Every car has at least one ignition coil. The purpose of an ignition coil is to increase the voltage generated by the car’s battery to ignite the fuel and start the engine. A car battery typically produces a current of 12 volts.
The ignition coil transforms this low voltage into over 15,000 volts, which is the amount a car needs to start. Without good ignition coils, your car will not be able to start or run.
Many recent cars have multiple ignition coils, one for each spark plug. This means that if your ignition coils wear out, you need to spend more money to replace them. In addition to that, you also have more labor costs associated with their replacement. You will know when your ignition coils are going bad when you experience engine misfires, poor gas efficiency, car stalling, or a car that doesn’t start at all. At this point, you should be wary of your ignition coils.
Here are some steps to determine faulty coils:
- Start the engine
- Remove ignition coil 1
Observe changes in the engine’s condition: If the engine becomes rough or vibrates, suspect a malfunctioning ignition coil. But if the engine’s condition does not change, it means the ignition coil is good.
Repeat this process for ignition coil No. 2, 3, 4
But it is better to take your car to an auto body shop and have them perform a diagnostic test. This should cost you between $50 and $100 just for the test. If it turns out that you need new ignition coils, your costs will be significantly higher. Remember that you cannot replace just one ignition coil if your car has multiple ignition coils. Generally, if one coil goes bad, all coils should be replaced together. Otherwise, you risk having another coil become faulty immediately after replacing the last bad coil.
The average cost to replace the ignition coil
The average cost of a single ignition coil ranges from $75 to $300. The actual cost will depend on the make and model of your vehicle. Another big expense comes from the labor hourly rate. Nowadays, most auto body shops charge $100 per hour to perform any type of maintenance on your vehicle. Fortunately, replacing ignition coils takes a mechanic about 30 to 40 minutes. So you’re looking at about $60 for the labor costs associated with the job. If you only have one ignition coil to replace, you will pay between $135 and $360. But if you are replacing multiple ignition coils, you could expect between $270 and $500 just to account for the costs of the additional coils and extra labor time.