Automatic doors are chosen for their reliability, but they can still develop faults over time, especially in busy environments.

Seemingly small faults can turn into bigger, more expensive repairs and can cause serious safety and accessibility problems.

In this guide, our experts at NOVA Door Systems explain what an automatic door repair service entails, the 5 most common warning signs your door needs repair and what to expect when you book one.

What Is an Automatic Door Repair Service?

An automatic door repair service involves a professional diagnosing, fixing, and recalibrating a malfunctioning automatic door system.

It involves more than basic cleaning or maintenance checks; it focuses on resolving faults that affect safety, reliability, or compliance.

Automatic doors have a combination of complex operations, such as motors, drive belts, rollers and sensors, working at the same time. If one of these components fails, it tends to cause wider spread damage.

An automatic door repair service includes diagnosing your door, resolving faults by replacing or repairing parts and receiving a clear report of the maintenance completed.

A professional repair service ensures that the root cause of the issues is correctly identified, any faulty parts are repaired or replaced and that you receive a clear report for your service records and insurance.

At NOVA Door Systems, we repair all major types of automatic doors, including sliding, swing, telescopic, and bistable systems. Our repairs are always in line with BS EN 16005 safety standards, ensuring your entrance remains legally compliant and safe.

5 Common Signs Your Automatic Door Needs Repair

It’s not always obvious when your automatic door is breaking down. Here are the most common warning signs we see during our visits:

1. The Door Opens or Closes Slower Than Usual

If your door takes longer to open than usual or pauses mid-opening, it usually means there’s a mechanical resistance issue somewhere in the system.

This may be due to your tracks or rollers becoming worn, a strained motor or failed bearings, and even debris build-up creating friction.

Over time, your door operating slowly can lead to motor overheating and failure, as well as issues for users with limited mobility.

2. The Door Makes Unusual Noises

Automatic doors are designed to operate quietly. Therefore, if you begin to hear grinding, rattling, scraping, clicking or whining, it’s a sign that something is going wrong.

These sounds typically signal worn rollers or guide wheels, misaligned tracks, or damaged drive belts and chains. Unusual noises can also be caused by loose components in the door’s motor housing.

Noise is actually one of the earliest clues that a part of your automatic door is deteriorating, so as soon as you hear it, book a maintenance visit.

3. Sensors Are Triggering Incorrectly

Think of the sensors as the brains of your automatic door. They decide when the door opens and closes.

When they begin to misfire, the entire door’s system becomes unpredictable. The signs of faulty sensors are quite easy to spot.

Your door may open when no one is near it, or, conversely, fail to open when someone approaches. Also, it may randomly open and close repeatedly, or only open halfway.

Your door’s sensors decide when it opens and closes so faults often look like opening when no one is near or failing to open when someone approaches, often caused by dirt, misalignment or damaged wiring.

Sensor faults can have many causes, including dirt, misalignment or damaged wiring. They pose serious safety risks, so it’s crucial that an engineer addresses them.

At NOVA Door Systems, we specialise in automatic door repairs. We’d love to support you by getting to the bottom of your door’s faults and repairing them quickly and safely. Get a quote from our experts today for our automatic door repair service.

4. The Door Doesn’t Close Fully or Bounces Back Open

If your door fails to close properly, it’s inconvenient, compromises your customer’s security and energy efficiency. This usually looks like your door leaving a gap or bouncing back open.

The reason for this is likely track distortion, roller damage or control calibration errors.

The more your door is used, the quicker this issue will worsen. By booking an automatic door repair service early, you can prevent forced closures, emergency lockouts, or damaged panels.

5. The Door Stops Working Completely

Sometimes your door will stop working gradually, and other times, it will fail suddenly.

A complete failure is often caused by power supply or fuse faults, control board errors, motor burnout, safety sensor lockout, or drive belt breakage.

In many cases, doors intermittently fail, meaning they work for a while, then stop and restart. This is a clear sign that a component isn’t working, and it should be addressed as soon as possible.

What to Expect from a Professional Automatic Door Repair Visit

When you book a professional automatic door repair service, here’s what you can expect from your engineers:

Full Diagnostic Inspection

They’ll begin by addressing your door’s symptoms and running full diagnostic checks of these components to find the root cause of the issues:

Door speed, timing & hold-open duration
Sensors and activation devices
Tracks, rollers & alignment
Motor performance & drive system tension
Control board error signals
Power and backup systems

Repair or Component Replacement

Depending on the issue, they’ll repair or replace any worn rollers, belts or motors, secure loose fittings, repair or replace sensors and fix wiring or control panel faults. We will also realign tracks and door leaves if needed.

A repair service involves a full diagnostic inspection, repairs or component replacements, calibration and safety testing and a service report.

Calibration & Safety Testing

After the repairs are complete, they’ll recalibrate the door to its manufacturer settings and test a variety of functions, including presence detection, threshold safety sensors, opening and closing speed and emergency functions.

This ensures the door meets the BS EN 16005 safety standards.

Service Report and Next Steps

At the end of the service, you’ll receive a full report explaining what the issues were, what repairs were completed and any advice on preventing future faults.

Book Your Automatic Door Repair Service

If you notice your automatic door showing any of the signs above, don’t wait for a full failure to happen. Early repairs are faster, cheaper and safer, protecting your business from compliance concerns and unnecessary disruptions.

At NOVA Door Systems, our engineers provide expert automatic door repair services for commercial and industrial sites across South Wales and the South West. Whether it’s a minor fault or an emergency, we’ll get your entrance back to smooth, safe operation as quickly as possible.

Get a quote today and let us support you with getting your door back to its normal function.

5 Signs You Need a Professional Automatic Door Repair Service