Shelled

I have to start by saying I am not handy with cars in the least. As a result, I have someone else work on my car.

That being said, I went to the dealership today for regular maintenance. I was shocked at the number of things they wanted to fix.

I have a 2007 TL with 59,000 miles on it. This is what they wanted to fix. I wouldn't think a car with only 59K miles on it would need all of this:

Intermediate shaft leaking ($597)
Front motor mount collapsed ($513)
Right side engine mount worn ($245)
Hood struts failed ($230)

I have owned several cars past 59K miles and never encountered any of these thing.

Has anyone else encountered these things with their TL? If so, how much did it cost? There are some other places on Folsom that fix Acuras, so I don't have to go through a dealership.

At this point, I may just get rid of this car and get something else.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

truonghthe

Hood struts are replaceable
By you for like $80 with 16 mins time, motor mount is the biggest issue here depend on the previous owner how bad they abused the car, like launching from a dig. I own many honda/Acura product and never had an issue at the mileage, btw you might need another mechanic take a second look sine some dealer love to do that crap to get you trade the car in.

Will Y.

Have you or a reliable mechanic seen the supposed leak?
If not, look for a leak, and get an explanation as to why there's leaking at the half-shaft (as opposed to a more common fluid leak). That is not common problem, FWIW.

The motor mounts fail at times, but usually at higher mileage than what your car has. One can visually see the damaged mounts in that case. With bad mounts, the engine will move around quite a bit, and often cause a "clunk" noise, when revved from idle.
"Engine mount worn" sounds like BS absent visible tears or wear.

The hood struts hold up the open hood. If they are weak, replacement struts are under $50 per pair (from Rock Auto or Advance Auto), including shipping. Labor using a screwdriver to pop the retaining ring clip and replace the strut is about 3 minutes per side; less than 1 minute per side if you've done it before.

Welcome to AZ.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

Right side engine mount is like 120 and 10 mins of ur time to install.

Intermediate shaft leak? Rare but I would think its a measly 10-15$ seal that has dried up on you.

Hood struts.. You can find struts off all sort of other products that will fit the car, so u can easily fix that for 50-80.

Front mount can literally decay from age to my knowledge cause it is hooked up to a vacum line to the engine so if there is anything wrong with it it's going to be noticeable.

If u live in a hot and dry climate these mounts literally degrade over time without abuse.

But the rear mount is way more of a pain in the ass to fix, ur lucky it's just the front mount.

513$ sounds astronomical. I would say it's no more than a 2 hr job tops and the part is 100-200 depending on how cheap u feel like buying one.

The prices you have been quoted are All practically double. And u live in the states where it's cheaper for everything. I would not even think about paying those prices up here in canada.

So op where you u located?

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

$230 to replace good struts?!? Geezus, they are really trying to take you for a ride. It will take them 3 minutes to replace those. Robbery I tell ya.

mvp2765

iTrader: (1)

Your first mistake was going to the stealership. But all of those can be fixed for less than half those quoted prices.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

A good way to tell the motor mounts need replacing is excess vibration is felt in the car while it's on. Also when you shift from Park to Reverse, Reverse to Drive, Drive to reverse you will feel the car jerk or shake as you change gears. Are you experiencing any of those symptoms?

OK For the front motor mount, side motor mount, and hood strut the dealership quoted you for a total of $988 (add tax and itll be over $1,000)

If you were to buy those parts on your own you could get them all for around $200 (same OEM parts, not aftermarket brand)

That means the dealership is charging you nearly 8 hours of labor (Roughly ~$800 for labor, $200 for parts)

Changing the front motor mount is ~2 hours.
Changing the side motor mount is ~1 hour.
Changing the hood strut is like 15-20 minutes.

How they got 8 hour of labor for those 3 parts is beyond me.

Do not listen to the dealership about those prices. Find yourself another independent mechanic if you aren't capable of doing it yourself. Preferably a independent shop that specializes in Honda/Acuras or Japanese/Imports in general.

Dealerships usually charge $100-$110 per hour for labor.

An independent shop can be anywhere from $70-90 per hour.

Here's an example of how they are trying to rape you with no lube.

Front motor mount only costs $101 - http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ac...ne-mounting-at

Side motor mount only costs $54 - http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ac...de-mounting-at

Right side hood strut only costs $25 - http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ac...-r-hood-opener

Left side hood strut only costs $29 - http://www.dchautomotiveparts.com/ac...-l-hood-opener

dezymond

I'll definitely have to inspect my motor mounts and I used this video (alot of DIY here the pics aren't working anymore) and found it helpful.




It doesn't seem too difficult, but I'm someone who likes to have a person there to guide me too. Considering the amount of labor I'd have to pay even with my connections over at my local dealer it would still cost me much more than if I do it myself.

Anyone in the Bay Area, CA got experience doing this? Also don't have any proper tools to really lift the engine to relieve pressure from the mounts either during replacement.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

It's roughly a min or two to replace each hood strut. You just pull the center clip to release it from the socket...
Passenger side motor mount is the next easiest thing to place that shouldn't take longer than 15-20 mins. It's two main bolts holding it to the frame and the one center bolt which connects the engine bracket to the bolt. You jack up the motor which a piece of wood from the oil pan just a hair and you slide the mount forward.

The front mount takes more time. There's a way to do it without fighting everything but involves removing a few things. I always remove the battery, battery tray and the radiator fan (Closest to the battery). It leaves you with plenty of space to work on getting the mount out. Same thing again, jack up the engine just a bit and it slides forward towards the radiator and you can then pull it out. I've done these mounts more than I care to ever do them again.

I've recently did my brothers engine mounts front and side one. Took me about an hour and 10 mins to replace them.

CL-S progression 01

iTrader: (2)

Confidence and patience is all you need to work on ur car... To do most things.

Obviously you will need the right tools as well, but do not be deterred from doing research and then proceeding on your own.

For most things i think DIY is the way to go.

This is a great place to start the beginning of working on cars. I would start with the hood struts, then do the upper passenger engine mount then do the front lower mount.

Not a heck of a lot can go wrong.. For the most part. Just be mindful of everything you do and don't rush or get massively distracted .

Shelled

Thank you to all for your responses. I am taking it to an independent repair shop who specializes in Acuras this week. We will see if they find the same things wrong and what their estimates are.

truonghthe

My bet is everything seem ok or at least won't need replacement yet, gotta love stealership some times. They try to pull that on my mom accord once, I told the advisor we don't need new car payment. I end up having my mechanic done everything on the list for 1/4 of the original price using oem parts.

kocyk123

I had two of your issues when bought mine 2007 with 57k.

Hood Struts - bought them on ebay for less than $60 and it takes 1 minute to replace each

Side Engine Mount - They quoted me $350 for parts and labor. I bought part separately at the same dealer for $80 and asked them for service which was $60. I saved $210 talking to them different way.

Good luck my friend

AlexanderModern

Both of those motor mounts went out on me earlier this year. Didn't have the time or the know how at the time so i had a shop do it for about 400 for both. As for the hood struts, i still haven't replaced mine I just don't open my hood enough to care. but I've seen the hood struts on rock auto for like 15 bucks a piece and it'll take a minute each to install.

TheTitus

I got my hood struts for less than 30 bucks. They are the StrongArm brand, can be found on Amazon. Takes 2 min to install, work perfectly. No need to spend more than 30 dollars on two little struts.

spaceboy

I also have strong arm hood struts...i believe i got them on ebay last year for like less $40 a pair. spent about 15~20 min to replace them by myself...easier than I thought!