smoothly. Start by evaluating the extent of damage to determine whether you can manage the repair yourself or whether it’s better left to garage door repair experts. It’s generally best to call a professional for misalignment issues to prevent personal injuries and extensive damage to the door and nearby property.
4. Broken Springs
Garage door systems depend on torsion and extension springs to open and close. These metal springs help balance the door’s weight and have about 10,000 opening and closing cycles. Toward the end of their life span, they become brittle and more susceptible to snapping and breaking when the temperatures hit all-time lows.
You can tell the springs are broken springs if:
- The garage door feels heavier when you lift it or attempt to open it manually.
- You hear a popping sound or a loud, unexpected bang.
- There’s visual evidence of an issue with the spring system.
- The door opens and closes slower than usual.
- The door stutters or opens a little, then stops in cold weather.
Always leave the repair or replacement of springs to experienced garage door technicians. Consider scheduling regular inspections and servicing to prevent the garage door from not working in cold weather due to damaged springs. Regular spring maintenance involves adjusting and tightening the springs to ensure they wind and unwind well to support the garage door’s weight.
5. Frozen Weather Seal
Weather seals or stripping are rubber pieces attached to the bottom of your garage door to prevent moisture from seeping in, keep pests out and improve your home’s energy efficiency. While weather stripping is intended to last for the life span of your garage door, extreme temperatures may damage it, necessitating replacement. Damaged seals are a common cold-weather culprit — our weather stripping replacement service can close the gap fast.
Accumulated snow and ice at the base of a closed garage door can cause the weather stripping to stick to the ground and peel away as you open the door. When the weatherstripping peels off, you lose the protection it offers inside your garage. Here are a few ways you can prevent damage to weather stripping:
- Brush away snow and water puddles near the bottom of the garage door.
- Chip the ice away or pour hot water to melt it.
- Defrost the ice using a hairdryer.
- Replace the weatherstripping regularly.
6. Malfunctioning Garage Door Opener
The garage door opener is an electrically powered box-like device at the top of the door that controls its operation. When the temperatures drop, the opener’s motor may freeze, resulting in strain when opening the door. The strain increases utility costs and may cause the opener to break, hindering automated opening and closing of the garage door. This is a common reason for a garage door opener not working properly in the cold.
Other times, garage door opener issues during the winter result from fogged photo eye sensors, obstructing communication. One of the main ways to prevent cold weather damage to the garage door opener is to keep your door dry. Dry off any rain, snow or sleet that may slide into the opener, freezing and shutting it.
Batteries in your garage door opener, keypad and remote stop working faster in cold temperatures. Therefore, the start of the winter is a good time to check and change the batteries in your garage door remote and keypad to ensure they continue working in cold weather.
Best Winter Garage Door Maintenance Tips
Winter garage door care is essential to prevent problems. You can ensure your garage door operates smoothly during cold weather by proactively preparing it for the winter. The following are some reliable winter preventive maintenance tips for your garage door:
- Spring inspections and replacement if they’re almost at the end of their life cycle.
- Visual inspections to check for signs of wear, tear, cracks, dents or damage.
- Lubricate all moving parts, including springs, hinges, tracks and rollers, to ensure smooth operation.
- Clean weather stripping and check for signs of damage such as cracks, tears and gaps.
- Check for proper door balance by disconnecting the opener and manually lifting the door midpoint. If it’s balanced, it should stay at the halfway point.
While you can perform some of these maintenance practices yourself, it’s best to outsource to garage door experts with knowledge and experience. Garage door experts can identify and solve issues beyond your scope.
Get Fast Service to Fix Problems and Prevent Further Damage
Liberty Door and Awning is a garage door maintenance and repair company with over 50 years of experience. We offer a wide range of services for residential and commercial garage doors. We provide annual tuneup services to keep your door in the best shape through the seasons. These involve sending professional garage door technicians to conduct inspections and maintenance services.
During the annual tune up, you can expect our technicians to conduct a complete visual inspection, discovering and fixing minor issues, lubrication, and cleaning the tracks. Contact us today to discuss a maintenance schedule or to request a service and repair estimate if your garage door won’t close or open in the winter.
Linked Sources
https://libertydoorandawning.com/garage-doors/service-and-repair/repairs/spring-repair-replacement/
https://libertydoorandawning.com/blog/garage-door-weather-stripping/
https://libertydoorandawning.com/garage-doors/residential/garage-door-openers/
https://libertydoorandawning.com/garage-doors/service-and-repair/annual-tune-up/
https://libertydoorandawning.com/contact-us/
https://libertydoorandawning.com/contact-us/schedule-service/