neutral/park safety switch - Am I getting ripped off?

Question

My car is a 1999 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder.

I brought in a failed emissions report with a code on it to the auto shop. I looked up the code online and found out it had something to do with the park/neutral safety switch. I told them about it but they said it would cost $105 just for the diagnostic. Sure enough, about 4 hours later they call me and say it has something to do with the neutral/park safety switch and that it'll be $495 total to fix it.

The guy that called said it was because the part was rare and that it's only available from a Toyota dealer, said it was about $300. I really have no idea what these things go for, and I can't seem to find it anywhere online either. I found some other make neutral/park safety switches for a couple dollars, but I'm hoping that's something different.

Anyone know anything about these safety switches? Are they really this expensive to replace?

Thanks so much for any help guys.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, your import vehicle will cost more, on average, for a repair than a domestic. The price quoted to you is on par for such a repair (double checked at local Midwest dealership that I used to work at) Certain things like your brake pads, can be sourced out, and found at auto part stores like Advance or Napa, while many parts are still proprietary (owned by the manufacturer) and can only be found thru the dealer/manufacturer network. Good luck.

Answer 2

Neutral Safety Switch Replacement Cost

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
neutral/park safety switch - Am I getting ripped off?
My car is a 1999 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder.

I brought in a failed emissions report with a code on it to the auto shop. I looked up the code online and found out it had something to do with the park/neutral safety switch. I told them about it but they said it would cost $105 just for the...

Answer 4

$300.00 for a switch? I thought Toyota's were so great. Actually, electrical parts for import cars are usually obscenely priced because the companies in Japan that produce them have a lock on the market over there and charge exorbitant prices...I've priced starter's and alternator's for their cars around here and they were 600.00 or more for factory items. My best suggestion would be to find one in a salvage yard or check the net. Also, maybe bypass the switch entirely and just make sure you start the car in park or neutral to avoid any problems...you just jump the wires together going to and from the switch. Wirediagram.com may have wiring info for it.

Answer 5

I don't know anything about this particular switch but before I'd do anything that expensive I'd find out why it costs that much and what it does, and why it costs an extra $200 to replace it. A rare part for a Toyota Camry? Give me a break. I'd be tempted to do some rewiring and cut this part out altogether if I couldn't find it in a junkyard. A diagnostic for a switch? That sounds shaky, too.

Answer 6

The part number for that switch is 8454020220, it costs $219.57 from Toyota. Book time to replace it is .8 hour. If they were charging $105 to diagnose it, that is probably their labor rate for one hour. That would make the labor to change it $84. What it does is prevent the starter from engaging when the car is in gear.

Answer 7

hmmm, is it an automatic or standard transmission? i just checked autozone.com, and the part is $369.99 for an automatic (special order), and it's not available for a standard. that might not be to bad of a price (expensive), but i would also call around. price the dealer for the part, as well as local autoparts stores in your location.

Answer 8

i own a repair shop,and that is a little high on that job.the part isn't that hard to come by,and its not all that expensive either,but one thing to remember ,your at a dealer,and their prices are usually double those of a regular shop,there not that expensive or that hard to put on,but being that it is coming from a dealer,you could consider it cheap i seen one on a Nissan go for 700 bucks once,and the man actually paid the dealer that much for the part and to put it on,later on though he did get some of his money back,so you can look at that one as being reasonable considering a dealer is doing it,good luck with it hope this helps.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Maybe the part is listed in http://www.smileyautoparts.com check the prices out if it's listed there.