Honda OEM starter vs aftermarket???

[researcher]

Originally Posted by Garyd
Originally Posted by Gebo
Originally Posted by Char Baby
Originally Posted by Garyd
I agree, My Element has been one of the best cars I've ever owned. I posted this to find out if the OEM really is the best because I want to put the best starter in my Element so it will last at least another 12 years before I have to replace it again.


You may have just answered your own question.



I concur. You aren't gonna be happy with a non-OEM starter. You know me and Char Baby are telling the truth.

I would go with the OEM shop as they are making a statement as to the quality of their work. IMHO


That is what I am leaning to. I'm talking to 2 Honda only repair shops and one uses only Honda Genuine Parts, the other uses aftermarket that they claim are better than OEM. They said the starter they use is new (as opposed to a OEM Reman that a dealership would put in) and is made by a company called Blue Energy or New Energy. I can't find that anywhere on the web. The difference in price between the 2 is almost $200, ($695 vs $510).

If I didn't have this back issue, I would try taking it out myself from the bottom and take the starter to a good auto-electric guy I know and
have it rebuilt.






Gary.. Want to jump in here and give you my experience. What no one is telling you is that the Honda genuine remanufactured starter comes with a 3 year parts AND labor warranty! That's from Honda. The new unit only has a 1 year warranty and NO labor coverage!! There is no reason to buy "new" Honda because the reman units are actually gone over with a technician/builder. The "new" ones are mass produced and only a few are taken from production to make sure they're 100%. Sad, but true. The reman is a much better deal, the only thing old is the casing, everything else is replaced. I know, I inspected a reman Honda starter for my 96 civic before the dealer installed it.. Definitely all new and awesome looking! Haven't had any problems.

So for the money, I'd just bite the bullet and get the Honda remanufactured starter and know it'll last you another 12+ years. Heck my 96 civic starter was original when it started to die in 2017! not bad at all!

EDIT: also.. the people who rebuild the starter is the original supplier of that part. If it's mitsuba for example, then the old core gets returned to them to rebuild it to 100% brand new (minus the old casing of course). So it's not a generic rebuilder doing it! I liked that idea with the reman stuff I got from the dealer (steering rack, starter).

 

[iluvhonda]

I vote for try to find a reman Honda unit. Off topic but I needed a started for my 99 Prelude. Timing was everything. A eBay seller had a BNIB reman Honda unit for sale for $35. Wholesale or retail from Honda for one of those units was $1000 and some change. They stopped producing the original brand new units. So give eBay a try and see if other k24 units might fit.

 

[Garyd]

researcher, Do you know if that 3 year parts and labor warranty applies to a non-dealer Honda repair shop? I'm guessing not the labor since it's not a dealer service.

I have an appointment for next week with a very well reviewed Honda only repair shop that uses only Honda Genuine Parts, (Been in business 45 years!) and they will be installing a reman Honda starter on my Element. They quoted me $650. All the dealer service departments in my area want $1000+ to replace the starter. The Honda parts departments are selling just the reman OEM Honda starter for $500+ !

 

[JeffKeryk]

$600 ain't bad. I have heard quotes up to $900 from private shops.

 

[researcher]

Originally Posted by Garyd
researcher, Do you know if that 3 year parts and labor warranty applies to a non-dealer Honda repair shop? I'm guessing not the labor since it's not a dealer service.

I have an appointment for next week with a very well reviewed Honda only repair shop that uses only Honda Genuine Parts, (Been in business 45 years!) and they will be installing a reman Honda starter on my Element. They quoted me $650. All the dealer service departments in my area want $1000+ to replace the starter. The Honda parts departments are selling just the reman OEM Honda starter for $500+ !


Gary.. No the warranty from Honda only applies if a Honda dealer installs the remanufactured Honda part. Yup you're right, so I don't think the parts or labor warranty applies if it's a not a honda dealer.

I still think the reman is the best option out there, even if the warranty didn't apply. Yeah those dealers have ridiculous high labor rates, I think you've done well finding a shop that works on Hondas. I think I paid like $580-600 to replace my starter at the dealer. I think you're in good hands!

Keep us posted how it goes, it'll probably be a boring story.. lol.. You went in, they replaced the starter, the car now starts.. end of story!

Crazy how that's how a part is SUPPOSED to be.. not these endless crappy parts from the aftermarket!

 

[Garyd]

researcher,

How long ago did you pay $580-600 at a dealer? I'm in the Denver Colorado area and the cheapest dealer price I've found is $850 (that's with a service special). Most of the others are right around $1000.

 

[pitzel]

Does the starter make noise when you start, or does it just not work?

If its a case of "just doesn't work" or "needs to be tapped on", then it probably just needs a brush set -- those are not terribly expensive ($15 off of eBay) or difficult to replace. Lots of videos on YouTube on how to do it.

Yes, removing the intake can be a PITA to access the starter. But brushes worn out after 120-160k miles is extremely common and can usually be addressed simply through brush replacement instead of complete replacement of the starter. I'm personally going to do it on my K24 Accord in that mileage range simply as preventative maintenance.

 

[researcher]

Originally Posted by Garyd
researcher,

How long ago did you pay $580-600 at a dealer? I'm in the Denver Colorado area and the cheapest dealer price I've found is $850 (that's with a service special). Most of the others are right around $1000.


hey gary.. Let me think.. It was the fall of 2017. I think back then the labor rate was $95/hr it's up to $115/hr at that dealer today. They sold me the starter at a discount (reman of course) for about $380. and I think it took about 1hr on the civic, doing the calculation it was cheaper than I remember. So I paid $475 installed. The reason I remember it was more, had more stuff done like an alignment, brake service. I apologize for having forgetting that. The dealer I've been going to gives me discounts since the stuff I can't do they'll do. I feel they really want to keep this 96 on the road! They're rare, most dealers just want to sell you a new car and don't care to keep the older ones on the road.

It also depends on your element, how much stuff has to come out/removed to get to the starter. The 96 civic is crazy easy, just take the air box/filer/tube off and bam! you're in at the starter. I didn't do it because it was too cold when mine started to go (typical i tell ya).. I just checked and your starter is similarly priced like mine (if you got a discount). But I'm thinking it's the labor rate is what's increasing that price. What are they up to an hour, where you are?

Did the dealer that quoted the $850 tell you how many labor hours it was? But $1000 is insane..

 

[Garyd]

pitzel,

Originally it would either start totally normally or crank slow like the battery was dying or It would just click, then I would wait a few seconds and it would start normally. Then one morning it just would either only click or sound like it was cranking only a quarter turn. that's what it's still doing now (either just clicking or slightly cranking about a quarter turn. I've tried tapping it with a long skinny pipe but it still won't turn over. I'm going to have to have it towed to the shop this week.

 

[Garyd]

researcher,

They haven't told me the hourly labor rate but the a reman OEM starter for my Element is around $500 at the dealer parts department. It's a pretty labor intensive job to get to the starter on an Element (Removing the air intake manifold and airbox tube and throttle body and all the hoses and electrical connections). Like many have posted, it can be taken out from the bottom but the service manual says to take it out from the top.

 

[David1]

just get a DENSO... Its true if you go to a local auto parts store the starters they sell will fail on you . However you will get a lifetime warranty... I always like to order my customers DENSO if they have a Honda or if you can get a TYC or a Reliance starter they are very good for the $....

 

[Blurider24]

I'm in agreement on the DENSO starter. I have an '07 CR-V, which had a slow turn over/cranking issue with a good battery. I bought a remanufactured DENSO starter from Rock Auto--the warehouse is 15 minutes from my house and I had it in my hands the next business day. I returned the old Mitsuba (Not Mitsubishi) starter with a prepaid ($6.04) shipping label and had my core charge refunded by the end of the week. The slow cranking is corrected and the car starts beautifully--no issues 3 weeks later. Time will tell though regarding the longevity, but I know Denso remanufactures the starters sold under their label--so that gave me some confidence in the product. It ended up costing $160-170 after core was refunded and I changed the starter from the bottom.

It is TIGHT there. You will need a ratchet with >24 clicks/revolution and a 14mm socket with ~2" of depth to reach the top bolt on the starter...THIS is a mofo--can't see the headof the bolt and it may be fused. Once the bolts were broken free, I had to push the starter up to break it free from the block-- they can be fuse/oxidized together. It was a tedious job, but removing the intake manifold did not sit well with me as you can introduce vacuum leaks if you don't torque the bolts properly.

I know the last post was 6 weeks ago, but hopefully someone will find this useful.

--Cheers, all!

 

[borgward]

How about the starters on new cars that have to restart your engine everytime you stop. That's going to be a gold mine for the parts dept and/or planned obsolescence.

 

[zmelli]

I removed my starter, cleaned it then replaced the brushes. If I replace it a denso unit is the only one that I would consider.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Rock Auto lists rebuilt starters from companies I would use (AC Delco, Bosch) for >$200. A NEW starter from TYC is a hundred bucks.