A matchstick does not light up on its own. It needs to be struck against a rough surface so it can generate heat to form the fire.
This is exactly what an ignition coil do. Your vehicle does not start on its own. It needs an induction coil in order to convert the battery’s low voltage to high volts enough to create an electric spark in the spark plug to ignite the fuel and power the engine. When the ignition coil is damaged or malfunctioning, your engine will not be able to make the spark to even start the vehicle, more so to run the vehicle at worst.
Average Cost of Coil Pack Replacement
The average ignition coil replacement cost ranges between $129 and $175 which consists of the labor costs averaging between $88 and $111 and materials or parts averaging between $41 and $64, excluding taxes and fees. But the cost can go as low as $100 to as high as $634 for the parts and labor depending on the year, make and model of the vehicle.
The following are the estimates by RepairPal for the following vehicles:
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Unfortunately, insurance usually do not cover routine or regular repair of the vehicle unless you either pay an additional clause specifying that they are covered in exchange for a hefty premium; or you can provide evidence that the ignition coil malfunction is caused by an accident.
What are Included
The price quotation of either the auto shop or your mechanic would include the price of the parts or in this case, the ignition coil that would replace your old and malfunctioning coil pack plus the labor for detaching the old and installing the new part.
Additional Costs
You may want to your vehicle checked for other issues to maximize your trip to the car shop. Although this may entail additional cost, this may work to your advantage since most shops offer discounts for package repairs.
Shopping for Coil Pack Replacement
For a free estimate, visit YourMechanic.com or call at (800)701-6230 for more details. They offer a 12-month and 12,000-mile guarantee for their services.
Factors That Matters
- Make, Year, Model – the rule of thumb is that, the more expensive the vehicle is, the more likely it is also expensive to repair and maintain such vehicle. And we may be talking about current market value and not the original purchase price as some old models with hard to locate after-market parts may cost higher than your BMW’s coil packs.
- Which auto-shop – the type service and scope of work may all be the same for all car shops but the average coil pack price may be different due to a lot of factors like the level of expertise of the mechanics, the quality of parts and materials, among others.
- Location – your location also has a say on the cost of repair of your vehicles, including the ignition coil replacement cost due to the difference in the cost of doing business, cost of living among residents, tax rates, etc.
- DIY or hire a pro – if you can take care of this seemingly simple task, you can save yourself a few bucks for the labor.
When to Replace the Coil Pack
There are tell-tale signs that your vehicle’s ignition coil is failing. Some of these include misfiring in the engine, catalyst inefficiency, and O2 sensor related errors as indicated by the on-board diagnostics trouble codes stored in the computer of the vehicle causing the following anomalies:
- hesitation
- extreme power loss
- engine stalling
- poor fuel mileage
- illumination of the check engine light
- sounds similar to a snapping rubber band coming from the ignition coil
- the ignition coil looking like burned or white on the part where the terminal connects to the insulated wire
- the engine may have continuously trouble to start
DIY
The cost of owning a car itself has been a big financial burden to many and the costs for repairs and maintenance have been a big dilemma especially those who are having trouble making both ends meet. That is why as much as possible if they can do it on their own to save from spending much, they would.
So can you really replace your own coil pack? The answer is yes. In fact, it can be considered a very easy task provided that precautions are being observed as this activity can cause electric shock. But it would still depend on whether your ignition coils are accessible as other vehicles have individual coil packs that are installed on each cylinder making the removal of the rear coil packs difficult. If you are not skilled enough or you do not trust yourself enough to pull this through, better entrust the task to a professional than to gamble and damage your car. Or worse, you may also be injured in the process.