A garage door opener is an asset to homeowners for its convenience — it lets you open and close your garage door by pushing a button. Your opener is essential to your home’s security and safety with its remote access and automatic safety sensors, but it will ultimately get old.
Depending on usage, it will likely have a lifespan of over a decade, but it may start functioning inconsistently before that. If it does, it will cause safety and reliability concerns, and the likelihood is that your garage door opener will need replacing.
How can you tell if your garage door opener needs to be replaced? Some telltale clues will indicate when you should upgrade your opening system to one with enhanced features that offer the same convenience, with improved reliability and safety.
Signs It Is Time to Replace Your Garage Door Opener
Your garage door is typically one of your home’s heaviest moving objects, and its high-tension operation makes it an injury risk. While most of the 20,000 garage door-related annual emergency visits are due to pinched fingers, there have been 60 child fatalities due to malfunctioning garage doors since 1982.
For this reason alone, paying attention to all warning signs relating to your garage door openers is essential. Some of the more common indicators that your door opener likely needs replacing are:
1. It Makes Strange Sounds
If opening your garage door results in unusual scraping or screeching noises, you may have worn components in your door opener that warrant replacement. At the very least, these components may require maintenance through lubrication, so inspect the mechanism first.
Your garage door opener may just be old, meaning it is under more strain when opening the door. After performing the appropriate upkeep, should the weird sounds continue, consider replacing the opener altogether.
2. The Door Does Not Open or Close At All
If you use your remote and the garage door opener does not respond, you may need to change the remote’s battery. Doing so is the most logical step, but if you still get no response after that, your opener’s sensors may be the reason. They may be misaligned or need cleaning. Garage door openers generally use pyroelectric infrared components for operation.
While these usually have long lifespans, electromagnetic interference, vibrations and noise affect their reliability and accuracy. Lifespans can also decrease due to dust, fluctuating temperatures, humidity and exposure to direct sunlight. While maintenance could resolve the issue, older sensors may completely fail, and replacing your garage door opener may be the best option.
3. It Only Works Intermittently or Moves on Its Own
Your garage door opener could start working sporadically, which can be frustrating, especially if you are in a rush. This intermittent operation could be due to your remote’s battery dying or another remote-related problem. Alternatively, your controller’s circuit board or wiring may have a short circuit, or the garage wall remote or panel buttons could be stuck.
Another reason could include similar radio frequencies on another electronic device — perhaps even from a neighbor — causing signal disruptions. It might also be that your antenna is obstructed or damaged.
Short circuits in the opener’s board or wiring could also cause your garage door to move without your prompting. When this happens, your garage door opener is severely hampering your home’s security and safety, and you should attend to the malfunction urgently. While these problems are easy to troubleshoot, upgrading your garage door opener may be better if you cannot remedy the situation.
4. It Moves Slower Than Normal
Poor lubrication, damaged and worn-out parts, motor issues, or incorrect speed settings can slow your opener’s garage door opening and closing. Worn tracks, springs and other opener components often cause slower functionality, while unlubricated tracks, rollers and hinges can result in similar issues.
Constant use over time can degrade the opener’s parts. If you have performed maintenance or repairs — like straightening the tracks and replacing springs and rollers — it may be time for a new garage door opener.
5. It Is Outdated
You will seldom get the same performance from an older, outdated garage door opener as one from a high-performance brand utilizing updated technology. Modern garage openers include innovative features designed to make your life easier, improve your family’s safety and enhance your home’s security.
If you are experiencing frequent problems with your garage door’s functionality, investing in a new garage door opener will save you time troubleshooting, making repairs and carrying out repeated maintenance.
Invest in a New Garage Door Opener From LiftMaster
Spending time and money remedying your opener’s faults means investing in new parts that only assist until a subsequent failure. LiftMaster offers garage door opener solutions that will save you time and provide peace of mind. You can rest easy knowing modern technology, superior parts and expert craftsmanship combine to provide you with enhanced convenience, security and safety in your home.
LiftMaster provides various smart garage door openers to suit any home and budget. The LiftMaster Basic Series provides stellar chain-driven entry-level options, including smartphone controls and four-year motor warranties.
Widen your choice to include the LiftMaster Plus Series, and you will receive the provider’s best warranties and a selection of upgraded features, depending on the belt or chain-driven option you prefer. These include superior LED lighting, ultra-quiet motor operation, battery backups, built-in cameras and myQ smartphone controls.
The LiftMaster Premium Series provides all the features of the Plus Series and more. It ensures an optimal garage door opener from the award-winning provider. The sleek, wall-mounted designs from the Elite Series join the LiftMaster Premium Series’ superior chain and belt-driven openers to help free up garage space. These door openers do not require a cable tension monitor, allowing for easier installation.
The Elite Series garage door openers are also vibration-free and ultra-quiet. They have remote LED lighting that covers your entire garage space and provides smooth and fast operation, even for the heaviest and tallest domestic garage doors. Like all other LiftMaster door openers, the Premium and Elite Series openers are Wi-Fi operated with the myQ smartphone controls.
Know When to Replace Your Garage Door Opener
If you notice warning signs that your garage door opener needs replacement, do not delay. A faulty garage door opener is inconvenient and could compromise your home’s security and your family’s safety. With the wide selection of openers available on the market through brands like LiftMaster, you will do yourself and your family a favor by promptly replacing your garage door opener.
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