Same job at other shop types (everything else as set above): Independent shop (~$100/hr) $239–$519 (the headline above) · Chain shop / franchise (~$120/hr) $279–$599 · Dealership (~$175/hr) $389–$818. Each figure applies that shop type's hourly labor rate (market estimates, shown above) to the calculator's own hours and parts assumptions. It is modeled, not a quote.
Check a quote against these ranges
This sets your number beside published ranges and owner-written bills. It is not a verdict: ask the shop what the quote includes (parts grade, labor hours, fees, tax). It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How serious did it get for owners?
2% of the 458 complaints report a tow, the most common serious outcome; the other outcomes counted below are rarer, and an owner can file without mentioning one.
Outcomes owners reported in complaints about this part. Towed: 9; Crash reported: 6; Injury reported: 1.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 3-5 years (42%). The biggest difference from all complaints is under 3 years old: 27% against 40%.
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
458 owner complaints name this part.
Owners most often describe "recall mentioned", in 30% of these complaints.
Which other parts do owners name in the same complaint?
Among the 458 owner complaints naming this part, control arm is named in 29% of them, more than any other part.
Owners name the control arm most often in the same complaint, which is not proof that one caused the other. Ask the shop whether it checked the control arm too, so you are not quoted twice for one visit.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
55 mph or faster is the largest group at 46%, out of 196 complaints.
Owners reported it most often at highway speed. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
2015 is the most common model year in 458 complaints naming this part (17%); 4 model years account for 63%.
What it shows: 2015 is the largest at 76 (17%), followed by 2016 at 72 (16%); the smallest shown is 2024 at 5 (1%).
Are the parts for this repair getting more expensive, or only the labor?
The federal producer price index for new steering and suspension parts rose 10.9% from December 2019 to August 2026, while the consumer price index for motor vehicle repair, labor and parts together, rose 55.2% (BLS, national).
Prices of new steering and suspension parts, as shops buy them from makers, since December 2019, against consumer prices for motor vehicle repair. New steering and suspension parts: +10.9%; All motor vehicle parts: +17.4%; Motor vehicle repair, labor and parts together: +55.2%.
Has the replacement part I am buying been recalled?
NHTSA lists 1 equipment recalls that name suspension control since 2015 (suspension and steering), covering 6,353 items sold as parts rather than whole vehicles; the largest, by Gillig Llc in 2020, covered 6,353.
| Year | Maker and product | NHTSA component | Defect | Items |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Gillig Llc: Rear Suspension Cont. Rod | rear | certain aftermarket rear suspension lower control rods, part number 82-74712-000. | 6,353 |
Has this part been recalled abroad on cars that may share it?
Manufacturers filed 6 foreign recall campaigns that name suspension control with NHTSA since 2015; the latest, from Hyundai Motor America in 2024-03. These are recalls abroad, and they apply to U.S. cars only if the same model is sold here.
| Filed | Manufacturer | Foreign recall no. | What the filing says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-09 | General Motors | 170 | In some cases, these crashes were severe enough to deform the front lower control arm bushing of the vehicles. |
| 2019-05 | Mercedes-Benz | 104 | If the clevis were to break, the vehicle body would lower at the affected wheel, and contact the upper control arm of the suspension. |
| 2024-03 | Hyundai Motor America | 067 | Description of the defect/noncompliance: The bolt(s) securing the front suspension upper control arm(s) to the vehicle's frame could have sustained damage during installation due to insufficient heat treatment by the supplier. |
| 2019-03 | Mercedes-Benz | 063 | In that case, the vehicle height would be reduced at the affected wheel, as the vehicle body is lowered to the upper control arm of the suspension. |
How many recalled cars are actually fixed, so should I check mine?
Across 1 NHTSA recalls that name suspension control filed 2015 to 2024, 99.4% of the 3,738 recalled vehicles had been repaired after 8 quarters, against 66.2% for all recalls, which leaves about 22 vehicles still carrying the defect.
| Year | Vehicles | Recalled vehicles | Repaired | Component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Tahoe; | 3,738 | 99.4% | front control arm |
Which counties have the roughest roads?
FHWA's road-condition records show poor ride quality (above 170 inches per mile of roughness) on 89.1% of measured road miles in District of Columbia, DC, 74.1% in Baltimore city, MD and 65.4% in Marion County, WV, against 13.8% in the median county.
What it shows: District of Columbia, DC is the largest at 89.1%, followed by Baltimore city, MD at 74.1%; the smallest shown is New Castle County, DE at 51.9%.
How often does this part fail a real inspection, by car age?
In 181,687 New Jersey initial inspections in 2025 of vehicles sent through the safety lane, 1.0% of cars aged 16+ years failed the steering and suspension test against 0.0% of cars under 3 years (record counts, not a sample).
What it shows: 16+ is the largest at 1.0%, followed by <3 at 0.0%; the smallest shown is <3 at 0.0%.
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeep | Grand Cherokee L 2021–2026; Grand Cherokee 4xe 2021–2026 and 1 more | 9100811 Rev 4 | Jun 25, 2026 | Clunking when going over bumps, potholes, or turns. |
| Jeep | Grand Cherokee 4xe 2021–2026; Grand Cherokee L 2021–2026 and 1 more | S2102000004 REV.D | Jun 25, 2026 | WL front control arm bushing - handling link has loose rubber. |
| Jeep | Grand Cherokee 2021–2026; Grand Cherokee L 2021–2026 and 1 more | S2102000004 REV.C | Apr 24, 2026 | WL front control arm bushing - handling link has. |
| Jeep | Wagoneer S 2024; Cherokee 2024 | S2402000003 | Nov 22, 2024 | Front control arm bushing has rubber peeled away from the bushing. |
| Subaru | Forester 2015–2025; XV Crosstrek 2015–2024 and 12 more | 03-94-24 | Sep 4, 2024 | This bulletin outlines the judgment criteria to be used when inspecting front transverse link bushings to reduce unnecessary bushing replacement. |
| Chrysler | 300 2023 | 02-008-24 | May 15, 2024 | "Front Control Arm Bushings Under Cured The technician or customer may notice the following: Knock or rattle noise when going over bumps. |
27 more bulletins name this part; the car finder at the top checks yours, and the NHTSA bulletin file linked below lists them all.
Manufacturer warranty extensions naming this part (1)
| Maker | Vehicles | Date | Notice number | What the maker extended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda | Pilot 2009–2010 | Dec 30, 2015 | WE-15-044 | Front suspension rear lower arm bushing cracking. |
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
I’ve found a plastic bushing that showed a $4.00 part could be responsible.
Front Upper Arm Bushing on both the Driver’s and Passenger sides needed to be replace after less than 25,000 miles.
The sway bar bushings failed under 36000 miles.
The front engine sub-frame bushings separated at 63,339 miles.
Check your car
The calculator's default for one side is $239-$519, using aftermarket bushings at a $100 hourly rate. Vehicle size, shop type, bushing grade and whether you fix one side or both move that range most.
What the price covers and what it leaves out
The default covers labor and aftermarket bushings for one side. It does not cover an alignment, which is normally needed after a control arm is unbolted, or a worn ball joint on the same arm. If a shop presses the bushings out of the old arm, the job is mostly labor. If the arm comes as one assembly with the bushings already installed, the parts line grows and the labor line shrinks.
What changes the number
| Choice | Range |
|---|---|
| Default (aftermarket, one side, $100/hr) | $239-$519 |
| Chain shop / franchise (about $120/hr) | $279-$599 |
| Dealership (about $175/hr) | $389-$818 |
| Midsize / standard vehicle | $369-$698 |
| SUV / truck | $499-$898 |
| Luxury / performance | $499-$898 |
| OEM bushings | $279-$638 |
| Both sides | $479-$1,037 |
Hourly rate is the lever you control by choosing where to go. Vehicle class moves it as much, because larger and luxury vehicles have bigger arms and more work to reach them. OEM bushings add little next to the labor.
What the estimate leaves out
The calculator assumes the bolts come out cleanly. Rusted fasteners and seized sleeves add labor, and shops in salted regions often quote that risk up front. Taxes, shop fees and disposal charges are also outside the range.
Frequently asked questions
Should I replace both sides at once?
Bushings on both sides age together, and the calculator puts both sides at $479-$1,037. Doing the second side in the same visit avoids paying for a second alignment and a second lift appointment.
Can I drive on a worn bushing?
Short-term, usually yes if the steering feels normal. Once the car wanders or the clunk gets louder, stop putting it off.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) downloaded 2026-10-05
- BLS Producer Price Index, commodity data for motor vehicle parts (series WPU14120502); BLS Consumer Price Index item SETD for the repair row downloaded August 2026
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall flat file (equipment recalls, report type E) downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, Foreign Campaigns (filings under 49 CFR 579.11, public API) downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall quarterly reports (basis of the Annual List of Recall Completion Rates) downloaded 2026-10-05
- FHWA Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) national section data, roughness (IRI) by county; poor-ride cut from the FHWA Conditions and Performance Report data from 2026
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Vehicle Inspection Data downloaded 2026-10
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Derived: computed from the records; an association, not a cause.
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Checked against RepairPal's range ($321–$437) on 2026-10-10: our default's midpoint is 0% above the middle of that range. Price evidence grade C: one outside published range; the hours and parts prices behind the estimate are CalcScrape assumptions and have not been checked against repair invoices. Methodology