I've got a 2004 Accord V6, stock, with just under 75,000 miles. Checking for alignment, I'm the bushings are cracked. Replacing this small rubber piece requires replacing the entire front control arm, which for both sides is over $400 P&L.

I'm surprised by this problem and expense on my Accord. I'm getting a second opinion from the dealer, but am also trying to find info online to understand the severity of this, typical cost, and if if it's a DIY repair.

Any thoughts or pointers to info on replacing front control arm bushings on an '04 Accord? Thanks!

Mine are cracked too. You can replace only the bushings. I have them sitting in my car for a while now. The old ones will need to pressed out and the new ones pressed in.

I'd like to see pics of the bushing, installed with the car lifted off the ground.

There's a difference between small cracks and the bushing being torn.

Do you have any clunking, or undue movement in the wheels when hitting bumps? Does the steering wheel shake a lot when hitting bumps? Tire wear issues?

Small tears. Alignment is off, with a pull to the left. Checking alignment is when they found the bushing issue. They said the front passenger bushing would fail a State Inspection; the driver side would pass but was beginning to crack and recommended to replace as well. No speculation as to when they would reach major failure point.

Interesting. Haven't run into that issue yet. Time to keep an eye out.

What state? PA, by chance?

There's only a few that would go to that detail to check stuff like that.

I looked up the lower arms for my car, which is essentially the same, the whole arm is 157 ea, the bushings are 11.65 ea. This is the large compliance bushing. The other two bushings cost 10.17 ea and 9.70 ea. The whole arm is 157 per side.

NY.

I found similar costs searching online, ~$10 for just the bushings and ~$100 for the entire arm, per side. I was surprised that replacing a $10 rubber part requires a $100 mechanical asssembly plus labor.

Ah, I forgot that NY still puts cars up in the air for a real safety inspection.

You can have the bushings replaced, but depending on what the labor charge is to pull the arms, plus press labor, it can get up there. And, do you want to leave the other two rubber bushings in the arms or change them while the arm is out of the car?

The current quote is to replace both front control arm bushings, which includes replacing the control arms. I can ask if they can replace just the bushings; I can't guess how the labor would compare to the current labor charge. I'm also going to my dealer for a second opinion and quote. But I expect the same prognosis and even higher quote.