Highlights

When the check engine light illuminates on the dashboard, drivers in the District of Columbia now pay the most ($467.11) on average, while vehicle owners in Wyoming pay the least ($308.76) to have it fixed, according to CarMD, which analyzed parts and labor needs data from nearly 100,000 model year 1996 to 2014 vehicles needing repairs in 2014. Rounding out the five most expensive states for auto repairs are Delaware (no. 2), New Jersey (no. 3), California (no. 4) and Connecticut (no. 5). After Wyoming, the most affordable states for car repairs are Montana (no. 50), Nebraska (no. 49), Michigan (no. 48) and Vermont (no. 47).

A leading provider of automotive diagnostic data and solutions for consumers, fleets and usage-based insurance companies, CarMD publishes this annual state-by-state ranking as part of its CarMD® Vehicle Health Index™. This Index is designed to bring awareness to the industry and consumers about the importance of check engine light health to minimize vehicle cost of ownership.

Other key findings

• It Pays to Address Small Problems: The least expensive states have a higher percentage of repairs that can be addressed in a matter of minutes versus major parts replacements that require days in the shop. For example, the need for catalytic converter replacements occurred nearly half as frequently in Montana as they did in D.C. A catalytic converter is a pricey part that can fail prematurely if you put off smaller repairs such as spark plug or oxygen sensor replacements.
• Repair Costs Vary by State: The same repair can vary in cost from state to state. To replace a car’s thermostat in Alaska is $137 on average for parts and labor, whereas the same type of repair in Colorado costs on average $302, including parts and labor. A catalytic converter replacement costs on average $1,345 in D.C., but only $849 in Wyoming. And the average cost for parts and labor to replace a car’s oxygen sensor(s) in 2014 varied from a low of $216 in Wyoming to a high of $290 in Delaware. If left unfixed, a faulty O2 sensor can negatively impact a car’s fuel economy by as much as 40 percent as well as trigger additional problems, premature failure and additional future repairs.
• U.S. Average: The average cost for check engine light-related repairs in the U.S. in 2014 was $390.38. Hawaii and Missouri are the states closest to the U.S. average both at $390.13, which is just 25 cents from the national mean.
• Changes in Rank: New Mexico moved from among the five least expensive states for car repair in 2013 to the eighth most expensive state for auto repairs in 2014 due to a substantial increase in parts costs. Conversely, Wyoming dropped from no. 14 to no. 51, as a result of decreases in both parts and labor costs.
• Labor and Parts Costs: North Dakota car owners paid the most ($185.92), while for the second year in a row New Hampshire drivers paid the least ($135.69) in labor charges on average. District of Columbia vehicle owners paid the most for parts ($296.62), while Wyoming drivers paid the least ($157.27) on average for car parts.

Stats

CarMD’s ranking of the five states/districts with the highest car repair costs in 2014:

CarMD ranking of the five states/districts with the lowest car repair costs in 2014:

State-by-State Ranking of Average Check Engine Light Car Repair Costs – 2014
(Source: CarMD.com Corp., CarMD® Vehicle Health Index™)