What it costs
Garage door cable repair cost
Typical
$150 – $350
Most jobs land near $220 · for a pair, fitted
$150 to $350 for a pair fitted. Cables are replaced in pairs, and the job is priced on the tension rather than the part — the cable itself is a few dollars, and everything you are paying for is the person who can safely unwind and reset a door that is holding two hundred pounds.
Before you price a DIY
Never change your own springs
A torsion spring on a double garage door holds enough stored energy to break an arm, take out teeth, or worse. It is wound under tension with two steel bars, and if one slips it goes at the speed of the thing it was holding up. People are seriously injured doing this every year, and some are killed. There is no YouTube video that makes this safe, and the part costs less than the emergency room.
What is in the price
- A matched pair of lift cables
- Supporting the door and unwinding the tension
- Re-seating both drums so the door sits level
- Rebalancing
What moves it
Why two quotes differ
| Factor | What it does to the number |
|---|---|
| Whether it came off the track | A snapped cable often drops one side and takes the door off its track. That turns a $220 job into a $400 one. |
| Drum condition | A cable that has been slipping usually grooves the drum. Fitting a new cable to a chewed drum is a repeat visit. |
| What caused it | Cables fray from a misaligned track or a worn pulley. Replacing the cable without fixing that just buys a few months. |
National guide ranges, checked September 2026. Prices move and vary a great deal by state — get it in writing before you commit.
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Exact price
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