Starter Replacement - Cost

Hello,

A few months ago I had to have the starter replaced in my 2011 Tundra - 5.7 V8 - 4WD. At that time it had about 155,000 miles on it. I took it to a local shop I had used in the past (not the dealership) when I owned a different truck and long-story-short the total bill was $3,000. They told me it was mostly labor, as portions of the exhaust needed to be removed. I didn't have time to argue, and given that it had to be towed there I didn't seem to have too many options. I'm just asking here, did I get charged too much?

 

Someone has asked this question before and the quote I gave them (what we would give the customer) I believe was at $1500 or closer to 2k- that extra 1k could be due to drilling exhaust studs? Did they mention that?

 

Nevermind, I remembered wrong, that guy was quoted I think around $1500; just looked at numbers:

$276 for oem starter (rough price)
5.2 labor hours x $150 hour = $780

plus an exhaust gasket for the bank that gets removed; and a new serpentine belt if they replaced it at the same time

so with just the starter and labor it’s $1056, then plus $50 exhaust manifold gasket, $20 cat gasket, and alldata has the serpentine belt listed at $112 but there’s no way that’s the actual price.

but all those added it boosts you to $1238; not including labor to drill studs but there’s about $1700 unaccounted for, do you have the bill?

 

Holy crap.

To replace a starter?

 

I gotta watch this later

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kV65l43lMTg

 

3k seems like an “im busy” price, 1500$ for sure though, it’s in a very hard to get spot and yes alot of exhaust needs to be removed.

 

Wow! I've replaced my starter 4x's. Once from a warranty issue not to mention 3 alternators. Pulling the long tube headers on passenger side gets easier...

 

talking to me or op?

 

OP
$3000 to replace a starter should come with a year of the owner getting head, and a steak sammich twice a week.

I guess if bolts break... Maybe?

Sticker shock, considering ive changed starters in dozens of vehicles over the last 40,years.

 

no I agree, I quoted him above what would be a rough cost if we did it, but theres like $1.7k missing from the quote

 

For those in the cheap seats:


"THE EXHAUST DOESN'T HAVE TO BE REMOVED"

 

Don't you unbolt starter side motor mount and jack up the motor until you can wrench on it?

 

It is still quite a dance. Haven't done one yet, but looking at all those "the easy way" video on u-tube... Hope jacking up the engine would make it easier for me, when time comes.

 

Correct. I think you take out the dipstick tube as well.....but it's been a while and I've tried to forget that hellacious job lol

 

It sure is. Still tough, but not as tough as removing the exhaust when not necessary.

 

3 grand was the stealership's price for me, but in the San Jose area, during covids.
So, I did it.

 

No exhaust does not have to be removed. I got double screwed on my starter. Took to my usual guy when I had No start condition. He put in new Napa starter. 1000$. That lasted 3 weeks. Then he put in a Toyota oem one. It lasted 3 mos. Called him he said "I dont Want to work on your truck anymore". Took to dealer. They replaced with oem starter. Asked for old one back. It started acting up. So a buddy took a look. Got starter out no problem without exhaust removal. All it was was the "hot wire" connection to the solenoid. Needed a new connector. That's all. Had removed starter tested. It's fine. Spent about 4k on a problem with a .50$ connector.

 

Y'all, I understand the exhaust doesn't have to be removed; a mechanic shop will quote you on book time. Book time dictates the exhaust comes off; if we can do a job a faster way and it cuts down on labor time, then we'll adjust the labor time accordingly; I can't speak for whatever shop he went to; maybe the mechanic there isn't comfortable getting the starter out with the exhaust attached, maybe he doesn't have the tools necessary

 

Can be done with hand tools, hella extensions.

 

If it makes the OP feel any better, I'll change my perspective a little bit and tell you that $3k is a damn good deal since I'm many, many, many times more than that for my own starter replacement project. lol

Reality says you should probably get tested and hope you didn't catch anything while they were doing you dirty. $3k is nearly what some people are paying in labor for complete engine swaps. I'd say they didn't want your business but took it because they paid rent on that one job. I do hope the entire situation is behind you now and the truck starts wonderfully and reliably for enough years that you can forget about the shakedown.

 

Thanks for the comments. Clearly, I was taken advantage of. If I had said no, I would have had to call a tow truck and pay another $150 to have it towed somewhere else. They knew that, plus the extra time involved. The bill just shows labor hours. And they installed a remanufactured starter just to add insult to injury. Bungholes. They'll never get business from me again, and I'll leave bad reviews on Yelp, Google, etc. Not much else I can do now. This was about six months ago and I've had no problems with the starter since. So there's that, at least.

 

Am I allowed to post the name of the shop as a warning to anyone living in my area? I can post a PDF of the receipt as proof.

 

Here is the thing with "book rate"

they always charge you what the book says regardless even if it only takes them 1/2 the time (and most of the time it is about half) you won't get a discount

BUT they will charge you for extra time if they hit a snag or something. For sure. I had a dealer quote me to do a rear bearing job, which it a pain in the ass. They quoted me the book rate which was like 8 hours labor plus an additional 4 because they said it was Rusty. Now, would they have not charged me the extra time if they did it quick? No way. F them. I went to another shop.

 

Yup ... it was cheaper for me to by a press, parts, special tooling and do it myself for a rear axle bearing change x2 on a first gen Tacoma.

 

I am not gonna lie, I miss my SCed tundra but man it's expensive to get work done to these truck if you aren't a DYIer. My 98 Silverado takes like 20 mins.

 

Ugh...

 

Had issues with my 2007 Crewmax 5.7 starter. I got the starter bolts loose. Little voice in my head said snug them back and try something. I hooked up the battery again, got in the cab and something made me press the key fob to open or lock the doors. It was weak whatever I tried. I replaced the battery in the key fob and the starter kicked right over like nothing was wrong. I had made sure the truck battery terminals were clean. Maybe the battery was low? Anyway, put it back to together 4 years ago without total removal and never another hiccup. Is there a security interlock with the fob signaling the ignition? ✓check the battery with load tester. ✓ change the key fob battery.

Is there a body lift kit from the frame the that adds a few inches for DIY clearance tight spaces? Worth the trouble for steering, exhaust, etc.?

 

No please do not body lift your truck, it will look terrible