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Suspension lower arm costs

T

Tafia

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Location
North Wales
Car
Accord diesel
Hi folks,

My 2004 Accord (85000 miles) has just had a service and 'Health Report' from a main dealer. All checks came up good except for both suspension lower arm bushes listed as defective. Service chap said it was not an MOT failure problem but suggested they be replaced at a cost of £563.00.

Can anyone confirm that is not an MOT failure issue. I know the MOT chap has commented on them a couple of years ago and said they have to be "hanging off" to register a fail.

I recall years ago replacing such bushes on a Ford Consul by pushing the old ones out and pressing new bushes in ( after putting them in the freezer)

Is that a normal price for replacement if needed? Seems like a lot for two steel bars and four bolts!

I am still wondering whether to change the car whilst it still has a trade in value of around £2K in case something expensive breaks.

MOT is due in July.

Thanks

T.
 
Yes it is an MOT failure, especially on the Accord because on the Accord the lower arm bushes are "upside down".

Do not get a dealer to do it, never ever get a dealer to do anything on a 7th gen

An independent can get pattern (non OEM) lower arms complete for under £100 and they are perfectly good

Or you can get the OEM bushes and remove the arms and fit the bushes yourself if you fancy that ;)
 
Or worth shopping around because my own local Honda dealer quoted £100 a side to replace the worn bush.
 
It's an MOT fail if there's play in the bush, I.e. the joint feels loose. Depending on severity of wear will depend on if it's an MOT fail or not. They can be a little worn and pass the MOT. So it all depends on just how bad yours are. I'd have thought if your mechanic thinks it's bad enough to warrant replacing then it's probably bad enough to fail the MOT.

Worn compliance bushes leave you very prone to tram lining and pulling to one side or the other. If yours is doing that, you probably want to replace the compliance bushes.

Honda labour rates will always be a little high as they're a main brand dealer. However, personally I'd recommend getting an OEM part from Holdcroft Honda with the TypeAccord discount. Get the part delivered to you and then take it to a trustworthy local garage for fitting. The part will be less than what your local Honda is quoting and so will the labour, but it will be an OEM bush.

I had non OEM compliance bushes fitted less than 2 years ago and they're already showing early signs of cracking. From what I've read online, you're best off sticking with OEM bushes on the Accord.
 
Many thanks for all yiur replies, folks. Much appreciated..

So it appears the bushes can be bought separately and pressed in. I guess the main dealers will want to sell the whole units complete.

Always seemed like a terrible waste to do that.

Thanks again.

Best regards

T.
 
Job has been done now at a cost of £300 including an MOT ( passed) versus a quote from the main dealer of nearly £600 for fitting the lower arms.
 
I would only fail the bushes if there is excessive movement. I know that is down to the testers discretion but generally if the arm can move easily from the bush then it's a fail, but if you follow vosa's guidelines it has to be completely knackered to fail. And I would be reluctant to fit non gen arms I would replace the bush. I have seen what can happen with some non gen stuff and it's not good. And out of curiosity Brian why would you never ever get a dealer touch a 7th gen accord?
 
Hi Wookie,

Can you clarify what you have seen with non-genuine parts, please. Garage chap, who also does MOT's said the ones he fitted were the same thing but without the Honda label.

He was not the one who said they were needed, by the way; that was a main dealer who serviced the car.

Cheers

T
 
This is one example on Hondas Civic 02-06 model front hub lower ball joint only comes as a complete knuckle ***embly from Honda. You can get the ball joint from a factors no problem. But I have seen this a few times the pattern ball joint fails and the ball joint comes out the hub and hits the driveshaft.
 
wookie said:
This is one example on Hondas Civic 02-06 model front hub lower ball joint only comes as a complete knuckle ***embly from Honda. You can get the ball joint from a factors no problem. But I have seen this a few times the pattern ball joint fails and the ball joint comes out the hub and hits the driveshaft.
Click to expand...
Thanks Wookie,
 
Folks this (or something similar) happened to my 7th Gen last year.

The MOT report came back with an ADVISORY warning stating 'Suspension lower arm bushes worn on both sides'. I was kinda expecting something like this because I could feel some kind of bump while driving.

I spoke to Cox Motor Parts (Honda specialist) about this and they recommended just replacing the bushes as long as the garage felt competent in doing this as the bushes can be tricky to insert into the lower arm.

The garage agreed but when they came to do the work, they found that the new bushes (ordered from Cox) were not fitting into the arm anyway near tightly enough; so I would need new arms too! Really annoyed with what the garage was telling me I went down there to take a look myself and lo and behold they were right, they showed me that you could take the new bush in and out of the arm with your bare hands without any tools, thus the arms needed replacing too.

I then got the arms replaced as well as the bushes, all seemed to be ok after that.
 
That's really strange mine needed the old ones out and the new one's needed considerable force to press back in.
 
ED209, Can you tell us what the work cost including parts?

Mine was £300 including an MOT at £40. Main stealer ( as some call them ) wanted nearly £600 just for the arms, fitted.

BTW, I noted that everything needed to be tightened up whilst the axle was loaded and not just hanging in mid air. That would lead to a twisted rubber (?) bush.
 
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