Safety guide
Garage Door Safety: A Checklist for Every Household
A garage door is the largest moving object in most homes, and it is easy to forget that. Federal safety rules have made openers much safer since the early 1990s, but those protections only work if they are kept in working order. These checks take a few minutes a month.
Updated October 2026
The monthly checks
Reversal test
Lay a 2x4 flat on the floor in the door's path and close the door with the opener. When it touches the board, it should stop and reverse. If it does not, disconnect the opener and use the door manually until it is fixed.
Sensor test
While the door is closing, pass an object (not a person) through the beam between the two sensors near the floor. The door should stop and go back up.
Balance test
Close the door, pull the release cord and lift the door by hand to about waist height. Let go carefully. It should stay put. If it drops or rises, the springs need a technician.
Look and listen
Check the springs, cables and rollers by eye without touching them. Frayed cables, gaps in springs and loud grinding are warnings.
Teach children these rules
- The garage door is not a toy, and the remote stays with adults
- Never run under a closing door or try to beat it
- Keep fingers away from the joints between sections
- Mount the wall button at least five feet up, out of small children's reach
- If the door is stuck or crooked, stay away and tell an adult
Parts only a technician should touch
Springs, lift cables, the cable drums and the bottom brackets are all under high tension. So are the set screws on a torsion spring bar. Loosening any of them can release that tension in a fraction of a second. Every year, people are injured trying to adjust these parts or to replace a spring with internet instructions.
If you see a red-painted bolt or bracket at the bottom corners of your door, that is the manufacturer marking a part under tension. Leave it alone.
Pinch points and the section joints
As a sectional door rolls up and down, the gaps between sections open and close. Fingers placed in those joints can be badly hurt. Lift a door by its handle or the bottom of the bottom section, never by gripping the joints. Many newer doors have pinch-resistant joints designed to push fingers out, which is worth asking about when choosing a new door.
Other pinch points include the track, the rollers, and the pivot arms on old tilt-up doors. Teach everyone in the house to keep hands off the moving parts while the door runs.
Older doors deserve a closer look
- Extension springs without safety cables. If a spring breaks, it can fly across the garage. A cable running through each spring contains it. Ask a technician to add them.
- Openers without photo-eye sensors. Openers made before the 1993 federal rule may rely only on a mechanical reverse, which may not work reliably. Replacement is the safe fix.
- Bundled or bypassed sensors. If someone has mounted both sensors together on the wall to stop false reverses, the safety system is disabled. Have them reinstalled at floor level.
- Wall buttons within reach of small children. Move them up.
Security
- Do not leave a remote clipped to the visor of a car parked outside
- Lock the door between the garage and the house, as you would a front door
- Use a vacation lock or unplug the opener when you are away for a long time
- Change the keypad code if you have shared it
- Consider a phone alert that tells you when the door is left open. See smart garage control
Carbon monoxide
Never run a car, generator or snowblower in a garage with the door closed, even briefly, and do not rely on opening the door to vent a running engine in an attached garage. Exhaust can seep into the house. New York State law requires carbon monoxide alarms in residences, and an attached garage is one of the main reasons why.
Cars and the garage door
Many garage door repairs start with a car. Before backing out, wait until the door is fully open and has stopped. Before pulling in, make sure nobody is standing in the opening. A tennis ball on a string or a floor parking stop helps everyone park in the same spot, clear of the door and the tracks.
In winter, check that the door is fully open before driving through: a door that stopped a few inches short because of ice can catch a roof rack or a tall vehicle. If you have a new, taller vehicle, measure the open height of the door first, since many older doors are only 7 feet tall.
If someone is trapped or hurt
If a door has come down on a person or a pet, call 911 first. If the opener is still trying to push the door down, press the wall button or a remote to reverse it. If the door is resting on someone and will not reverse, the emergency release lets you lift it, but with a broken spring it may be extremely heavy, so get help from others nearby rather than trying alone.
Moving into a new home
Reprogram the remotes and keypad
Clear the opener's memory and change the keypad code so previous owners and their contractors no longer have access.
Run the safety tests
Reversal, sensor and balance tests, as described above.
Find the emergency release
Make sure everyone in the household knows where it is and how it works.
Check for a side door
If the garage has no other way in, consider an outside emergency release for power outages.
Book a tune-up
An inspection tells you the condition of the springs and cables, which an inspection report often does not cover in detail.
Questions
Related questions
How often should I test my garage door's auto-reverse?
Once a month is the common recommendation, and after any repair or adjustment.
My door reverses on the 2x4 but closes on a soft object. Is that OK?
No. The sensors should stop it before it touches anything. Have the sensors and force settings checked.
Can I remove the sensors if they keep causing problems?
No. They are a federally required safety feature. If they keep misbehaving, have them aligned, cleaned or replaced.
Should the garage door remote be kept in the car?
In a car parked in the garage, it is fine. In a car parked outside, it is safer to keep it out of sight or use a keychain remote, since a remote on a visor is an easy way into the house.
Is it safe to walk under a moving garage door?
No. Wait until the door is fully open or fully closed before walking or driving through.
Is a manual garage door without an opener safe?
It can be, as long as the springs are balanced so the door does not drop or fly up, the cables are sound and everyone keeps fingers out of the section joints. Lock it with the slide lock when closed.
What should I do if the auto-reverse fails the 2x4 test?
Stop using the opener and disconnect it with the release cord. Use the door by hand until a technician has checked the force settings, the sensors and the door balance. Do not try to fix it by turning the force up.
Where can I find my opener manual?
The model number is on a label on the motor head. Most manufacturers post manuals online by model number, including the safety tests and how to adjust the force and travel limits.
What are the warning labels on my garage door for?
Manufacturers put labels on the springs, bottom brackets and opener to mark parts under tension and to remind users of the monthly tests. Leave them in place, and ask for replacements if they have faded or been painted over.
Rather have a pro look at it?
Call (914) 353-8667 to reach a local garage door technician.