Dealer told me I need new front and side motor mounts(front broken and side is "weak") on an '03 TL with 88K miles. Told me not emergency as car drives fine but it will "put strain on the rear one". Quoted me around $600 for the job which seems high but really have not checked with local mechanic who I imagine can do this type of job. Also told me to replace the upper and lower rad hoses with new thermostat would run in the $300 range. Anyone know what a fair range of prices for these jobs would be? Hoses are original and fine now but am sure over next year or so they will need replacing.

 

the front mount is often found broken at trans failure time--right about your miles~
then the side mount fails from extra load--the rear would follow
Thats the first time any tech looked up at the mount to see it broken

they seem to go about 55kmiles and ptttt goes the special inner fluid system past a seal,,the rubber compresses...you dont notice as its subtle..an engine miss...
Yes, many years are vac assisted front and rear mount!-thats part of why so expensive

any private shop can do the job, or meet a ziner to help DIY

parts price- front: 120-150 dollars!! plus 2.?? hours labor
(if trans is out for replacement, the front mount is only 15 minutes to replace then)
side mount part cost 50, labor 1/2 hour

coolant should be changed at 7 years max, then every 5 years
If rad hose has soft spots or general softness where you can squeeze the hose when cold = its in danger of bursting and causing instant massive overheat condition

thermostat is good preventative maitenance especially if the coolant looks really bad now,,and doing the hoses -- do it for sure,,already halfway there for labor

 

next they will tell you it needs the timing belt/water pump job,
books says do at 7 years or 105kmiles, whichever occurs first!

they will be making double dippen labor off you -
change coolant gets done with the water pump replacement,,when its a perfect time to do the hoses and thermostat!
The difficult to reach hose is already removed,, as its attached to the wp!

Time is worse than miles on rubber belts
dont panic yet, many are running past both limits,, just be aware of how they try to sell you things... in what order~

Service Writers are there to upsell you on repairs,,some now, some preventative, but they have a sales quota every day week month -they must meet
Some days are slow--biz always slows around this time of year as school starts, holiday plane tickets and shopping take precedence over the car...

ask the sw about the `105` and the combining of repairs
but let your other place do the work-- if they have experience
Its not tough as far as front wheel drive cars go, as long as you know to leave ps belt adjuster a tick loose

 

did the sw state WHY you need hoses? and thermostat?
did the tech point out a weak spot on hose, or see its running a tick above normal temp.
2 lines below half on the guage is `normal`

you get coolant change with that job--since the coolant is drained out of rad and drips out of engine block when lower hose removed from rad,,same as when replacing the wp!