2026-04-12 7 min read
If you've ever walked into your garage on a cold January morning to find the door won't budge, there's a good chance a spring just gave out. It's one of the most common calls we get here in Moxee. and almost every time, the homeowner says the same thing: "It seemed fine yesterday."
That's how springs work. They fail fast. But if you know what to look for, you can usually catch the warning signs before you're stuck in the driveway.
Moxee sits at about 1,000 feet elevation in the Yakima Valley, and the climate here is genuinely hard on garage door hardware. Summers push well past 100°F, winters regularly drop into the low 20s and below, and the wind off the valley floor can be relentless. That swing between extreme heat and freezing cold causes metal to expand and contract repeatedly. and torsion springs are especially vulnerable to this cycle.
Dust is another factor that doesn't get talked about enough. The dry, agricultural environment around Moxee. hop yards, orchards, open fields. means fine dust works its way into every gap. When springs aren't regularly lubricated, that dust combines with metal wear and accelerates the process significantly.
Add in the fact that the average household opens and closes their garage door 3,5 times a day, and springs that are already stressed by temperature swings are racking up cycles fast. Most standard torsion springs are rated for around 10,000 cycles. Do the math. that's roughly 5 to 7 years before replacement is on the table, sometimes less.
When you pull the emergency release cord and try to lift the door manually, it should move with moderate effort. If it feels like you're lifting deadweight, the spring is likely losing tension or has already broken. A properly balanced door should stay in place when you lift it halfway. if it crashes down, that's a sign the spring system isn't doing its job.
A snapping torsion spring sounds like a gunshot. Many Moxee homeowners describe it as something falling off a shelf or a car backfiring outside. If you hear a sharp bang from the garage. especially at night when temperatures drop. check your springs before attempting to use the door. Operating a door with a broken spring can cause serious damage to the opener, cables, and tracks.
Take a look at the spring mounted horizontally above your garage door (that's your torsion spring). A healthy spring has tight, evenly-spaced coils. If you can see a gap of an inch or two somewhere in the middle, the spring has broken. Don't try to use the door.
Many Moxee homes have two-car garages with two torsion springs. one on each side. When only one breaks, the door often opens unevenly, rising higher on one side than the other. This uneven movement puts stress on rollers, cables, and tracks. If your door is moving sideways or jerking during operation, don't keep running it. You can learn more about how roller wear connects to this in our complete roller replacement guide.
In Moxee, temperature swings cause condensation inside garages, and that moisture accelerates rust on spring coils. A little surface rust is cosmetic, but deep corrosion. where flakes are visible or the coil surface looks pitted. means the spring's structural integrity is compromised. A corroded spring can snap without warning.
Your opener isn't designed to compensate for a failing spring. If you notice the motor running louder, taking longer to lift the door, or reversing partway up, the opener is working too hard. Left unchecked, this wears out the motor. If you're seeing any of these signs, it's worth a call to our service team before you end up replacing the opener too.
This is one repair where the honest answer is: leave it to a professional. Torsion springs are under enormous tension. enough to cause serious injury if released incorrectly. Extension springs (the ones that run along the sides of the tracks in older garage setups) are similarly dangerous to work with. Even experienced homeowners have been hurt attempting spring replacement without the right tools.
What you *can* do yourself is lubrication. Every three to six months, apply a lithium-based or silicone garage door lubricant to the spring coils. not WD-40, which dries out and attracts more dust. This simple step, especially heading into Moxee's dry summer months, can meaningfully extend spring life. Check out our summer preparation tips for more on seasonal maintenance.
For most Moxee homes, a professional spring replacement takes one to two hours. If both springs are being replaced (which is typically recommended. when one goes, the other isn't far behind), the job is straightforward with the right equipment. The cost varies depending on spring type and door weight, but it's significantly less than an opener replacement or track repair caused by running a door on a broken spring.
Moxee Garage Doors carries common spring sizes for the ranch-style and newer construction homes that make up most of the local housing stock, so same-day service is usually possible. You can also review what's covered on our services page if you're not sure what your situation calls for.
Q: Can I open my garage door if a spring is broken? Technically yes. most openers can force the door open. but it's not a good idea. The opener motor wasn't designed to lift a door without spring assist, and doing so repeatedly will burn out the motor. If you absolutely need to get in or out, use the emergency release and lift manually with another person helping. Then stop using the door until the spring is replaced.
Q: How do I know if I have torsion or extension springs? Torsion springs mount horizontally above the door on a metal shaft. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on each side of the door. Most homes built after the mid-1990s in the Moxee and Yakima area use torsion springs. If you're not sure, a quick look above the door opening will tell you.
Q: Should I replace both springs at the same time? Most technicians recommend replacing both springs together when one breaks, even if the other looks intact. Springs installed at the same time wear at the same rate. if one has failed, the other is likely close behind. Replacing both during the same service call saves a second labor charge and keeps the door balanced.