First, make the area safe
Before you think about the door, think about people. If anyone is hurt, call 911 and do not move an injured person unless they are in immediate danger. If the vehicle is still running and touching the door, turn it off and set the brake if you can do so safely.
A struck garage door can be unstable. A section may be hanging loose, a track may be pulled away from the wall, or the door may be held up only by a damaged cable. Treat the whole opening as an area where something could fall or swing. Keep children and pets away, and do not stand or walk under the door.
Once the vehicle has been moved clear, you can calm down and look at the situation. Most of what follows is about observing and recording, not fixing. The door holds stored energy in its springs, and a damaged door can release it in unexpected ways.
Do not try to run the door
The natural reaction is to press the wall button and see what the door does. We advise against it. An opener that pushes or pulls a damaged door can make things worse by forcing a bent track, twisting panels or snapping a cable that is already strained.
If the door is closed and looks level, leave it closed until it is checked. If it is open or partway open, keep everyone clear and do not try to lower it by hand. If the door must be moved for safety, only a technician should do it. If you need to disconnect the opener, the red emergency release cord should be used carefully and only when the door is fully closed or fully supported.
For power loss situations, our guide to the manual release during a power outage explains why the cord should be handled with care. A damaged door is a different case, and the safest choice is usually to leave it alone until it has been assessed.
What you can look at from the floor
You can learn a lot by looking, and the information helps when you describe the damage by phone. Keep to the floor, keep your hands off moving parts, and stop if something shifts.
- The face of the door, noting dents, creases, tears, holes and sections that bow in or out
- The horizontal lines between panels, noting any that are uneven or open
- The tracks on both sides, noting bends, gaps from the wall or loose mounting
- The rollers visible at the edges, noting any that have left the track
- The cables running along each side, noting fraying, slack or a cable out of its groove
- The springs above the door, observing only from a distance and not touching them
- The opener unit and rail on the ceiling, noting a bent rail or loose mounting
- The wall and frame around the opening, noting cracked trim, split jambs or pulled fasteners
Photograph before anything moves
Take wide shots and close shots from inside and outside, with the vehicle position described if you remember it. These photographs help the technician and may also help if you contact your insurance provider.
How impact damage travels through the door
A door is a system. Force applied to one point moves through the panels into the hinges and then into the tracks and the wall. A vehicle that strikes the bottom corner can push the lowest panel inward, bend the track near the floor and pull the cable off its drum at the same time.
Because the door is balanced by springs, a sudden change to its shape or position affects the balance. A panel that is bent can add or reduce friction. A track that has moved can pinch a roller. A cable that has slipped can leave one side of the door heavier than the other. These are not always visible from the driveway.
This is why we treat a vehicle strike as a whole-door inspection, not a panel repair. The cosmetic damage may be the least important part.
Panels, tracks, cables, springs and the opener
It helps to know what each part does so you can follow the technician's explanation. The panels form the face of the door. The hinges join them and let them fold around the curve. The rollers ride in the tracks. The cables lift the door from the bottom corners. The springs supply the lifting force. The opener moves the door but does not carry its weight.
Each of these can be damaged in a vehicle strike, and each fails differently. A panel can crease or tear. A hinge can crack or pull out. A roller can bend its stem or pop out of the track. A cable can fray or jump its drum. A spring can be disturbed by a shifted bracket. The opener's rail and trolley can bend if the door is forced.
Our overview of how a garage door works explains how these parts fit together and why damage to one affects the others.
Cables and springs after a strike
The cables and springs are the parts that make us most cautious. They carry high tension, and a vehicle strike can nick a cable, pull it off its drum or shift the spring assembly. You may not see the damage until the door is moved.
Do not touch, tension, release or adjust these parts. Even a door that appears to sit normally may have a weakened cable that could fail on the next lift. A technician can inspect the cables and drums and test the balance in a controlled way.
When a cable or spring must be replaced, the work is done by a trained person with the right tools and procedures. It is not a task for a homeowner. If you hear a loud bang or the door suddenly drops, keep clear and call us.
Frame, jambs and the opening itself
A door is only as sound as what it is attached to. A hit that damages the door can also crack the jamb, split the wood trim, loosen the vertical track brackets or shift the header. If the framing is damaged, new parts may not hold properly.
Look for cracks in the trim, gaps where the jamb meets the wall, and paint or caulk lines that have split. If you see structural cracks in the wall above or beside the opening, or the garage ceiling has shifted, it is wise to have a qualified person evaluate the building as well. A garage door technician can tell you what affects the door, but structural questions about the home belong with a builder or engineer.
If framing repair is needed, it generally comes before the door repair so that the track and hardware have something solid to mount to.
Repairing or replacing the damaged sections
Panels that are creased, torn or pushed in usually cannot be restored. A single section can often be replaced on a sectional door, provided a matching section can be found. The technician transfers hinges and rollers that are still good and replaces those that are bent.
If the damage runs over several sections, or the door is old, the better choice may be a new door. Matching an older door can be difficult, and mixing a new section into a worn door may leave visible differences in color or texture. The comparison in repair versus replace helps frame the decision.
Our work on sections is described on the page for garage door panel repair. When the door is beyond repair, our new garage door installation page explains how a replacement is chosen and fitted.
Opener damage and the force settings
The opener is easy to overlook because it sits on the ceiling, but a strike can damage it as well. If the door was pushed hard while the trolley was engaged, the rail may be bent or the trolley carriage damaged. The mounting brackets may have loosened, and the arm that connects the opener to the door may be bent.
An opener also holds settings for how hard it pushes and when it reverses. After a repair, these settings and the safety reversal must be checked so the door responds correctly to an obstruction. A door that closes with too much force, or fails to reverse, is a safety risk.
Safety sensors near the floor can be knocked out of alignment or broken by an impact. After any strike, we check the sensors, and you should not rely on a door that does not reverse when it meets an obstruction. See the garage door safety tests guide for the simple checks that confirm a door is behaving safely.
What a technician evaluates
On a vehicle strike visit, our goal is to build a complete picture and explain it. The checks are generally ordered from the largest structural concerns to the finer points.
After the inspection we describe the damage in order of importance, set out what must be done for the door to be safe, and what is cosmetic. You decide how to proceed once you have the full picture.
- Overall safety of the door and whether it can be moved without risk
- Condition of the panels, hinges and rollers
- Condition and alignment of the tracks and their mounting
- Condition of the cables and drums
- Condition and position of the springs and their brackets, by eye
- Balance of the door once it is safely disconnected from the opener
- Opener rail, trolley, arm, mounting and sensor condition
- Condition of the jamb, trim and header that carry the hardware
Insurance, records and what to keep
Many owners wonder about insurance after a vehicle strike. We cannot advise on policies or claims, but we can suggest what to keep. Photographs of the damage, the date and circumstances, notes of what you observed, and any written description from a technician are the usual starting points.
If the vehicle belonged to someone else, you may also need information about the driver and the incident. Check with your insurance provider about what they require, and about whether repair work should wait for an adjuster to see the damage.
Do not throw away damaged parts until you know whether they are needed as evidence. Keep receipts and any written notes of findings. We can describe in plain language what we see on the door, which many owners find useful when speaking with their provider.
Preventing the next impact
Garage strikes often happen in the same ways: a driver confusing pedals, a tight driveway, a car backing out before the door has fully risen, or a delivery vehicle clipping the corner. A few practical steps lower the chance of a repeat.
Wait until the door has stopped moving before driving through. Check that the door is fully up before pulling forward or backing out. Consider a visible marker or a wheel stop in the garage so a vehicle stops short of the door. Keep the sensors clean and aligned, and test the reversal behavior from time to time.
Households with several drivers, teenagers, rental tenants or visitors benefit from a short rule: no one moves the vehicle until the door is fully open. A habit of that sort costs nothing to adopt and protects the door, the vehicle and the people nearby.
Strikes from inside the garage
Not every vehicle strike comes from the driveway. Some happen inside, when a driver pulls in too far, bumps the door while it is closed, or leans on the brake pedal a moment too late. A bumper that touches a closed door at walking speed can push the lower panel outward and bend the bottom bracket.
Golf carts, trailers, lawn tractors and boats on trailers are also common culprits in Florida garages, because they are tall or wide and the driver sits at an angle to the door. A hitch or a mast can catch the top of the opening. In these cases the damage is often concentrated at the top section or the header, rather than the lower corners.
Whatever the source, the checks are the same. Photograph the damage, keep the door from being used, and have the whole door assessed, because a push from the inside can disturb the same tracks, cables and mounting points that an outside strike would.
Getting the door looked at
When you reach us, tell us what happened, when, and what you can see. Describe the door's behavior, including whether it has been moved since the strike. Photographs help. If the door is open or partway open, say so, and keep the area clear.
At the property, we make the door safe first, then examine the pieces described above. We explain what we find in plain terms, what needs attention first, and what the options are for repair or replacement. We do not rush you into a decision.
If your garage door has been hit, contact us and we will arrange to have the door looked at.
Questions and answers
No, not until it has been checked. An opener can force a bent track or twisted panel and make the damage worse, or snap a strained cable. If the door is closed and level, leave it that way. If it is open or stuck, keep people and vehicles clear and arrange a visit.
Use the cord only if the door is fully closed or completely supported, and with great care. On a damaged door, releasing the opener can let the door move unexpectedly. When in doubt, leave it alone, keep the area clear and have a technician make it safe.
Look for kinks, a gap between the track and the wall, loose mounting, rubbing sounds and a door that rises unevenly. A roller that has left the track is a clear sign. Do not adjust the track yourself, as the door is under spring tension and can move suddenly.
Not always. On many sectional doors a single section can be replaced if a match is available. If several sections are damaged, the door is old or the track and framing also need work, a new door can be the more sensible option. A technician can explain which applies.
The track brackets attach to the frame, so damaged framing can prevent a safe repair. Cracked trim or jambs may need to be repaired first. If you see cracks in the wall or header, ask a builder or engineer about the structure. We can explain what affects the door.
We cannot advise on policies, but we suggest keeping photographs, the date and circumstances, and any written description of the damage. Ask your provider whether repairs should wait for an adjuster. Keep damaged parts until you know whether they are needed as records.
They can be. Sensors near the floor are easily knocked out of alignment or broken. A door whose sensors do not work may fail to reverse on an obstruction, which is a safety risk. Have the sensors and reversal tested after any strike, even if the door seems to run normally.