Your airbags are not a part of your car that you might think about all the time, but they are very important to your safety when you are driving.
You will find that most of the parts that are related to an airbag are surprisingly expensive for how small they are. It is worth making sure that you take care of the replacement process of your airbag sensor as soon as it goes bad to make sure that you are safe if you get into an accident.
The average cost to replace an airbag sensor is $370-$400. The labor cost is about $60 of this amount. If you drive an exotic or imported car, you might find that your cost for this replacement part could be much higher.
If you are ready to learn more about the cost to replace your airbag sensor, read on!
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How Much Does it Cost to Replace an Airbag Sensor?
The make and model of your vehicle can add a lot of labor and time to the job. If you have a basic car that has easy-to-order parts, you will find that your overall costs will be far lower than if you drive an exotic car of some kind. Airbags can also be easier to access in some models of vehicles than others.
If you drive an exotic or an imported car, you will probably have to go to a dealership for this repair process. Many of these cars have specific safety processes that must be completed at the time that this repair is done for your warranty to remain in place.
There might also be special tools that are needed to access this part for the replacement to be completed.
Make of Car | Cost Including Labor |
---|---|
2019 BMW 430i | $580-$650 |
2010 Dodge Ram 3500 | $250-$280 |
2019 Volvo XC60 | $790-$800 |
2019 Jeep Cherokee | $430-$500 |
2019 Jaguar F-Type | $290-$330 |
2019 Kia Sorento | $330-$350 |
2019 Land Rover Range Rover | $630-$660 |
2019 Lexus LX570 | $1,200-$1,300 |
2019 Mini Cooper | $425-$450 |
You can see that some makes and models of cars require much more expensive repairs than others. It can be a surprise to find out that some vehicles can cost more than you expect for what might seem like a simple repair overall.
Many times, the makes and models that you would think would be expensive to repair are not that expensive after all.
If you have an exotic vehicle, you can expect that many of these costs will be doubled. This is largely due to the amount that is charged per hour for labor when working on exotic cars.
Your dealership might be more reasonable in price due to your area, but overall, the cost of labor can vary depending on your area and the dealership that you are working with.
Exotic labor costs at dealerships can be about $120 per hour. These cars often have extended warranties for these kinds of repairs and this might help with the overall cost of your airbag sensor repair.
You might be spared the potential to add $1,000 in labor that will be added to a service for even a small part. You can expect that the average cost of the parts themselves and the diagnosis process will also be at least a third higher than with other car makes and models.
The cost of auto repair services can vary per state. If you live in a big city, you will find that the cost could be much more than if you live in a rural area.
State | Cost Per Hour |
---|---|
Hawaii | $30-$40 |
Alaska | $25-$30 |
Oregon | $30-$40 |
Rhode Island | $50-$60 |
Vermont | $40-$50 |
New Jersey | $50-$60 |
What Other Parts Might Need to be Replaced?
The costs related to your repairs of any kind might double in large cities and be cut in half in rural areas. This is not a difficult repair process and should not have as many variables to cost as other kinds of services.
If your airbag is not working properly, there might be other parts that will need to be replaced at the same time as your airbag sensor. This can lead to added costs and additional labor.
You will find that these parts will not always go bad at the same time as your airbag sensor, but it is worth being aware of the cost of the parts for other portions of your airbag assembly.
Part | Cost |
---|---|
Clockspring | $300-$600 |
Impact Sensor | $300-$500 |
SRS Warning Light | $100-$200 |
Passenger Seat Switch | $350-$400 |
ECU | $150-$300 |
Seatbelt Pretensioners | $150-$300 |
Airbag itself | $200-$700 |
These parts might be more or less expensive based on the make and model of your car. You will find that the most expensive parts are often the actual airbag itself and the sensors that are related to it.
These can be many thousands of dollars if you are driving an exotic vehicle.
What if I Have to Pay for Diagnosis Processes?
If there are issues with your airbags but you are not sure which part is bad, you might have to pay for diagnosis processes to be completed.
These processes can take as much as part of a day. You should expect that the process will only be about three hours max, but there can be further issues that can add to the cost of your diagnosis process.
Diagnosis processes can be anywhere from $600-$1,000. This can be a bit of a shock to people who are expecting to just pay about $300 for the repair process.
You should always consider that any repair to your vehicle will cost more than you expect, just in case. The initial diagnostic for a basic repair will cost about $100-$200. If there are further issues, you might find that the cost can go up from there.
While you might want to skip this step, it is an important part of the repair process. You should be willing to spend the money for diagnosis to be sure that all of your car’s safety parts are working properly.
This is well worth the cost if you are in a car accident where your airbag is deployed and saves your life.
Can I Complete This Repair Myself?
This is not a technical repair for many makes and models of vehicles and if your vehicle is out of warranty, you might want to consider taking care of this process yourself.
This will save you the labor costs associated with the job. The downside to this process is that you might not be able to diagnose other issues that are related to the sensor that has been damaged.
The actual parts related to your repair process will be about $200-$300 at most for most makes and models of vehicle.
You can expect that this will take you a few hours if you are not used to completing this repair, but if you do not commit the time to the process, the cost itself is much more minimal.
You will need to check on legal restrictions that might prohibit you from doing this repair yourself. This only matters if your car is still under warranty, but you will want to know if you will invalidate your warranty by trying to save money on this repair.
Your warranty will save you many more thousands of dollars over time. Saving a few hundred dollars is not going to seem like it’s worth it if you invalidate your entire warranty.
You can sometimes source your parts from junkyards or other dealers of used car parts. If your warranty is no issue, then you will find that this can be the most affordable way to source parts.
You might be able to save another hundred dollars or more on sourcing parts. Be sure that the parts that you are getting are in the condition that was stated so that you do not end up with a car part that you cannot use once it arrives. It can be helpful to shop for these parts when you can do so in person.
Replacing an Airbag Sensor Doesn’t Have to be Very Expensive
Airbag sensors are very important to your car’s safe operation. You will always need to take this kind of repair seriously and make sure that you do not hold off on taking care of it due to the cost.
If you are in a car accident, your airbag sensor and the airbag itself must work properly to keep you safe. The cost to repair your airbag sensor is a necessary part of caring for your car’s safety equipment.
You will need to be sure that you take this repair process seriously and that you are not averse to making sure that a proper diagnosis is completed.
Being sure that your car is in perfect condition matters, and you need to be willing to spend the money to repair your car so that it can be operated safely.
Airbag sensors are not an expensive part, and under normal conditions, this repair is not very expensive.