Not sure if the dealer is shooting straight on this one. Is it necessary to replace the entire thottle body if the sensor goes bad on this car? If so, what is a reasonable cost (parts & labor) at a dealership? Thanks!
Sorry, the car is a 2003 Honda CRV.
You also forgot to name the sensor. But check with an auto parts store. See if this mystery sensor is sold separately. If so, check with an independent shop to see if they will do the replacement for you.
If I assume the sensor you mention is either the TPS switch or the Idle Air Valve then it’s possible that you are not being ripped off. A quick look at several parts house sites show that a TPS switch is not offered at all and one of the sites offers an Idle Air Valve only at 250 dollars.
This may mean a “dealer only” item and it will be more expensive than any aftermarket equivalent.
It’s also quite possible the dealer can only obtain this item from Honda Motor Co. as an assembly and this is going to make pricy even pricier. The “assembly only” thing is very common and the dealer has no control over how the part is offered and the dealer cost. The car makers do not give those parts away on the cheap to the dealers; they hang it to them.
If the sensor you mention is the TPS then your alternatives are pretty limited short of rounding one up from a wreck, eBay, etc. Hope that helps.
Why would you take it to a dealer, especially since you don’t seem to trust the dealer?
Ask the dealer why the entire throttle body has to be replaced and see what they say then confirm what they tell you. Its entirely possible that they are being straight with you and you are already condemning them. Let us know what you find out, I know you have peaked a lot of our interest about it.
transman
The service adviser said that the TPS had low voltage and that the TPS was built into the trottle body, thus the entire throttle body needs to be replaced. The first quote he gave me was $1,100.00 but he finally agreed to do the job for $395.00 after getting approval from a regional manager of some kind. That is quite a difference in price which tends to cause some suspicion. The throttle body kit cost is $342.00. Thanks for your responses.
Hmm. The kit costs $342 and the original quote was for $1100? That’s an awful lot for labor. While I don’t know exactly what the setup looks like on your car, but replacing a throttle body is usually about an hour to do, more or less.
Am I safe in assuming that they eliminated a wiring or connector problem as the source of the problem? Is the Check Engine light lit? If you have the car, consider taking it to AutoZone or a similar store for a free scan for diagnostic trouble codes and post the exact results here.
Talking to a regional manager implies that it will be paid in part by the manufacturer.
Sounds like this is on the up and up. It appears that Honda Motor Co. is doing a good will warranty for you and that is why the big discrepancy in the price.
This means Honda is reimbursing the dealer labor wise not only at a discount rate but a shorter labor time to pay off on. As to the part, Honda is probably whacking the “dealer cost” down low to avoid paying the dealer anymore than necessary.
I’ve seen this a few times. A warranty part is normally reimbursed to the dealer at cost + 25%.
In one case the dealer cost on the part was about 60 dollars so the dealer was reimbursed 75 dollars in total on a warranty claim.
The regional office decides the dealer cost on those parts really should be SIX dollars, not 60, so the dealer gets a whopping 7.50. Not even enough to pay for the bureacracy involved in processing the claim.