Honda CR-V wheel bearing replacement cost

HermitHogan

HermitHogan

Senior Member
Location
3rd Stone from the Sun
Our 2013 CR-V has a loud roar coming from the left rear of the car when we drive on the highway... obviously the wheel bearing. A wheel bearing used to cost fifteen or twenty bucks. You just tapped the outer part of old one off, pack the new bearing with grease, re-assemble it, and you're done in about 1/2 an hour.

With today's vehicles, or Hondas, anyway, you have to buy an entire assembly, which costs about $150. It's still easy to change... just different, and I don't have the tools necessary. It's only about maybe 20 minutes of labor for someone who has all the tools.

So 20 minutes of labor plus $150... $876! WTF?!!

Look at this frickin' place...

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I don't trust the smaller repair shops, though, but my god. I'm still thinking about buying the tools I'd need and do it myself, but my wife wants to bring it to the shop.
 

Everybody’s gotta eat. 🤷‍♀️

I remember when I had a 1970 Ford Torino and everything in the way of repairs seemed to cost $125.00-$165.00.

Fifty five years later everything seems to cost $1,250.00-$1,650.00 or more. 🚀💰🤑

Thankfully, it’s much easier to scrape up the money today than it was back then.

As long as my income and my expenses are in sync I’m good.
 
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Did you get a quote on the price beforehand? If someone quoted $876 i would have just walked away and either done it myself or given the job to a local reputable garage I know. I wouldn't even ming if thair apprentice did it by himself -- its easy enough.

You say the job takes about 20 minutes. And if I understand correctly, a total of $876. Less $150 for parts would mean the hourly labour charge is $2178.

 

Magna-Carta said:
Did you get a quote on the price beforehand? If someone quoted $876 i would have just walked away and either done it myself or given the job to a local reputable garage I know. I wouldn't even ming if thair apprentice did it by himself -- its easy enough.

You say the job takes about 20 minutes. And if I understand correctly, a total of $876. Less $150 for parts would mean the hourly labour charge is $2178.

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Do you have the press to put a bearing in?
 
My Honda got recalled years ago for an airbag replacement. I went to a dealership. After about an hour they come out and tell me that all four brakes need replacement and that it would cost $800.00. I asked what just the front brakes would cost and they said $600.00. So I'm thinking that I never paid more than $125.00 at my local shop for the front brakes. So I said don't do them.

I did a wheel bearing replacement on an old 1976 Chrysler Cordoba for just the cost of the part, a pack of cotter pins and some grease. The whole thing was under $100.00.

I wouldn't do anything on my car today that required me to get down on the ground. My father blew his knee out trying to get up from doing a brake job in his senior years and he had to have surgery.

My local shop has been the same owner operator brothers for as long as I've been going there. Car dealerships hire today's kids. I trust my proven mechanics over any dealerships.
 
I sympathise. I needed some work done to my campervan for it's annual inspection. Parts weren't too expensive, but then there's labour cost at £60 / $75 an hour and tax at 21%. This was at my local garage which has an excellent reputation for quality, so I know the work will be done properly.
 
I thought that car dealers made most of their money selling cars, but they don't. Most of their income comes from repairing cars, as HermanHogan found out. I used to be able to fix anything on my car, but that was back in 1965. Today, cars are so engineered, and so compact that most backyard mechanics don't have the tools, nor the knowledge to work on cars. And the lone mechanic in a garage isn't much better. One installed my disc breaks, and he installed them backwards.
 
This shop charges $204 an hour and evidently doubles the retail price of parts, so that's probably four times what they buy them for. The mechanic is probably making around $30 an hour, and the job only takes maybe 20 minutes. Round that up to 30 minutes, so $15 for labor, $75 for parts... The dealer is making about $400 for this job when they charge $505. Of course, they have to pay other workers... the schedulers, warehouse workers, and they have to pay for the facilities...

So I guess $505 is a fair price. $700 is a bit excessive.
 
HermitHogan said:
This shop charges $204 an hour and evidently doubles the retail price of parts, so that's probably four times what they buy them for. The mechanic is probably making around $30 an hour, and the job only takes maybe 20 minutes. Round that up to 30 minutes, so $15 for labor, $75 for parts... The dealer is making about $400 for this job when they charge $505. Of course, they have to pay other workers... the schedulers, warehouse workers, and they have to pay for the facilities...

So I guess $505 is a fair price. $700 is a bit excessive.
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I checked with a UK based Honda main dealer service department, £377.50 ($475 US). No doubt it would be less than that at a reputable non franchised garage.
 
-Oy- said:
Using a man dealer you're always gonna get shafted. I had a frot ball joint rumble on my 2018 Civic late last year. Honda dealer quote, fitted, was £350. A reputable small back street garage did it for £85.
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I called a few smaller shops and they gave me quotes from $500-$700, but I don't know if any of them are trustworthy. At least with a dealer I'll get genuine Honda parts.

When I was thinking about doing it myself, I found the part as low as $45 for a Chinese made bearing. That's what you run the risk of getting at a small shop.
 
HermitHogan said:
I called a few smaller shops and they gave me quotes from $500-$700, but I don't know if any of them are trustworthy. At least with a dealer I'll get genuine Honda parts.

When I was thinking about doing it myself, I found the part as low as $45 for a Chinese made bearing. That's what you run the risk of getting at a small shop.
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You could always do what I do, and insist on genuine parts. In the UK, main dealers deliver OEM parts to non main dealer garages. And they do it at 'trade' prices.

I doubt Honda makes their own wheel bearings, they would be supplied to the car manufacturer by an independent company. There are plenty of companies in UK & Europe who can supply bearings and the hub for less than a main dealer. Timken UK for example, which is actually a sub division of an American company. They make high quality bearings.
 
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Yes, car repairs are expensive. I needed a new thermostat/water pump on my '17 Audi A4 at around 25k miles. It is a known weak point in Audis. I paid $1300.

I used the Audi dealership until the car was out of warranty, then researched online small repair shops that specialized in Audis.
I looked them up online and found verified reviews about how great their service is. I'm not a "number" to them. They know me and my car and can often diagnose an issue before they even work on the car. They are a godsend. Not only do they charge reasonable prices, they are 10 minutes away... much closer than the Audi dealership. The owner often meets with me after they service my car to tell me exactly what was done. If I have an issue I simply call them and tell them I will be dropping off my car and they can keep it until they can fix it. It is often done within 2 days.

I did just trade my A4 for a new A5, but unless it is warranty work I will still go back to my indie shop for things like scheduled maintenance.

@HermitHogan I hope you get things sorted out with your CR-V. I do suggest you try to find a good indie shop. It's not just the price, it's the more personalized service.
 
Magna-Carta said:
You could always do what I do, and insist on genuine parts. In the UK, main dealers deliver OEM parts to non main dealer garages. And they do it at 'trade' prices.

I doubt Honda makes their own wheel bearings, they would be supplied to the car manufacturer by an independent company. There are plenty of companies in UK & Europe who can supply bearings and the hub for less than a main dealer. Timken UK for example, which is actually a sub division of an American company. They make high quality bearings.
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I think SKF might make their wheel bearings.
 
Most likely if you can't fix it an Auto maintenance insurance would be a thought.
The Odds of deep potholes, bridge approaches out of unlevel and into Railroad tie
size differences. Well they are just so harmful to a vehicle traveling + 55 mph. In
The past 4 years I have replaced 7 front wheel bearings, 5 in our F150's and 2 in the
Wifes Kia Sonata. + the complete front suspension, 4 rotors, 2 Calipers and brake pads.

The F150's with electric impact wrenches ran 2 hours each. The Kia took longer around
4 hours each. The Ball Joints / Roll Bar links had been red Loctite and had to be heated,
thus ruined. I also put 4 head light assemblies in it. But its 14 years from new and 130,000 miles.
Call it more than 40 hours of Labor. Maybe $7650.00 most likely lots more.

10,000, 75 MPH 18 wheelers a day driving past are destroying the roads even after repairs within a couple of years.
Interstates, 64, 40, 44, 50, 270, 70, 370, 55, 255, 67, 61. Then all the main feed state roads to them.
Clover leaf's / bridges are a disaster on most intersections.
 
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So on Saturday, I scheduled to have the wheel bearing changed at 2:20 today. I go down there and they tell me my appointment is just for a drop-off and it's not going to be ready until tomorrow. Uh, boy. I had to take an Uber home.

But the good news is, the repair should only cost around $400.

I like that dealership. I bought an Accord from them maybe 20 years ago and found them to be efficient and honest.
 

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