Why my lens is jamming and needs help to close

@playpotion could be a bad zoom motor or a bad lens. Individual repair parts for lens repairs are very difficult to obtain. It will most likely be easier to replace the lens. Since there is not specific guide for this yet, start off with this one Canon PowerShot A480 LCD Screen Replacement and then follow the instructions on here

Replacement lenses are still available at online stores.

While you work on your camera, take lots of pictures. Once you are done with it, take those pictures and create a guide for iFixit. That will help the next person that has a device with the same issues as you do. It's easy and fun to create these guides. https://ifixit.com/Guide/new The iFixit community will appreciate this.

Repair is War on Entropy!