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Get your free estimateLinear Gate Motor Repair in San Antonio: What to Know First
Linear gate motor repair in San Antonio typically runs $230 – $480 for most residential jobs, and we can usually have a Linear-trained tech at your property within 24 to 48 hours. We’re an independent Linear service provider, not a Linear warranty center, which means we can use OEM or quality aftermarket parts based on what actually makes sense for your gate, your budget, and how long you plan to keep the property. If you’ve got a Linear gate motor that’s grinding, clicking, or doing nothing at all, call (940) 531-3336 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts.

This page is for San Antonio homeowners with a Linear automatic gate opener or gate motor on a driveway, side gate, or courtyard entry. Whether it’s a Linear LRA actuator on a swing gate or an older Linear APeX slide operator, the failure patterns are predictable, and most of them don’t require a full motor replacement. We’ll walk you through the most common failure modes, what they cost to fix, and how our process works from the first call to the final test cycle.
How Linear Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
- Linear LRA swing-gate actuators: magnetic limit switch drift. The LRA series (LRA-S, LRA-D, commonly seen on San Antonio residential swing gates) uses internal magnetic limit switches to tell the motor when to stop. After a few years of heat and humidity cycling, the limit magnets can shift or the switch housing can crack, and the gate either stops short or over-travels and binds against the post. Homeowners often assume the motor is shot. We usually replace the limit switch assembly and re-set the travel limits, and the motor runs fine for years after.
- Linear APeX slide operators: capacitor failure after power surges. The APeX 2000 and 3000 series slide operators show up on a lot of San Antonio ranchette and acreage properties. The start capacitor sits on the control board and takes the brunt of a power surge or a lightning-adjacent hit. When it goes, you’ll hear a hum but no movement, or the motor will try to start and trip the reset. This is a $35 – $80 part, depending on the model and whether we go OEM or quality aftermarket, and it’s one of the most common misdiagnoses we see because a capacitor failure mimics a motor failure.
- Linear MDR/MDC board relay burnout from stuck open/close buttons. The Linear MDR (residential) and MDC (commercial/light industrial) control boards use mechanical relays for the open and close circuits. If a call box button or a keypad wire shorts, the relay burns closed and the gate cycles continuously or won’t respond. Before we condemn a board, we check the input wiring and the button circuit. We frequently replace just the relay (a $20 – $40 repair) instead of the whole board (which runs $250 – $500 on a Linear MDR).
- Linear PRO series: receiver interference and parked remotes. The Linear PRO 2000 and PRO 2800 series (and the older Multi-Code receivers Linear used for years) run on 318 MHz, same as a lot of older garage door openers. In San Antonio neighborhoods with dense home separation, it’s not unusual to see a gate opening on its own or not responding because a neighboring system is broadcasting on the same dipswitch or block code setting. We re-flash the receiver code to a free ID, check for nearby interference sources, and verify the antenna hasn’t been pinched or corroded. This one’s usually a service call plus a small parts fee, not a motor replacement.
- Linear gate motor gearbox stripping: the ARS and LDO series on heavier gates. The Linear ARS (articulating arm) and LDO (linear drive operator) series use a plastic or composite gear stage inside the drive head. On a heavy wooden or ornamental iron gate, or a gate that binds in the summer heat as the steel expands, that gear strips and the motor spins but the gate doesn’t move. We replace the gear set, check the gate itself for binding and hinge wear, and set the force limits correctly so the new gear doesn’t eat itself the same way.
Styles & brands we work with





Our Linear Gate Motor Repair Process
- 1
You call, we answer. A live person picks up the phone at (940) 531-3336, 24/7. We get the model number off your motor if you have it, ask what the gate is doing (or not doing), and set a time window that works. You’ll get a text with the tech’s name and photo before we arrive.
- 2
On-site diagnosis, free with repair. The tech shows up, badges at the door, and starts with power and control wiring before looking at the motor itself. We pull the cover, test the capacitor, check limit settings, and inspect the gate’s movement by hand. You’ll see what we see. Cole Rafferty’s crew will show you the bad part in hand before we quote a replacement.
- 3
Written price before any work. Before we turn a single wrench past diagnosis, you get a written price for the repair, with the part options laid out: OEM Linear part (typically the manufacturer’s original spec, priced higher and sometimes with a longer lead time if it’s not stocked in San Antonio), or a quality aftermarket equivalent when it’s the smarter call for the age of the unit. You decide. No surprise line items at the end.
- 4
The repair. We replace the bad component or rebuild the affected assembly, re-set travel limits and force settings per Linear’s spec, and clean up the board connections if they show any corrosion. Every job gets terminal connections re-torqued, because a loose terminal is the most preventable recurring cause of a gate motor failure.
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Test and teach. We cycle the gate at least five times in both directions, test the safety reverse, and check the remote and keypad if you have them. We show you what normal sounds like versus what indicating a problem, and we leave the area cleaner than we found it.
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365-Day Done Right Promise. Every Linear repair carries our written guarantee: if the repair fails within 365 days, the return visit is free and we make it right. No fine print, no prorating. That’s the whole point of the promise.
What Linear Gate Motor Repair Costs in San Antonio
We quote every job in writing before work starts, so you’ll never get an invoice bigger than the number you approved. Most Linear gate motor repairs in San Antonio fall into these ranges:
- Diagnostic-only call (repair declined): $75 – $125, waived if you approve the repair
- Start capacitor replacement (APeX or MDR/MDC): $180 – $290 including the part and labor
- Limit switch assembly replacement (LRA series): $230 – $340 including new switch and travel re-set
- Relay replacement on control board: $190 – $310
- Gear set replacement inside the drive head: $280 – $480 depending on the Linear series and whether the gate needs hinge/binding correction
- Full control board replacement (MDR/MDC): $420 – $700 including programming and testing
- Complete motor replacement on older Linear units: $650 – $1,100, and we’ll be honest with you when it’s a better call than rebuilding a 15-year-old drive
What moves the price: the exact Linear model, whether the part is stocked locally or has to come from a distributor, the age of the unit, and how much of the problem is the motor versus the gate itself. A gate that’s binding at the hinges or hanging out of square will kill a new motor the same way it killed the last one, so sometimes the right fix includes both. Call (940) 531-3336 for a free estimate over the phone. Tell us the model and what it’s doing, and we’ll give you a real number before we ever send a truck.
See the difference
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AfterWhy San Antonio Homeowners Call Warden Gate Repair San Antonio for Linear Work
We’ve been working on automated gates since 2008, and Linear is one of the nine brands our techs are factory-trained to service, alongside LiftMaster, Mighty Mule, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing. That cross-brand training matters more than people expect: a lot of San Antonio properties have a Linear motor paired with a different brand’s keypad or remote receiver, and knowing how those systems interact is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that calls back in three weeks. Cole Rafferty grew up working on automated systems and started Warden Gate Repair around one idea that hasn’t changed: the person who opens their door to a technician deserves to know the tech’s name, see their photo before they arrive, and have a written price in hand before the work starts. That’s the Threshold Standard, and it’s enforced on every visit, every time. We don’t send anonymous techs. We don’t quote “maybe” prices. And every repair is backed by a 365-day written promise that says what we’ll do if it fails. If your Linear gate motor is acting up, “tell me what it’s doing wrong, and I’ll tell you what it costs to fix it, in writing, before we start.”

FAQs
We can repair it, but we’re not a Linear warranty center, so the warranty claim would go through Linear or your installer. What we can do is diagnose the problem, tell you in writing whether it’s a warranty-eligible defect or a wear item, and work from there. If you’d rather not wait on a warranty claim, we can fix it same-visit with OEM parts and give you our own 365-day written guarantee on the work.
Most Linear gate motor repairs in San Antonio are scheduled within 24 to 48 hours. Same-day scheduling is sometimes available depending on where in the city you are and what the day looks like. Call (940) 531-3336 and we’ll give you a real window, not a maybe. Emergency calls are answered live 24/7, and if your gate is stuck open, that’s different than a gate that just stopped mid-cycle, tell us what’s happening and we’ll prioritize accordingly.
We use OEM Linear parts when they’re stocked and when they’re the right value for the age of your unit, and we use quality aftermarket parts when they’re equivalent or better for less money. You’ll see both options in writing before we start, with the price difference stated plainly. We’ll never put a mystery part on your Linear motor and call it a repair.
Usually not. On Linear ARS and LDO units, a spinning motor with no gate movement is most often a stripped gear set inside the drive head, which is a $280 – $480 repair rather than a $650+ motor replacement. On APeX slide operators, the same symptom is frequently a failed start capacitor. We diagnose the exact cause before we quote anything, and we’ll show you the bad part.
When the motor is 12 or more years old, when the control board and the drive head both have failures at the same time, or when the cost of piecing a repair together exceeds 60% of a new unit. We’ll give you the repair price and the replacement price in writing and let you decide. We make the same margin either way, so our recommendation is based on what we’d do if it were our gate, not on what makes the invoice bigger.
Call Warden Gate Repair San Antonio for Linear Gate Motor Repair
If your Linear gate motor is grinding, clicking, stuck open, or completely dead, call (940) 531-3336 for a free phone estimate. You’ll talk to a live person, get a real price range, and we’ll send you a tech’s name and photo before they ever pull up. Written price before work starts, every time. Free estimates, no pressure, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on every repair we do in San Antonio.
Written by Cole Rafferty, Owner, Warden Gate Repair San Antonio at Warden Gate Repair San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.