A deadbolt that grinds, sticks, or needs a shove to throw is wearing out, not broken beyond fixing — usually.
A deadbolt that needs force to throw is often not the deadbolt's fault. Houses settle, door frames shift a fraction of an inch, and a strike plate that used to line up perfectly now catches the bolt at an angle. Adjusting the strike plate or the hinges fixes a large share of the sticking deadbolts we see, and it costs far less than a new lock.
When the cylinder or bolt mechanism itself has genuinely worn out — loose in the door, a key that has to be wiggled to turn, visible corrosion — installing a new deadbolt on the existing door is a fast, contained job. It is also a reasonable point to upgrade the grade of hardware, match finishes across doors, or move to a smart lock instead of a mechanical one, since the door is already being worked on.
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