How Much Does it Cost to Replace an Engine Mount?

Inside your engine bay, your engine is nestled in among the wires, tubes, and other metal do-dads. It may look like it is sitting there bolted firmly in place, but in fact, engines sit on rubber isolation pads called engine mounts, also referred to as motor mounts. If yours has gone AWOL, you will need to have it replaced.

We suspect you are presently in the waiting room of a repair shop holding a phone right now, having just Googled “How much do engine mounts cost?” We won't drag this out. The price is going to be between $400 and $1,000. We will explain the pricing further here.

What is an Engine Mount, a.k.a. Motor Mount?

Even the best engines vibrate, and your car’s structure is constantly flexing and vibrating with the stress of driving. Automakers use rubber pads to isolate the engine in your car from the rest of the vehicle to make the ride inside quiet and vibration-free. The engine also benefits from being isolated from the shaking and vibrating of the vehicle structure. Have you ever noticed that subwoofers or speakers for your home have rubber feet? Similar concept.

Why Do I Need Engine Mounts?

Think of motor mounts as the bolts that hold your engine in place and keep it from shifting out of position. The bolts are dampened out with a bit of rubber. You need the engine to be bolted to the vehicle, and the engine needs to be held in place to ensure that it does not pull on hoses or the other drivetrain components.

Will My Engine Fall Out If I Don’t Replace My Engine Mounts?

The odds are your engine will not fall out if you don't replace motor mounts when they are shot. The bolts are unlikely to fail, there is more than one mount, and the engine is cradled inside of the chassis on many vehicles anyway.

How Do I Know If I Need Engine Mounts?

The most common way to find out you need engine mounts, a.k.a. motor mounts, is when a mechanic says to you, “You need motor mounts.” They can discover the problem either through visual inspection or a test drive. Engine mounts most often wear slowly over time. The vibration you feel may not seem abnormal to you, but a mechanic may feel something is amiss and then investigate.

If your engine mount actually departs from the vehicle or breaks, you will likely experience odd sounds and vibrations. It is unlikely you will ever gaze into an engine bay and “see” a missing or worn motor mount. They are most often up under the engine.

If you are very unlucky, the engine or drivetrain may have suffered some sort of damage from the engine mount failing. The mechanic may discover the engine mount problem when you are having the vehicle repaired for something else.

In bygone times, your engine sat alone in the engine bay affixed to a primitive frame and its transmission. The engine mounts were holding it in space, and you could even see the ground when looking into the engine bay. Back in the day, many mechanics had stories of cars “taking off at full power” when an engine mount would break, and the engine would then lean, pulling on its throttle linkage and forcing the engine to rev. This is no longer a thing.

How Many Engine Mounts Should I Replace?

Your mechanic can tell you if you need one, two, or more engine mounts. If one has broken prematurely due to a defect, you may need to have just that one replaced. If the mounts are corroded due to heat, salt, and age, you may need a pair or more. If one is shot, the chances that others are as well is pretty high.

How Many Engine Mounts Should I Replace?

Your mechanic can tell you if you need one, two, or more engine mounts. If one has broken prematurely due to a defect, you may need to have just that one replaced. If the mounts are corroded due to heat, salt, and age, you may need a pair or more. If one is shot, the chances that others are as well is pretty high.

How Much Do Engine Mounts Cost?

Engine mounts are simple parts made from common and inexpensive materials. The mounts themselves are a small percentage of the cost of replacing them. The bulk of your fee will be paying the mechanic to remove the old ones and then shoehorn in the replacement. This is not complicated work, but it may require that unrelated parts be removed to allow for access. Engine mounts are mostly a labor charge. We scoured the World Wide Web for a consensus on how much engine mounts cost, and the consensus is around $500. You may pay slightly less, or if you have an obscure fancy car, much more.

Can I Replace My Own Engine Mounts?

While it is certainly possible to replace your own engine mounts, it is a job that is often done using a lift and working from the bottom up. Mechanics use jacks to nudge up the engine or supporting bars to move the engine when replacing engine mounts. This is one of those jobs that is not complicated but is often more sensible to let a mechanic tackle.

Read more on the topic of Owning a Car here.