Unless you haven’t been paying much attention to how cars work, you probably know that the wiring harness in your car is responsible for all of the functions of your vehicle.
You cannot hope to drive your car successfully or safely with a significantly damaged wiring harness. If your wiring harness needs to be replaced, you might be worried about how much this will cost.
The cost to replace a car wiring harness is $1,300-$1,700. The labor for the replacement is about $400-$500. You might expect to pay more for Power Braiding and for the increased complexity of your fuel injection system.
If you are ready to learn more about car wiring harness costs, read on!
What Happens to my Cost if my Wiring Harness is Hard to Access?
There are some makes and models of vehicles that have wiring harnesses that are difficult to work on. This can add labor hours to your overall cost.
If the wiring harness is easy to get to, it can take an hour to install but if the car has an engine arrangement that is hard to work on, you might need to expect 10-20 hours of labor.
The actual cost of the wiring harness is about $300 max and $100 minimum. The minimum labor cost is around $400.
This is for 3-4 hours of work but does usually allow for as much as 6-8 hours of work. If you need to afford 10-20 hours of labor, you might want to plan for about $800-$1,500 in labor.
Working with a small garage can alter the amount of money that you will need to spend on this service, and warranty work will of course be charged differently.
Most people are not able to do this process themselves at home, so the labor costs are not easy to get around.
You should be wary of offers of really cheap services as well. This might indicate that you will just get shoddy work for your money.
Car Wiring Harness Cost
The cost of your wiring harness and the associated labor to install it can vary based on your vehicle’s make and model.
You will find that luxury cars almost always cost far more to work on and can be as much as two times as expensive to repair.
The cost of the wiring harness itself can also vary related to the maker of the part. Luxury vehicle parts usually cost more than domestic but you will find that larger vehicles can also have more expensive parts for this kind of repair.
The cost of the wiring harness is often no more than $500. The labor is where the cost can really add up.
The associated labor might also be increased greatly by other issues that have taken place related to your wiring harness needing to be replaced.
You might not realize that there were other issues that were caused by your wiring harness as it was failing.
[table “277nbsp” not found /]You should always do some research into the price of your wiring harness repair before you agree to have this job done at a dealership or a repair shop.
You should not be charged more than the average amount for this job unless there are other issues with your vehicle.
Does Removing the Old Wiring Harness Add to Your Costs?
There is labor associated with removing the wiring harness that is in your car so that it can be replaced. This is not usually a major part of the replacement process cost, but you should know that you will have to pay for the old harness to be removed.
If there has been damage to your engine related to the failure of your existing wiring harness, you might find that your costs will increase greatly.
If you are working with a mechanic for this replacement process, you should expect to get an estimate for the increased costs associated with taking care of the other damage that was revealed during the removal of the wiring harness.
You can always inquire ahead of time about the costs associated with the removal of the existing harness. Some dealerships and repair shops charge a flat fee while others will charge this part of the service by the hour just like the rest of the replacement process.
It can depend on what kind of wiring harness you are replacing whether or not this is charged as a single fee or by the hour.
The costs to work on the replacement process can also be greatly impacted by the make and model of your car.
Luxury cars often require unique tools for installation and removal processes and this can mean that you will have to take these vehicles to a dealership for this service. This can add hundreds to your overall cost for the replacement.
What Other Kinds of Wiring Harnesses Can Fail and Need to be Replaced?
There are other wiring harnesses within your car that could fail and need to be replaced. The cost of some of these items can vary based on your car’s make and model but the average costs for them are fairly static.
There will also be labor associated with replacing these parts in your car as well.
| Car part | Labor Cost | Parts Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Airbag harness | $200-$400 | $600-$1,000 |
| Door wiring harness | $100 | $50-$100 |
| Battery harness | $100 | $60-$110 |
These other kinds of harnesses can also be related to failures in other parts of your vehicle and wiring fires. You should know that any electrical part that is failing can lead to a fire or other kinds of malfunctions.
Worn-out wiring harnesses of all kinds should be replaced as soon as they are detected to prevent major damage to your vehicle.
How Much Do Wiring Repairs in the Rest of Your Car Cost?
If the wiring harness that needs to be replaced has affected other electrical systems in your car, you will need to pay to have this issue diagnosed. The average cost for diagnosis of wiring issues is $50.
The actual rewiring process itself can cost about $1,000 or more. The primary issue with wiring replacement jobs is that it is often difficult to predict how many hours the process will take.
Between the diagnosis process and the actual fixing process, your rewiring needs might cost up to $5,000 in labor. The actual parts are the smallest part of the overall fix and the labor is the real consideration.
| Car | Cost to Diagnose |
|---|---|
| 2000 Acura Integra | $120 |
| 2005 Chevrolet Silverado | $90 |
| 2019 Cadillac CTS | $95 |
| 2020 Toyota Avalon | $90 |
One of the first diagnosis tips that should be looked at before you take your car to a mechanic is to make sure that the battery in your car is still working properly.
You don’t want to pay a bunch of money for diagnosing a wiring issue when it turns out that you just have a bad battery in your car.
While it should be the first thing a mechanic or dealership looks at, you would be surprised at how often a bad battery is not noticed until after lots of costs have been racked up looking at other wiring systems.
The cost to replace a battery in many makes and models of car is a much smaller cost than overall wiring replacement but you might need to pay for this if your wiring harness has impacted your battery.
| Car | Battery Cost |
|---|---|
| 2000 Acura Integra | $70 |
| 2005 Chevrolet Silverado | $300 |
| 2019 Cadillac CTS | $500 |
| 2019 Cadillac CTS | $500 |
Battery replacement does not have to be done at a mechanic’s location or a dealership. If you find out that this is the only thing that is wrong with your car, you can take your vehicle to a location that sells batteries and take care of the replacement there.
This may not apply to luxury cars or vehicles that are not made with standard batteries.
You will be able to consult your owner’s manual for information about this replacement process if you have a car that is an exotic or a rare make or model.
These vehicles may not be good candidates for battery replacement outside of a dealership. You may also not be able to get this kind of part from a generic part store.
Car Wiring Harness Costs Can be Steep
There are many considerations that can add to your total cost for your car wiring replacement. You will need to ask some questions before you commit to a car wiring replacement service.
You should expect to pay the average price listed in this article but there could be additional costs related to other repairs or a battery replacement.
Always remember that exotics and luxury cars will cost more to work on and the parts for their wiring harness replacements will also be more expensive overall than other vehicles.