Home Elevator Troubleshooting Tips

A home elevator is more than a convenience—it’s a statement of modern luxury and comfort. Enabling seamless travel between floors, with elegant design features and quiet operation, it’s easy to see why residential elevators are becoming a more common feature in many homes

But if your home elevator doesn’t seem to be working properly, that sense of ease can quickly turn into frustration. Fortunately, not every issue requires a service call. This quick guide to home elevator troubleshooting can help you identify and resolve common problems, so you can get back to enjoying the smooth, stress-free experience your elevator was built to deliver.

Important note: Home elevators are valuable convenience and safety-enhancing devices when installed and maintained properly. However, they can present safety hazards if not installed by trained professionals or when neglected for long periods of time. We always recommend you consult an experienced, local home elevator company if you have doubts about the condition or safety of your home elevator.

What to Check When Your Elevator Is Not Working Properly

In many cases, the cause of your home elevator malfunction is a simple fix. If your elevator won’t budge, we always recommend checking these three issues before calling it in.

1. Make Sure the Doors Are Secured

All home elevators are equipped with a basic failsafe: they won’t run if the doors aren’t shut and locked. Both the elevator car door and the exterior landing door must be fully latched. In many cases, the doors may appear shut, but if they aren’t engaging the electronic contact, the system won’t operate. 

So, if your home elevator isn’t working, start by checking the doors. Even a simple pebble or debris could block them from sliding shut or latching completely, so be sure there is nothing in the way.

2. Confirm the Path Is Clear

Home elevators are often equipped with additional sensors to prevent unsafe operation or damage. These extra checkpoints may be less obvious to the typical user.

Like commercial elevators, many residential systems include “light curtains” in the entryways—infrared sensors designed to detect objects in the doorway and prevent unsafe operation. These safety features are highly reliable, but on rare occasions, small obstructions like a strip of painter’s tape or construction debris can interfere with proper door closure. If your elevator doors aren’t shutting as expected, take a closer look along the entryway and door edges to make sure the path is completely clear.

Shaftless home elevators are also equipped with pressure-sensing pads that detect any obstructions along the pathway between floors. If you leave something like a bag or book on top of the trap door, for instance, the elevator will automatically stop and return to its starting point. Always make sure nothing is blocking the route of your shaftless elevator.

3. Look for Flipped Breakers

Power interruptions can occasionally affect home elevator performance. In some cases, a tripped breaker—often caused by a power surge or weather-related event—may cut electricity to the system. Most home elevators include a battery backup that allows the car to safely descend to the nearest landing, but for full functionality, a stable power supply is essential. If your elevator is unresponsive, it’s worth checking your electrical panel for any tripped breakers.

When to Call for Professional Help

Basic home elevator troubleshooting can resolve some problems, but of course there are times when you need to call in the pros. If you’re still experiencing issues after checking everything on the above list, it’s best to call in a technician who can diagnose the problem and make professional repairs. Repeated breakdowns may be a sign of deeper mechanical or electrical issues.

Of course, anytime someone is stuck in an elevator, it should be treated as an emergency, and you should never try to extract them yourself without proper instruction. Our Home Elevator Service Team is on call to help out in these situations.

Need to have your elevator serviced or request emergency repairs?

What Not to Do When Your Elevator Is Malfunctioning

No matter what type of home elevator issue you’re dealing with, safety should always be the top priority. While the basic troubleshooting above is often safe and straightforward, it’s important to know your limits and avoid taking any actions that could pose a risk to you or others.

Always follow these two safety rules:

1. Never go into the shaft of an elevator, unless you are a trained elevator mechanic. This could become a life-threatening situation if the elevator begins operating while you’re in the shaft.
2. Never open the elevator controller (the metal box that contains the home elevator electrical and electronic components, often located in a machine room or utility space) unless you are trained or instructed to do so. Elevators run on high voltage and represent a serious electrocution risk. Additionally, tampering with the control box could damage the elevator and void any warranties.

The Importance of Regular Maintenance

The best way to keep your elevator online is to prevent issues from occurring in the first place. That’s why routine maintenance is so important. Keeping up with regular maintenance and repairs helps you find and resolve issues before they become a problem, and it can reduce the cost and frequency of repairs required down the road.

Most home elevator systems should be serviced and maintained by a professional once or twice a year, depending on how frequently they’re used. When you work with Arrow Lift®, we offer two maintenance plans that include these regular maintenance visits to ensure your elevator continuously meets local safety codes and operates properly. Our Performance Plus plan even includes diagnosing and correcting performance issues at no additional charge. (Contact us for details.)

Pro tip: Before purchasing a home with a pre-installed residential elevator, be sure to inquire about its maintenance history.

Call in the Pros When Your Elevator Isn’t Working

When your home elevator is not working, it interrupts the smooth, elevated performance you’ve come to expect. Whether it’s an elegant architectural feature or simply a smarter way to move through your space, your elevator is a key part of your home’s comfort and sophistication.

The good news? Many home elevator issues can be resolved with a few quick troubleshooting steps. And if the problem persists, our expert Technicians are here to help. With over 40 years of experience in home elevator systems, we always aim to help you identify the issue and get your elevator running reliably again as soon as possible.