How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?

The honest answer is about 7 to 12 years for a typical home, but springs are actually rated in cycles, not years. A standard torsion spring is built for roughly 10,000 cycles, and one cycle is a single open-and-close. A busy household that runs the door four times a day burns through 10,000 cycles in under seven years; a lightly used door can coast past fifteen.

What shortens spring life

• Coastal salt air. On Cape Cod this is the big one. Salt corrodes and fatigues spring steel, so a Cape spring often gives out well before its cycle rating. (More on that in what salt air does to your door.)
• A heavy or unbalanced door. Insulated and wood doors work springs harder, and when one spring weakens the other takes the extra load, which is why springs so often fail in pairs.
• No maintenance. A dry, unlubricated spring rusts and wears faster.

The warning signs

A loud bang from the garage, a door that suddenly feels dead-heavy on the manual release, a visible gap in the coiled spring above the door, or an opener that strains and gives up partway. Any of those means stop using the door. Forcing it against a broken spring bends tracks and burns out openers, turning a spring job into a cable and roller repair too.

Repair, don’t DIY

Torsion springs are under serious tension and are the one job every pro tells you not to do yourself. A tech replaces both springs (replacing only the broken one usually guarantees a second visit), balances the door, and load-tests the opener. The full story is on the spring repair page. Call Rick at (508) 563-6266 and he’ll talk you through what your door likely needs before anyone rolls a truck.