How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Starter
If your vehicle won’t start and the battery and alternator are still viable, chances are you might need a new starter. The good news is that diagnosing a starter problem and replacing a starter is usually straightforward for a good mechanic.
If you have roadside assistance like AAA or one that your vehicle manufacturer, extended warranty provider or car insurance company provides, ask them to come to you and give you their opinion if your car is having trouble starting. Most technicians can help you rule out something like a poorly connected battery, faulty spark plug wire (coil wire), or an alternator problem.
If you have any concerns that your starter is starting to fail, it is better to take immediate action. Starter failures have been studied and scientifically proven to correlate with job interviews, childbirth, playoff game times, scheduled flights for vacations and other important life events.
What does a starter do?
The starter does exactly what the name suggests. It assists the engine in taking its first breath and initiates the magic that is internal combustion. You’ve seen the old herky-jerky footage of folks hand-turning a car engine with a crank in the front or of a person spinning an old airplane propeller to start an airplane. A starter does that for you. It cranks the engine using electricity provided by your battery.
If you want the technical explanation, here it is in just a few words: Electromagnetic field coils, solenoid, armature, and commutator. None of that really helps you more than knowing that the starter spins and the engine starts. Until the day it doesn’t.
How much does it cost to replace a starter in a car?
The answer depends on the car to a large degree. The cost of replacing a starter is often associated with the labor to get it out and put the new one back in. If your mechanic has to remove a half-dozen important parts just to access the starter, you are going to feel this in your wallet. If the starter is hanging under the engine in plain view (like many were at one time), then it is going to be less costly.
In a modern vehicle, the budget for a starter replacement is likely to be high hundreds to over $1,000. If you have an older vehicle, it may cost somewhat less if the mechanic can access it without a lot of preparation time.
Our best estimate for a common starter replacement is $600 to $900. Our best estimate for a starter in a luxury model is $900 to $1,400.
How to tell if your starter is bad
The really nice thing about starter failures, particularly in older vehicles, is that they often give you a clear warning. There are some common symptoms that your starter might be about to give up the ghost.
Here’s a quick list of things you should take as a warning to call your mechanic now for an appointment:
- There is a click when you try to start the car instead of it turning over the engine.
- That screech. If you’ve ever started a car with a problematic starter and heard the screech, you know it well.
- Nothing happens when you try the starter with the key or the push button. But then it does work later.
- Sometimes starters do quit all at once, so don’t let us give you the impression that they always provide warning signs.
That old starter trick
Because of the way starters operate, when they first begin to die, they may come back to life for a few more starts if your mechanic can tap it with a hammer. It sounds crazy, but it often works. This is not a DIY project, so please don’t try this at home. Sometimes a mechanic will do this to verify the starter is actually the problem. It doesn’t fix the issue; it just temporarily revives a starter that is momentarily frozen.
Can my starter be fixed?
Like any machine, it may be possible to repair the broken starter in your car. However, like many repairs today, trying to do so would likely lead to a cost equivalent to changing the starter to one that is known to work properly. So the practical answer is that in almost all cases, your mechanic will change your starter out completely if the one in your car fails.
New vs. remanufactured vs. repaired starters
Almost all of the electrical machines in your car will not be entirely new when you replace them. Manufacturers of car parts use the shell of an older failed part to remanufacture a part that can be returned to service. If your car isn’t new and under warranty, your mechanic will most likely use a remanufactured starter in your repair. It should have a warranty of some sort. 30 days or a year.
A rebuilt starter may be the same thing or a may be a starter with less comprehensive reworking. Ask your mechanic what type of part will be used and how she has come to trust that part based on her experience. Don’t feel taken advantage of if the part isn’t entirely new. It is a common practice. In some very old cars, a new starter may not even be an option.
A word on modern stop-start systems
There are hundreds of millions of cars on the roads of America. Having them all run while idling wastes enough gasoline that the EPA decided to incentivize automakers to stop this practice. So, first in hybrids, and now in almost every modern vehicle, cars will shut off when you come to a stop at a light or a stop sign or are sitting in traffic. When you then move anything important, like your foot on the brake or your hand on the wheel, the engine starts up again instantly. This can happen dozens or more times on every trip.
It seems to beg the question, “With all of these added stops and starts won’t my starter wear out really fast?” It’s a valid question, but the answer is now proven to be “No.” Automakers didn’t just take the old starter design from a 1969 Plymouth Fury and plop it down in your new $70K crossover. They redesigned the starting system entirely and made it robust enough to last 15 minutes longer than the warranty, excuse us, we mean indefinitely.
The truth is, modern premature starter failures in cars with stop-start are not a thing. Many hybrid vehicles don’t even use traditional starting methods at all. EVs don’t need starters.
Read more on the topic of Owning a Car here.
