When a garage door cable snaps, the door usually tells you in one of three ways: one side drops visibly lower than the other, the door hangs crookedly off the track, or there's a loud bang followed by the door refusing to move. Whichever signal you got, the fix is the same, and it's not a DIY job. Cables run under extreme tension, and a broken cable often means the spring is close behind (or already gone).
Real Garage Door Pros replaces broken and frayed cables across the Las Vegas valley every week. Every cable we install is pre-stretched, galvanized steel, properly sized to your drum and door weight, and we replace both cables even when only one has failed, because a mismatched pair is a guaranteed callback. Owner David Zion has spent 13 years on cable calls across Vegas's hot-garage homes; we know which drums go with which openers, and we carry cables for residential and commercial doors on every truck.
Same day cable replacement. 24/7 emergency dispatch. Free onsite diagnostics. Licensed, bonded, insured (Nevada State Contractor License #0093719). Serving Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Summerlin, Boulder City, Spring Valley, Enterprise, Paradise, Sunrise Manor, Whitney, and Pahrump.
How to Tell if Your Cable Is the Problem
Cable failure is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed garage door problems. Homeowners often call for a "broken spring" or "off-track door" when the real culprit is a cable that slipped off the drum or snapped mid-cycle. Here's what cable failure actually looks like:
Visible signs of a failing or broken cable
Signs it's NOT a cable (and probably is the spring)
We diagnose for free, if you can't tell what's wrong, don't guess. Call and we'll confirm it in five minutes on site.
The Three Types of Garage Door Cables
Most homeowners think of "the cable" as one thing. There are actually three different cable systems on a residential garage door, and they fail for different reasons.
Lift cables (torsion-spring systems)
The two thick cables running from the bottom bracket of the door up to the cable drum above the door. They wind around the drum as the door opens, unwind as the door closes. These are the cables that fail most often, they carry the full weight of the door every time it moves. When homeowners say "my garage door cable snapped," 9 times out of 10 this is what they mean.
Extension cables (extension-spring systems)
Older or lighter garage doors use extension springs mounted along the horizontal tracks instead of a torsion spring above the door. The cables on extension-spring systems run from the bottom bracket along the track and hook to the end of the spring. These cables stretch more over time than torsion lift cables, and they tend to fail where they hook into the pulley.
Safety cables (extension-spring systems only)
If your door has extension springs, it should also have a thin secondary safety cable running through the center of each extension spring. This cable catches the spring if it breaks, so a snapped extension spring can't whip across the garage. Safety cables are required on all extension-spring installs by modern building codes, but we still find doors installed in the 1990s and early 2000s that were never equipped with them. If your door has extension springs and no safety cable through them, that's a retrofit we can do same-visit with the cable replacement.
Worth knowing: Torsion springs don't need safety cables because they're anchored to the header, they can't whip if they break. Extension springs are a different animal.
Why Garage Door Cables Fail in Las Vegas
Cables don't usually fail from one big event. They fail from thousands of small cycles of stress, and Las Vegas stacks several stressors that don't exist in milder climates.
Heat-accelerated metal fatigue. Cables are galvanized steel. Heat cycling, 130°F garage in August, 50°F garage at dawn in December, expands and contracts the metal strand-by-strand. Over 8 to 10 years, this accelerates fatigue cracks that wouldn't appear as fast in a climate that doesn't swing 80° in a day.
Low-humidity rust (yes, really). People assume Vegas is too dry for rust. But monsoon season condenses moisture onto cold metal surfaces in the garage, and sprinkler overspray hits cable systems mounted near garage side walls. We see cables rust out on homes in Summerlin, Anthem, and Seven Hills where landscape sprinklers are adjacent to the garage wall.
High-cycle wear. A typical Las Vegas household opens the garage door 4 to 8 times a day. At 5 cycles/day over 10 years, that's 18,250 cycles. Standard residential cables are rated for 10,000 to 15,000 cycles, which means many Vegas doors hit cable fatigue right around year 7 to 10.
Spring breakage cascade. When a torsion spring breaks without the homeowner knowing, the opener tries to lift the door against an unsprung weight, and the cable is the weakest link. One broken spring often takes out both cables within a few cycles. This is why we always check springs when we replace cables (and vice versa).
Low-quality original cables. Production-home builds from the mid-2000s boom often used bottom-of-barrel cable grades. If your home was built 2003 to 2008 and the cables haven't been replaced, they're on borrowed time.
Why We Always Replace Cables in Pairs
If only one cable broke, why do you want to replace both?
Because an old, stretched cable paired with a fresh, pre-stretched cable is an imbalanced door. The fresh cable carries more weight per cycle, the old cable runs at reduced tension, and within 2 to 6 months, the "good" cable will fail and you'll pay us to come back. That's a bad deal for you.
Cables come as matched, pre-stretched pairs for the same reason tires come in pairs (or quads) on an axle. Mixing new and old wears both of them unevenly. The labor to replace a second cable is 10 minutes after the first is off, it's not a significant upcharge, so we always quote the pair.
One exception: if a cable fails within the first year of install and we already replaced both in that install, we'll replace just the failed one at warranty cost. New-to-new matching works fine.
What to Do (and NOT Do) When a Cable Breaks
If you just heard a bang and noticed the door hanging crooked, stop and read this before you try anything else.
DO
DO NOT
If any of the above sounds like advice you didn't know, that's exactly why cable repair is a pro-only job. We can be at your door usually within 90 minutes in the core valley, often faster in Henderson, Summerlin, and central Las Vegas.
Our Cable Replacement Process
Every cable replacement follows the same steps. Most jobs are complete in 45 to 90 minutes.
- 1Secure the door.We clamp the door in position (or lower it manually with the opener disengaged only after verifying the remaining cable can hold) before any tensioned parts come off.
- 2Release torsion spring tension (or unhook extension springs).Cables can't be removed safely until the spring system is in a zero-tension state. This is the step most DIY videos skip or get wrong.
- 3Remove old cables.Pop them off the drum, remove from the bottom bracket, dispose of old steel properly.
- 4Install new matched cables.Galvanized steel, pre-stretched, sized to your drum diameter and door height. We carry stock for 7-foot and 8-foot residential doors, high-lift tracks, and commercial 10 to 14-foot doors.
- 5Re-tension springs and balance the door.We set the spring torque to factory spec (or adjust if the spring was previously over/under-tensioned) and hand-test the door for proper balance, a correctly balanced door should hold position at any height when raised manually.
- 6Cycle and verify.5 to 10 full cycles with the opener to confirm smooth travel, sensor function, and no cable slap or drum binding.
- 7Inspect the rest of the door.We look at rollers, bearings, bottom seal, hinges, and springs, and tell you if anything else is close to failure. No pressure to buy, just information.
- 8Walk through the invoice.Parts, labor, warranty, line-by-line.
Cable Repair vs. Other Fixes. What's Actually Needed?
When we diagnose on site, not every "cable problem" is really a cable problem. Here's the honest breakdown:
| Symptom | Most likely cause | Typical repair |
|---|---|---|
| Door hanging lopsided, one side low | Broken lift cable | Replace both cables |
| Door stuck, loud bang happened | Broken torsion spring | Spring replacement |
| Cable visible but frayed, door works | Aging cable, 2 to 3 years in | Replace both cables preventively |
| Door opens 6" and stops | Spring tension issue | Spring replacement or re-tension |
| Cable loose, coiled at bottom of door | Cable slipped off drum | Re-seat cable + inspect drum |
| Both cables frayed equally, 10+ yrs old | End-of-life wear | Replace cables + spring (recommended) |
If we diagnose on site and the real problem is a spring, not a cable, we'll quote the spring job instead, no switcheroo, no bait-and-switch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does garage door cable repair cost in Las Vegas?
Cable replacement pricing varies by door size, drum type, and whether springs or other components need attention at the same time. Most residential cable jobs fall into a narrow range, but the only honest number is one from an onsite diagnostic. We give every customer a firm written quote before any work starts, and our onsite diagnostic is always free. National averages run $150 to $400 per door, we're typically in that range.
Can I replace a garage door cable myself?
Strongly not recommended. Cable replacement requires releasing spring tension first, and torsion springs store enough energy to cause serious injury if mishandled. Even experienced DIYers routinely get hurt on this specific job. The pros at Real Garage Door Pros do it in under an hour with the right tools; it will take you 3+ hours and meaningful injury risk.
How long does cable replacement take?
Most residential cable jobs take 45 to 90 minutes on site. Commercial doors or high-lift residential installs can run 90 to 120 minutes.
Do you replace both cables or just the broken one?
Both. A new cable paired with an aged cable creates an imbalanced door that wears both cables unevenly, the "good" cable fails within 2 to 6 months. Matched, pre-stretched pairs are the only way to do this job right, and the labor for the second cable is minimal.
Will I need a new spring too?
Sometimes. If your spring is older than the cable (most common scenario), we'll flag it. If your spring broke and took the cable with it, yes, both need replacement. If your cable failed from aging independently and your spring is healthy, you just need cables. We check both every time.
How long will new cables last in Las Vegas?
Standard galvanized steel cables carry a rating of 10,000 to 15,000 cycles, which works out to 7 to 12 years for typical Las Vegas households opening the door 4 to 6 times a day. Upgraded high-cycle cables (20,000+ cycle rated) can push that to 15+ years.
Can I still open my garage door if a cable broke?
Not safely. With one cable broken, the spring tension is unbalanced across the door. Manually lifting is dangerous, you can snap the remaining cable or cause the drum to spin unexpectedly. Using the opener can damage the motor. Wait for the repair.
Do you offer emergency cable repair?
Yes. 24/7 emergency dispatch for cable failures that leave your car trapped, your garage open overnight, or your door unable to secure the home. Most core-valley calls get a same day or same night visit.
What's the warranty on a cable replacement?
Parts: manufacturer warranty on the cable stock (typically 1 year against defect). Labor: 1-year workmanship warranty on our install. All terms documented on your invoice.
Do you do cable repair on commercial garage doors?
Yes. We service commercial overhead doors up to 14 feet, including high-cycle commercial cable systems for rental properties, small warehouses, and light-industrial sites. Commercial cable stock is different from residential, we carry both.
Can you repair a cable if my door has been sitting broken for weeks?
Yes. Longer-sitting broken doors sometimes develop secondary issues (track alignment, roller binding from sitting off-track) but the cable job itself is straightforward. We'll flag any secondary fixes during diagnosis.
Do you offer financing on cable repairs?
Yes. 0% APR financing through Wisetack for qualifying customers, application takes 60 seconds, no hard credit pull. Most cable jobs are small enough to handle without financing, but it's there if you need it, especially if you're combining cable + spring replacement.
Service Area for Cable Repair
Same day cable repair across the full Las Vegas valley.