$800 car part

UNCatTech said:
Ok, the sending unit is different than the pressure or reader sensor.

That price probably includes labor as this isn't an easy part to get to.

My DIL got a quote for $1500 to change out a starter in her Toyota truck. We checked and could buy the starter for $200.

Then I looked up changing the starter. It was under the intake. You had to remove the intake and all that's associated with that. Also needed new intake gaskets and some other parts just to do the job.

It was still worth the savings, so we did it. Took about 4 hours.
Click to expand...
The oil pressure sending unit is similar. An oil pressure sensor is binary. Its either on or off. If the dashboard has a warning light, its probably a sensor. An oil pressure sending unit is variable. If you have a gauge on your dashboard, its probably a sending unit. Some mechanics use the term interchangeably since they do similar things so if they said sending unit, but you have a light, its nothing to worry about.

To add to that, many sensors/sending units also include a switch to shut off the engine when the pressure gets low to prevent damage. So sending unit/sensor/switch can also be used interchangeably in some contexts.
 
C-Money said:
It is in my Honda Pilot. You have to remove the engine cover and the air intake assembly to get to it.
Click to expand...
Yep. Complete PITA. And the clips that hold the intake in place invariably pop off and fall down into the engine no matter how carefully you try to remove them.
 
Heelsandeers said:
Was it a 2UZ-FE? Dreading the day if/when the starters in my old Toyotas go out
Click to expand...
It is the full sized Toyota, Tundra i believe.

I was shocked that the starter was under the intake. I've seen a lot of interesting placement of parts on cars, that was the biggest surprise.
 
heel79 said:
So an oil light came on today in my 2019 Kia Sorento, which I love but the relationship is now strained. I take to dealer I bought from. Diagnostic cost $192. Am told I need a oil reader sensor. Cost is $800. Forgot to ask what it costs to install because the shock did not wear off until later. So a single sensor cost 1/25th of what I paid for the car? Thank God I'm rich.
I did tell them to look for a used one. WTF.
Click to expand...
$800 likely includes labor which Thomas Guide shows at up to 3 hours for the 3.3 L 6 cyl. But that should definitely be covered by your warranty unless you have over 100,000 miles already. Even so, they should extend the warranty on that part to 150,000 since it is a known trouble part. Sounds to me like you need to ask another Kia dealer.
 
Last edited:
C-Money said:
My son has a 2016 Acura RDX. He needed some work on it and Leith Acura was going to charge $7000 for it. Went to a mechanic that was recommended to me and he did it all for less than $2000.
Click to expand...

Yeah…if it’s something I can’t do myself, I take it to a local guy. Dealership service departments are a huge ripoff.
 
8992Tiger said:
If it is the oil pressures sending unit, it must be labor, and that damn thing must be hidden way back in a nook or cranny. I replaced one on an old Mirage, and it was sticking out there for everyone to see. I think my mustang was the same. But again, that was in the mid 90s. Things have changed.
Click to expand...
I had a Volvo 850. Loved that car.

Late in its life, two things went out. The air-conditioning and the odometer.

Fixing the A/C was estimated at $1,200-1,500. It was a minor part; but, replacing it required pulling out the engine. I lived in Maine and the car had a sun-roof. Didn’t need the A/C.

The odometer was a minor part. Fixing it required removing the dashboard. Labor alone was >$1,200.

I didn’t fix it.
 
finesse said:
I trust dealer service departments less than I do used car salesmen.
Click to expand...
I bought a car at Fred anderson in Raleigh. I am about to burn through my"2 year 25,000 mile" warranty
They are pretty assume-extreme volume-literally 20 "check you in folks". All indoors
Their overhead is something I can not imagine
I am going to get in one more free oil change. Probably a $180 tire rotation
Then
ByeBye
 
Many years ago, I purchased a Mercedes Benz, ONCE. It used oil. Not a lot, about about a quart every third fill-up. I kept taking it back to the dealer and the dealer kept replacing parts. Finally the dealer told me they had received a service update from Mercedes saying that the oil usage I was experiencing was "normal" for the year and model of my car. This didn't sit well with me. So I called an independent Mercedes maintenance shop. The guy there asked me if my car was a certain year and model. I confirmed it was. This independent repair guy told me that Mercedes had misdrilled the cyclinders during manufacturing, decided it would cost to much to fix, and just sold the cars with the misdrilled cylinders. He told me the only fix was to replace the block. I thanked him for his honesty and immediately traded the car in for a Honda. I've been driving Hondas ever since then.
 
05C40 said:
Many years ago, I purchased a Mercedes Benz, ONCE. It used oil. Not a lot, about about a quart every third fill-up. I kept taking it back to the dealer and the dealer kept replacing parts. Finally the dealer told me they had received a service update from Mercedes saying that the oil usage I was experiencing was "normal" for the year and model of my car. This didn't sit well with me. So I called an independent Mercedes maintenance shop. The guy there asked me if my car was a certain year and model. I confirmed it was. This independent repair guy told me that Mercedes had misdrilled the cyclinders during manufacturing, decided it would cost to much to fix, and just sold the cars with the misdrilled cylinders. He told me the only fix was to replace the block. I thanked him for his honesty and immediately traded the car in for a Honda. I've been driving Hondas ever since then.
Click to expand...
A few deades ago I had a friend buy a $50,000 Mercedes. He told me he put $50,00 in an investment account to pay for maintenance.....
 
1moretimeagain said:
I’ve come to the conclusion that aside from the gas cap and windshield wipers, no car part is easily accessible.
Click to expand...

Yeah, automotive engineers really do not GAF. But I get it

UNCatTech said:
It is the full sized Toyota, Tundra i believe.

I was shocked that the starter was under the intake. I've seen a lot of interesting placement of parts on cars, that was the biggest surprise.
Click to expand...

If it was a 2000-2007, that's the one I'm referring to. 4 hours is actually a pretty good time for that job

Supposedly they placed it there to better balance the engine
 
If the oil pressure sender isn't causing the check engine light to come on, there really isn't a rush to replace it, is there?
 
05C40 said:
Many years ago, I purchased a Mercedes Benz, ONCE. It used oil. Not a lot, about about a quart every third fill-up. I kept taking it back to the dealer and the dealer kept replacing parts. Finally the dealer told me they had received a service update from Mercedes saying that the oil usage I was experiencing was "normal" for the year and model of my car. This didn't sit well with me. So I called an independent Mercedes maintenance shop. The guy there asked me if my car was a certain year and model. I confirmed it was. This independent repair guy told me that Mercedes had misdrilled the cyclinders during manufacturing, decided it would cost to much to fix, and just sold the cars with the misdrilled cylinders. He told me the only fix was to replace the block. I thanked him for his honesty and immediately traded the car in for a Honda. I've been driving Hondas ever since then.
Click to expand...
My experience with Mercedes is the opposite. Between my wife and I, we have had six MBs over the past 30 years. I’ve never had any significant issues and just took them in once a year for routine maintenance. I currently drive a 2017 GLC “coupe” which I ordered new spec’ed out exactly as I wanted it. I’ve driven it for 9 years, put 65,000 miles on it and I’ve done the routine annual maintenance, put tires and brakes on it, and that’s it.

I worked for automotive suppliers for years, and called on most of the auto manufacturers and have a pretty good idea of the quality different OEMs demand from their supplier base and how well they manufacture their product. I also spent a good amount of time on the aftermarket side of the business dealing with independent repair shops. While many of those guys truly know their shit and I would absolutely trust them to fix my car, I don’t believe a word they say about the inner workings and decision-making of OEMs. These guys have more conspiracy theories about the motives of OEMs than QAnon has about the deep state.
 
I once lived in a house, a notorious student dwelling, in Chapel Hill where there was a "house car." I never used it because I had my own but most of the time two or three of the folks living there would go in on a car, pay around $500 and drive it until it broke. There were a couple in the driveway because that's where they gave up the ghost. A couple more died in other places. They'd figure out how to orchestrate the legalities, at least to some passable level, and just carry on. That was in the late 1980s/early '90s.
 
Update. First, light not on today. Took to my buddy and he looked at bill and was outraged at the quote. He is going to do a diagnostic for no charge. He said trash could have triggered light. My guess is his diagnostic will show no issue. If so I will call dealership and tell them what happened and ask for refund or tell them they will not see my car again for servicing.
 
farce© said:
My experience with Mercedes is the opposite. Between my wife and I, we have had six MBs over the past 30 years. I’ve never had any significant issues and just took them in once a year for routine maintenance. I currently drive a 2017 GLC “coupe” which I ordered new spec’ed out exactly as I wanted it. I’ve driven it for 9 years, put 65,000 miles on it and I’ve done the routine annual maintenance, put tires and brakes on it, and that’s it.

I worked for automotive suppliers for years, and called on most of the auto manufacturers and have a pretty good idea of the quality different OEMs demand from their supplier base and how well they manufacture their product. I also spent a good amount of time on the aftermarket side of the business dealing with independent repair shops. While many of those guys truly know their shit and I would absolutely trust them to fix my car, I don’t believe a word they say about the inner workings and decision-making of OEMs. These guys have more conspiracy theories about the motives of OEMs than QAnon has about the deep state.
Click to expand...
Yeah, OEMs aren’t the bad guys here. They engineer cars to meet an extensive list of goals which present challenging conflicts and decisions.
 
heel79 said:
Update. First, light not on today. Took to my buddy and he looked at bill and was outraged at the quote. He is going to do a diagnostic for no charge. He said trash could have triggered light. My guess is his diagnostic will show no issue. If so I will call dealership and tell them what happened and ask for refund or tell them they will not see my car again for servicing.
Click to expand...
You should also ask the dealership why they quoted you a price on a service that should be covered by your warranty. Hyundai/Kia claim to fame is their 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.
 
farce© said:
You should also ask the dealership why they quoted you a price on a service that should be covered by your warranty. Hyundai/Kia claim to fame is their 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.
Click to expand...
That’s for original purchasers. I think the fallback on resale vehicles is 5/60 unless it’s a CPO car.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top