By Karlis Elmanis · 30 June 2026
Here's a catch almost nobody is told when they have an electric gate fitted: that nice long warranty on the motor — 2 years, 3 years, sometimes more — usually comes with a string attached. Skip the yearly service, and the warranty is worthless.
Most people only find this out at the worst possible moment: the motor fails, they go to claim, and they're asked for the one thing they haven't got — proof the gate has been serviced. No service history, no claim.
Let's clear it up, because it's simpler than it sounds and it's easy to stay on the right side of.
What the makers actually require
Every major gate-motor manufacturer says the same thing in their own way: the warranty only stands if the gate is looked after — serviced at their recommended intervals (usually at least once a year) and kept on record. Here's the gist for the brands we work on:
- CAME — 3-year warranty, but you have to register the system first, *and* keep it serviced at intervals based on how hard it's used. No registration and no service record, no cover.
- BFT — 3 years as standard, stretching to 5 years only if you can show a yearly service record. Miss a service and that extra cover simply disappears.
- Nice — 3-year manufacturer warranty, conditional (like all of them) on the gate being properly maintained.
- FAAC — 2 years, again on the basis that the gate is routinely inspected and serviced.
The exact wording differs brand to brand, but the principle never does: a gate that's never been serviced is barely under warranty at all — whatever the badge on the front.
It was never really about the paperwork
The warranty is the headline, but it's not the real reason to service a gate. The warranty rule exists because manufacturers know an unserviced gate is a gate that breaks — so the servicing is what actually protects you. A yearly visit does three things a warranty certificate never will:
- It catches the small stuff before it's a big bill. A misaligned track, a corroding connection, a tired hinge — these build up slowly over months. Caught early they're a quick adjustment; left alone they cook a motor or a control board. A £225 service is cheaper than a £400-plus repair with parts.
- It keeps the gate safe and legal. Part of every service is force testing — measuring how hard the gate pushes as it closes, against the UK safety limits — plus checking the safety beams, safety edges and the manual release. If your gate is used by anyone other than you (visitors, the postman, deliveries), you have a legal duty of care to keep it safe, and this is how you meet it.
- It gives you the proof. Every service ends with a written report of what was checked and found. *That's* the document your warranty needs — and the one your insurer will want if anything ever goes wrong.
"I've never serviced mine — is the warranty already gone?"
Possibly, if the gate's a few years old and never been touched — but don't let that put you off, because going forward is what matters. Get it serviced now, get the written report, and from here on you've got a clean record and a gate that's safe, reliable and properly looked after. You can't backdate the years that were missed, but you can stop the rot today, and a single service often turns up a small fault that was about to become an expensive one.
No contracts, no catch
Worth saying plainly: we don't do maintenance contracts. No annual fees, no direct debits, no lock-in. Your engineer services the gate, and at 11 months we send you a reminder by text or email. You book when it suits you — or you don't. The point isn't to tie you in; it's to make sure the gate (and your warranty) doesn't quietly lapse because the date slipped your mind.