I need to replace motor mounts

[Shel_B]

2011 Camry, 4-cyl engine

I've needed motor mounts for a while, but only recently got a definite diagnosis, so I've been driving for close to a year with mounts that were less-than-ideal. The shop that I usually go to said I need all four mounts, three for the engine and the transmission mount. It's a spendy job here in the San Francisco area, and I was quoted a price of $1,700 + tax.

I would like to get a second and maybe a third opinion on this project. My concerns are if I really need all four mounts, can the job be done competently elsewhere, possibly for less $$$. That means bringing the car to other shops, which I have already chosen, and driving on these bad mounts for a while longer.

What kind of additional damage can be done by continuing to drive on these mounts? How likely is it that all four are needed? I know that it may be difficult to answer these questions without seeing the situation firsthand, but I'm wondering if someone has some experience with this and can provide some feedback based on such experience? There is no way that I can do this myself. I need a shop, so DIY is out of the question.

Thanks for any assistance here.

 

[HankHill]

Your car is FWD, I only have experience with RWD engine / transmission mounts honestly. I'm not sure what exactly happen with that design when they fail.

The only advice I can offer you is a warning, do not let anyone put anchor mounts in your car.. The anchor mounts I've used have always failed within 5k miles. Three different times, just absolute garbage. Much like dorman products.

 

[Trav]

There is about $600 inc shipping for all 4 OE Toyota from an online dealer. $1100 is a lot of labor, way too much. Without the book in front of me I would guess about $400-500 for labor. Find somewhere else.

 

[JavierH19]

A lot of mechanics will say to change everything when they see that one failed even while the others have not but think will fail soon. Logically one thinks it's because they're trying to get more money out of you and that can be the case but they're also trying to prevent you from coming back and saying that an engine mount they replaced went bad because you only wanted one changed and not the others so it just complicates things for them in the end. Also driving on bad engine mount isn't that bad if you accelerate slowly. When you rev an engine with good mounts it doesn't twist much but when you rev an engine with multiple or all bad engine mounts it twists hard and that can damage things. But I doubt every single one failed and it's normally not that big of a deal. I drove for thousands of miles in my old ranger with a bad mount and it was fine. Vibrated a little but it caused no damage and I still floored it a little. Got tired of the vibration and changed it and it went back to being smooth but nothing ever got damaged. But your car's engine is transverse and so is the transmission so the driveline motion is different than longitudinal and rwd. But on the topic of price I think they're mugging you that seems way too high.

 

[Rand]

motor mounts arent exactly high tech. Generally you cant go wrong if you USE OEM MOUNTS ONLY! and any decent independent can do it.

 

[Shel_B]

I should have mentioned that I plan to use original Toyota mounts.

 

[14Accent]

First off... why does your 2011 Camry need motor mounts? Especially being the 4 cylinder. What are your symptoms?

 

[HankHill]

The OEM mounts lasted about 180k in my old cherokee. The anchor mounts I replaced them with, both failed at exactly the same time, around 5k miles. One tore, forces changed on other, it tore.

Good to hear you're going OEM. Smart of you.

How many miles on your car currently?

 

[zzyzzx]

I used cheap Anchor mounts on my Escort, and they worked fine. However, OE mounts were unavailable.

 

[FZ1]

2011 Camry, 4-cyl engine

I've needed motor mounts for a while, but only recently got a definite diagnosis, so I've been driving for close to a year with mounts that were less-than-ideal. The shop that I usually go to said I need all four mounts, three for the engine and the transmission mount. It's a spendy job here in the San Francisco area, and I was quoted a price of $1,700 + tax.

I would like to get a second and maybe a third opinion on this project. My concerns are if I really need all four mounts, can the job be done competently elsewhere, possibly for less $$$. That means bringing the car to other shops, which I have already chosen, and driving on these bad mounts for a while longer.

What kind of additional damage can be done by continuing to drive on these mounts? How likely is it that all four are needed? I know that it may be difficult to answer these questions without seeing the situation firsthand, but I'm wondering if someone has some experience with this and can provide some feedback based on such experience? There is no way that I can do this myself. I need a shop, so DIY is out of the question.

Thanks for any assistance here.

Go to a dealer first to see what it needs and how much it should cost, then, go from there. $500 10 years ago at Honda dealer for 1 motor mount on an Accord V6. Hope this helps.

 

[Propflux01]

Why not change them yourself? I've done it on two cars a Kia and a Hyundai. they are not that hard if you have a jack.

 

[14Accent]

The only mount I can think of on a Camry of most ANY vintage is the upper "dogbone" mount that attaches to the RH strut tower. Other than that, the main mounts are pretty much bulletproof.

 

[drtyler]

First off... why does your 2011 Camry need motor mounts? Especially being the 4 cylinder. What are your symptoms?

Is this the same 2011 Camry that he wants a Brembo big brake kit for?

 

[eljefino]

It's not likely good for your exhaust to have the motor flopping around more than it should be. If it gets really bad it could mess up your CV joint angles. You're fine to drive around a little more.

Any mechanic can change mounts, find a nice independent in the hills. They might even argue with you that you don't need them all.

 

[Shel_B]

Your car is FWD, I only have experience with RWD engine / transmission mounts honestly. I'm not sure what exactly happen with that design when they fail.

The only advice I can offer you is a warning, do not let anyone put anchor mounts in your car.. The anchor mounts I've used have always failed within 5k miles. Three different times, just absolute garbage. Much like dorman products.

What are anchor mounts? A brand? A type of mount? I plan to go with Toyota mounts.

 

[Shel_B]

There is about $600 inc shipping for all 4 OE Toyota from an online dealer. $1100 is a lot of labor, way too much. Without the book in front of me I would guess about $400-500 for labor. Find somewhere else.

Labor rates in the San Francisco Bay Area are quite high compared to other parts of the country. I could buy from an online dealer and save a few $$, but I won't get the parts warranteed if there's an issue. The shops I'd use all offer a parts/labor warranty for between 12 and 24 months.

 

[Shel_B]

The OEM mounts lasted about 180k in my old cherokee. The anchor mounts I replaced them with, both failed at exactly the same time, around 5k miles. One tore, forces changed on other, it tore.

Good to hear you're going OEM. Smart of you.

How many miles on your car currently?

About 90,000

 

[Passport1]

The two engine mounts, dog bone and trans mount are $162 from Rock Auto. Rent an engine hoist and do it yourself. Probably a PIA job but a couple of hours of swearing and a bloody knuckle or two and you're done. I've done several engine mounts, no Toyotas but its generally not a difficult job.

 

[Shel_B]

Why not change them yourself? I've done it on two cars a Kia and a Hyundai. they are not that hard if you have a jack.

I don't have a work space, I don't have proper tools, I don't have the physical agility being almost 80yo, and I don't have the inclination. I guess you missed that in my original post.

 

[Shel_B]

The two engine mounts, dog bone and trans mount are $162 from Rock Auto. Rent an engine hoist and do it yourself. Probably a PIA job but a couple of hours of swearing and a bloody knuckle or two and you're done. I've done several engine mounts, no Toyotas but its generally not a difficult job.

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Not buying those mounts. Not crawling around on my back in the driveway or parking lot. BTW, I've watched several techs replace mounts in various YouTube videos, so I have some idea of what to do, and it's not a couple of hours for me. See my other posts on the subject.