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If I was paying someone else for parts and labor, I'd consider $150-200 reasonable. You can buy a set of plugs, a socket, extension and torque wrench for a little over $150 and get the job done in less than 20 minutes. It really is a straightforward task, the most difficult part will be if the socket has a better connection to the plug than it does the extension and you have to fiddle around with it in the hole to get it off the plug after you tighten the new one in.

just checked my leftovers and found my old plugs that i removed from my 9th gen back in 2017 or so. Denso DXE22HQR-D11S. They're on Amazon for $18, or Advance Auto for $18.29.



View attachment 536050
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NGK is also compatible to Honda
 
It really is a straightforward task, the most difficult part will be if the socket has a better connection to the plug than it does the extension and you have to fiddle around with it in the hole to get it off the plug after you tighten the new one in.
Wrap some tape around the socket and extension to hold them together, and this won't happen :)
 
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Wrap some tape around the socket and extension to hold them together, and this won't happen :)
It took me a second. This has to be one of the most genius yet sensible solutions I've ever seen. Here I am dropping my plug into the slot and trying to tighten it without latching onto it and you're telling me I can just tape the damn socket to the extension...
 
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It took me a second. This has to be one of the most genius yet sensible solutions I've ever seen. Here I am dropping my plug into the slot and trying to tighten it without latching onto it and you're telling me I can just tape the damn socket to the extension...
I spent probably ten minutes pondering a solution to this issue when I first did the plugs on my Prelude... The socket was brand new, and the rubber inside of it was gripping the plug so tightly, that it popped off every time I tried to remove it. Then noticed the roll of electrical tape in my toolbox. Lol

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Wrap some tape around the socket and extension to hold them together, and this won't happen :)
It took me a second. This has to be one of the most genius yet sensible solutions I've ever seen. Here I am dropping my plug into the slot and trying to tighten it without latching onto it and you're telling me I can just tape the damn socket to the extension...
I spent probably ten minutes pondering a solution to this issue when I first did the plugs on my Prelude... The socket was brand new, and the rubber inside of it was gripping the plug so tightly, that it popped off every time I tried to remove it. Then noticed the roll of electrical tape in my toolbox. Lol

Sent from my KB2007 using Tapatalk
Another solution, at least for engines that have spark plug holes going straight down from the top, just remove the rubber jobbie from inside the socket, then load the spark plug in there and get it started then use the socket to tighten it up. Without the rubber it won't get stuck. I use an extendable magnetic grabber on the tip of the plug and lower it in and get the first few threads started. The magnet is strong enough to hold the plug firmly but not so strong that you'd be able to cross thread the plug.

Of course now that the Prelude and GTI are gone all I have pretty much are V8s and V6s so no real spark plug holes to deal with. But when I had the Prelude and the VR6 GTI the above technique worked great for me.
 
If you are somewhere in Northern Colorado I will happily show you how to do it yourself. It will cost you $40-$50 depending on which spark plugs you buy. $400 is highway robbery.
 
2015 Accord Hybrid EX-L: 102,000 miles and ready for a major service that would include changing the spark plugs. The dealer quoted $399 to change the spark plugs and that sounds incredibly high to me. Can anyone confirm this is correct? Hard to imagine replacing the plugs on a 4 cylinder would take 2+ hours plus the cost of spark plugs.
The plugs are either Denso or the other brand, both iridium plugs, I believe. They will cost you less than $ 100 online, and a mechanic isn't going to charge you $ 299 to replace them.
 
I would recommend you buy yours from a dealer or any reputed shop and install it yourself (it is quite easy). I ordered mine online from Amazon to save money and they turned out to be fake. It even came in the original packing and was shipped and sold by amazon themselves. Luckily I had a genuine piece from the dealer to compare it with. The fakes have no blueish tip and the thread looks like its made in a hurry when you look up close.
Yes, I recently read that a great deal of the advanced spark plugs from Amazon are cheap knock offs. It’s better to buy them from a reputable, known dealership, or one of the Honda online dealerships. I wonder if RoackAuto can be relied upon?
Fragrances also are likely fake from Amazon. I found out the hard way with a bottle of Chanel No. 5 who just turned out to be fake. What confirmed it, is the Amazon dealer simply refunded my mohey and told me to keep the “Chanel” for free!
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Thanks, folks. Yes, I can, and probably will do them myself. I've used this dealer numerous times for regular service and their prices are always reasonable. Not sure if the service writer was misquoting or not. Thanks for all the responses, they're all very helpful.
 
Thanks, folks. Yes, I can, and probably will do them myself. I've used this dealer numerous times for regular service and their prices are always reasonable. Not sure if the service writer was misquoting or not. Thanks for all the responses, they're all very helpful.
Christmas is here and he's doing what he can to get his kids those Xboxes they've been haunting him for.
Ya can't blame him for trying.
 
Yes, I recently read that a great deal of the advanced spark plugs from Amazon are cheap knock offs. It’s better to buy them from a reputable, known dealership, or one of the Honda online dealerships. I wonder if RoackAuto can be relied upon?
Fragrances also are likely fake from Amazon. I found out the hard way with a bottle of Chanel No. 5 who just turned out to be fake. What confirmed it, is the Amazon dealer simply refunded my mohey and told me to keep the “Chanel” for free!
I'd consider Advance Auto/Carquest a reputable vendor. I linked the Denso plugs further up from Advance
 
Definitely get NGK or Denso plugs. I agree with the other posters that the price is sky high, but is typical for stealership service area ripoff.
 
That price is a symptom of an ever increasingly car-dumb society. Used to be that most people knew at least something about cars. And a good percentage could or did work on their own cars. Nowadays, not so much. So service centers can come up with outrageous prices like this and most of the customers don't or worse yet can't argue about it because they have no idea what is involved in the work proposed.
 
That price is a symptom of an ever increasingly car-dumb society. Used to be that most people knew at least something about cars. And a good percentage could or did work on their own cars. Nowadays, not so much. So service centers can come up with outrageous prices like this and most of the customers don't or worse yet can't argue about it because they have no idea what is involved in the work proposed.
Well said. $14 each, a 14mm deep socket, and a 15 minute YouTube video can save you a few hundred on that quoted, outrageous price.
 
Well said. $14 each, a 14mm deep socket, and a 15 minute YouTube video can save you a few hundred on that quoted, outrageous price.
Well, and add to that that there is precious little left of ethics in the business/service world.
 
My reply was not to offend the OP or anyone for that matter. Just that some dealerships and shady mechanics charge way too much. I also understand over head cost and labor rates as well so $399 equates to maybe $60 for the parts and about $340 in labor for a 30 minute job.

They've been trained to recognize easy prey and will often use scare tactics like saying "if you don't get it done right, right now with us, your car may die and leave you stranded somewhere."

I've heard it all over the years.
 
2015 Accord Hybrid EX-L: 102,000 miles and ready for a major service that would include changing the spark plugs. The dealer quoted $399 to change the spark plugs and that sounds incredibly high to me. Can anyone confirm this is correct? Hard to imagine replacing the plugs on a 4 cylinder would take 2+ hours plus the cost of spark plugs.
My service minder indicated spark plug replacement and valve adjustment at the same time. Maybe the $399 included valve adjustment? Just did both yesterday. NGK Spark plugs from Rock Auto $9 each for exactly the same plug that was in there. Also bought the complete valve cover seal kit for $48 from rock auto. $109 total parts and 2 hours labor doing it myself. That was the first time on this engine and it’s been a couple years since I did my last valve adjustment. If I had to do it all again soon, I could cut the time to 1 hour easily. I don’t know the Honda labor allowance for the job but it couldn’t be more that a hour. That make $399 about right.
 
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