
When you find out that one or both of your fog lights dont work you are beginning to search for their replacement. Additionally to money spent on fog lights you may have to empty your wallet for their installation by mechanic.
Then you might be wondering: how much does it cost to install fog lights for your vehicle?
The following article will answer your question and many others assisting you in determining the final price for your fog light replacement.
What are Prices for the Fog Light Installation?
Usually, a fog light replacement performed by a seasoned car mechanic may cost from 160$ to 400$.
On numerous vehicle forums related to fog light installation cost users share their thoughts and experience on that topic.
On the toyotanation.com forum members note that only work fees for OEM style fog light and wiring installation for 2021 Camry XSE will cost 325$, while OEM fog light kit itself costs 200$. The total price of the kit and replacement works easily reaches 525$.
Another chargerforums.com users were discussing fog light cost replacement for Dodge Charger. Fog light price was about 119$, the same as was mentioned in the internet, about 170$ was charged for the labor plus 85$ for computer programming.
It is worth mentioning here that computer programming for fog lights of this vehicle is necessary, otherwise they won't be active. The total cost of everything increased to 225$.
One of the members of 9thgencivic.com thread was wondering about labor price for fog light installation. He found replacement by himself kinda challenging, so it was decided to let this job to a Honda dealer. While browsing several dealerships in the area, he discovered that installation with a fog light kit, which is already available, will cost from 169.90 to 500 bucks.
Other forum participants admitted that this job which involves the front bumper cover removal and running of additional wires should cost no more than 100$-150$.
What Factors Determine Fog Installation Cost?
There are several reasons why fog light costs for one vehicle can be lower or higher than for another. Below we will mention all these factors, so you could easily understand what makes your fog light replacement price.
Location
You might have noticed, that in exquisite areas of the city costs can have quite a noticeable difference rather than in the suburbs.
Why so? In places with lower levels of living people are willing to look for fair and affordable prices while in rich areas full of expensive vehicles costs are high.
Type of the Vehicle
Many car repair shops “estimate” vehicles which enter their site. That's why a fog light replacement for a luxurious large sedan will be much more expensive than for a tiny budget urban car. If you`re an owner of a posh sedan, prices can be equally high whether you are searching for a service in the city center or its suburbs.
The same can be said about official car dealerships. A fog light cost for a budget car is much lower than for an expensive and luxurious vehicle.
Car mechanic
When it comes to trusting your vehicle to a repairman, you want to know that it's a professional and aware of everything. Undoubtedly, a seasoned car mechanic with a lot of positive reviews is a guarantee that your issue will be addressed as it should.
Usually, such experienced mechanics have a lot of customers meaning that your car will be waiting for its turn. Moreover, skilled mechanics with a good reputation tend to charge more for their services.
Surely, you can resort to a less-experienced car repairman, but you have to be sure that he had some experience (like fog light replacement in our case) before.
Still, cost for services can depend from mechanic to mechanic.
How to Change Fog Light Bulbs On Your Own?
Usually, a fog light bulb replacement is a relatively easy task. However, it requires gentle and sequent actions for the job to be properly done. If you are unsure that you can change fog lights yourself, resort to a seasoned car mechanic.
Still, if you are willing to acquire some skills and save some of your costs follow the step by step guide below.
Before getting started it is advised to prepare some items which certainly will come into play.
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Fog light bulbs for your vehicle. Make sure that the chosen fog light bulbs are intended for your vehicle. To find out which fog light bulb is required for your vehicle, you can: peep into the user's owner manual, confer with dealerships,or visit forums devoted to your vehicle.
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Your owner`s manual. Location of fog light attachments in every vehicle can be different, manual here can ease the process of finding out their placement.
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A flat (or cross) screwdriver. Screwdriver will help to remove plastic guards.
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A pair of latex or cloth gloves. It will keep your hands protected and clean while doing the job.
Note: some of the steps can be different depending on the vehicle you have. On some cars fog lights can be reached behind the front bumper while on other vehicles it can be done through the top of the engine bay.
Now move on to the fog light bulb replacement step by step procedure.
Step 1: Access and fog light bulb location
To ease the access to the fog light, turn the steering wheel left (or right), so the wheel won't obstruct the fender guard. Undo the plastic screws on your fender guard. Remove the plastic guard completely to have access to the fog light bulb socket.
Step 2: Unplugging the connector from the fog light bulb
Before applying to the action, do not hesitate to check that your ignition is off completely. On the socket plug locate two lock tabs. Pinch these clips inward and carefully take out the plug vertically down from the plug of the bulb. Now, delicately take out the fog light bulb from its housing by turning it counterclockwise.
Step 3: Placement of a new fog light bulb
With the plug facing away from you, put the new bulb into the housing. To secure glass of the bulb from moisture, wear latex or cloth gloves. Make sure that the bulb fits tightly and doesn't wobble.
Step 4: Reconnecting wires to their positions
Place the connector by inserting the wire plug into the fog light bulb until you hear a click. Connectors are fitting only by one side, so you wont mess it up.
Step 5: Assembling everything back
With the fog light bulb being replaced, attentively put everything back to its placement.
Step 6: Check new fog lights
Once everything is done, check your new fog lights. Turn fog lamps on and approach the front of your vehicle to make sure that everything works as it has to.
Conclusion
The cost of fog light replacement can depend on several factors like location, type of the vehicle, and mechanic experience. Local dealerships usually charge more for their services rather than repair shops.
You can save your money by performing fog light replacement on your own, however if you are unsure of your skills it is recommended to let this job to a professional.