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How much does it cost to replace a car starter?
My mechanic says I need a new car starter. They quoted me $500. Is that reasonable? How much does it cost to replace a car starter?
Sorry to hear about your car troubles! A new starter may cost between $80 and $350, but you should also factor in labor costs which may cost between $150 to $1,000.
For most vehicles, the complete starter replacement cost is around $500. It sounds like your mechanic is charging you the average fee for this service. You should budget an extra $100-$200 on top of that fee, however. The mechanic may discover additional problems, like a ring gear or crankshaft issue.
Here are some of the components in a starter:
- Electromagnetic field coils or permanent magnets
- Shift fork
- Brushes
- Solenoid
- Armature and commutator
- Starter drive gear
- Bearings and bushings
Bear in mind that the starter must be completely removed from the engine compartment. This could trigger a sizable labor fee.
In some vehicles, the starter is more easily accessible and removal takes less than an hour. Other vehicles are more complex, such as if the starter is located underneath the intake manifold. These vehicles take much longer. Your final cost will depend on the complexity of the repair, which is partially determined by your make, model, and year.
You can always dispute your mechanic bill if you feel strongly that you’ve been overcharged.
Hope this was helpful! While you’re waiting for your car to be serviced, why not see if you could save some money on car insurance? The Jerry is free and allows you to quickly compare rates from top companies. You could find a ton of savings. If you do, it’s easy to sign up for the new policy in the app. No phone calls, no salespeople, no paperwork—just savings.
Good luck with your starter!
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Any one had to replace there starter recently? Mine went out this morning and is it a pain to replace or pretty s straight forward fix? Any prices for replacing?
Joined
Oct 25, 2011 · 33 Posts
Mine went out about a month ago. I had the stealership replace it. I think the cost was about $350. Joined Jun 2, 2005 · 16 Posts
I had to pull the front driveshaft to get the starter out in my driveway. If u don't have air tools the bolts holding the yoke to the diff have thread locker on them and are a PITA to get off. Other than that the job isn't too bad. Joined Apr 27, 2010 ·
215 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Mar 28, 2012
Well took the jeep to a local mechanic our family uses. Left it with him, he hops into it and starts it right up.....
So then he tried it a couple other times and it worked fine.
He checked the battery and the battery worked great. Also cleaned the terminals
So.. Im thinking if this keeps up it might be the ignition cause what i was
experiencing was turning the key to only hear a click coming from dash (like the relays and switches turning over with power) but i didnt hear a continuous clicking like if it was a dead battery... Thats why im thinking its the ignition thats messed up now since the starter seems to work fine. Any ideas or suggestions for this problem now?
Joined Sep 26, 2011
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1,504 Posts
gunnerscherlin said: Well took the jeep to a local mechanic our family uses. Left it with him, he hops into it and starts it right up..... I still say starter, mine worked and then didn't work and then worked and then didn't
and then worked for a week until it finally went and left me stranded at school, it really doesn't sound like ignition switch to me but hey, anything is possible
So then he tried it a couple other times and it worked fine.
He checked the battery and the battery worked great. Also cleaned the terminals
So.. Im thinking if this keeps
up it might be the ignition cause what i was experiencing was turning the key to only hear a click coming from dash (like the relays and switches turning over with power) but i didnt hear a continuous clicking like if it was a dead battery... Thats why im thinking its the ignition thats messed up now since the starter seems to work fine. Any ideas or suggestions for this problem now?
Joined Apr 27, 2010
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215 Posts
Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 28, 2012
Thats what im thinking but i guess ill wait till it totally dies since i have to find the money eventually.. (college sucks for money)
Joined Sep 26, 2011
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1,504 Posts
gunnerscherlin said: Thats what im thinking but i guess ill wait till it totally dies since i have to find the money eventually.. (college sucks for money) Tell me about it I was lucky it was still covered under my dealer warrantee
Joined Apr 15, 2011
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2,512 Posts
I still say starter, mine worked and then didn't work and then worked and then didn't and then worked for a week until it finally went and left me stranded at school, it really doesn't sound like ignition switch to me but hey, anything is possible X2 , usually it's not the starter that goes , but the solenoid
.that's why you only hear the click . Chrysler USED to put their solenoids on the firewall so you could start your vehicle with a screwdriver to get you to the auto store for a $20 solenoid . Now they followed chevy with the solenoids built on to the starter then went 1 step further and hid the whole darn starter where you cant get at it . My receipt was ~ $400 installed . If you DO decide to wait like i did till your stuck in the garage with your wife GLARING at you while looking for tow truck
numbers . Before you make the call , hook up a booster battery , (or drain yours cause your not going anywhere anyways ), and while someone is turning the key multiple times to start , get under the drivers side and hit the solenoid with hammer,prybar whatever you can get in there and you might be able to start it like i did to bring it to the garage .
Joined Dec 2, 2008
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716 Posts
search for posts about the terminal on the yellow wire on the solenoid. Many have had issues, including me, with corrosion on the crimp in the terminal (female end). I described my fix over a year ago that worked great for me.
Joined Apr 16, 2011
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22 Posts
I also had the dreaded click and no start, after cleaning all the connections (battery and starter) It's been good
Joined Aug 17, 2011
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1,668 Posts
search for posts about the terminal on the yellow wire on the solenoid. Many have had issues, including me, with corrosion on the crimp in the terminal (female end). I described my fix over a year ago that worked great for me. I also had the dreaded click and no start, after cleaning all the
connections (battery and starter) It's been good The 2005 magically wouldn't start one morning and I thought the starter was the issue... fired right up with a new battery. There was power to everything else, just not enough to turn the starter. 6-7 year old OEM battery.
Joined Apr 16, 2011
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22 Posts
Mine would start every time when I jumped it so I too thought it was the battery and replaced it. Two days later turn key and click about 1.5 years ago I pulled all the connections off the starter and the battery and cleaned them with a wire wheel on my dremel and put dielectric grease on all of the connections then reassembled it’s been good since.
Joined Jul 7, 2015
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1 Posts
Replacing the starter on 2006 Commander 4.7L Yep, it is a real PITA< You better have a right arm with skin made out of hard leather. Yes, you have to drop the front drive shaft and I did not have sir tools handy. They are locktite'd in there and are knuckle busters trying to get them to break. They could not put that darn thing
further up and hard to get to if they tried. That top bolt (or eiter one really) is still a bear to get out, no room what so ever! UGH!!!! Just want to say I am an experienced mechanic and moved on to aircraft years ago, yes I am an A&P mechanic and now a QC inspector. SO I do know my way around an engine. If you have the money, get it done in a shop and let the poor *** that gets that job cut up his hands and arms. It sucks big time. My symptoms were as above I have read. Turn the key and
all you hear is a click, had my battery checked just in case (it is almost new) and that was not it. You keep turning the key and it eventually started, but it was getting so bad I knew it was the solenoid going bad. If your really lucky, it could be corrosion on the terminal on the solenoid or a loose connection, if your lucky! Hope this helps.
Joined Dec 4, 2014
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222 Posts
isn't there a yellow ignition cable connector that gets dirty/corroded near the starter that everybody had problems with a few years ago?
Joined Dec 2, 2008
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716 Posts
yes on the yellow wire and see my post above. I have posted a fix multiples times.
Joined Jul 5, 2016
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357 Posts
going to have the battery tested first... the interior lights come on then it tries to start, then dies, then no juice, but the charger says it's charged within about 5 seconds, so I think the battery is gone... it's been only held down by one of the battery clamp bolts since the body shop broke the other one just giving me an estimate, so i think
it's been rattling around and essentially broke the battery from it rattling around with only one bolt holding it down for a year
Joined Jul 5, 2016
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357 Posts
battery had 1 dead cell, we'll see if a new battery it fixes it: note: the battery charger said it was charged probably because it was shorting out.... not because it was charged
Joined Mar 14, 2017
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583 Posts
I went through the wheel well and did NOT remove the drive shaft... It's as little finicky but very doable with patience and beer...
Joined Jul 5, 2016
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357 Posts
Joined Jun 8, 2016
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920 Posts
I had to have my starter replaced last week. Symptoms: turn key, clicks lights stay on. No crank. It magically cranked after 1k tries with the key. Left me stranded, story ensues. Walked over to parts store and got a $170 reman starter ($50 core). Walked back to garage across street, get tools remove battery and bring over for
testing. Snap on tester says it's OK. $100 tow charge to local mechanic. Mechanic says starter is bad, replaces it for $159 bucks. He says front drive shaft is going bad too. I checked it, seems OK not flopping around. :grin2: So after returning starter for core charge it cost me $280 and I had tow insurance and got my $100 back already. Yellow wire seemed OK.