Water pump replacement cost: labor, pump price and your state's rate
Set your type of vehicle and your state: the estimator multiplies the bulletin time for the pump by the local shop rate and adds the pump.
Water pump, sedan, national: typical cost
$226
Range $173 to $345 · pump · before sales tax
| Labor time, sedan | 1.3 h |
| Shop rate, national | $114 to $159 per hour |
| Labor, typical | $175 |
| Parts, typical listing | $51 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How costs are estimated · automaker labor times, BLS technician wages, parts read October 20, 2026 · not a quote
Replacing the water pump of a sedan comes to about $226 at the national median shop rate of $134 an hour, in a range of $173 to $345 for labor and part before sales tax and coolant. The typical SUV figure is $192 and the pickup figure $303, while a luxury car reaches about $533 because its pump is far dearer. The 5 bulletin times read go from 1 h to 2.1 h, and engine layout decides where a car falls: 1.3 h on the turbocharged sedan read, 1.8 h for the electric pump of a pickup. On the reference sedans the pump lists at a median of $51, against $251 for the two European luxury cars, prices read on October 20, 2026. A sedan pump costs about $187 in West Virginia and $261 in the District of Columbia.
What the water pump does and how it is reached
The water pump pushes coolant through the engine block, the cylinder head and the radiator, carrying heat away from the combustion chambers. On many engines it is a mechanical pump turned by the accessory belt or by the timing belt or chain; on some engines it is electric and run by the engine computer. When it leaks at its seal or its bearing gives out, coolant is lost and the engine can overheat, which is why a mechanic will usually want the cause confirmed with a pressure test or an inspection before quoting.
How long the replacement takes depends almost entirely on where the pump sits. A pump bolted to the front of the engine and driven by the outer belt is a short job. A pump driven by the timing belt means removing that belt first, and a pump buried behind a timing chain cover can turn into a long one. This is why the times below differ so much from one engine to the next, and why the type of vehicle alone is a rough guide.
The times read in bulletins
Each figure below is the time an automaker pays its dealers to replace the pump on the engine listed, taken from documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Only one or two engines were found per type, so each type's time is the time of those engines: 1.3 h for the sedan, 1 h for the SUV, 1.8 h for the pickup and 2.1 h for the luxury car.
| Type | Vehicle and engine | Bulletin filed with NHTSA | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxury | 2020-2021 Cadillac CT4 / CT5, 2.0L / 2.7L turbo I4 (LSY/L3B) | GM Customer Satisfaction Program N202320510, December 1, 2020 | 2.1 h |
| Pickup | 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 / GMC Sierra 1500, 2.7L turbo I4 (L3B) | GM Customer Satisfaction Program N202320510, December 1, 2020 | 1.8 h |
| Sedan | 2011-2014 (Sonic 2012-2014) Chevrolet Cruze / Sonic, 1.4L turbo I4 (LUJ/LUV) | GM Special Coverage 14371B, January 2015 | 1.3 h |
| SUV | 2010-2019 Subaru Legacy / Outback, 3.6L H6 | Subaru Service Bulletin 09-83-21R, revised 03/07/22 | 1 h |
| SUV | 2008-2014 Subaru Tribeca, 3.6L H6 | Subaru Service Bulletin 09-83-21R, revised 03/07/22 | 1 h |
Read the table with the engines in mind. The SUV time comes from Subaru six cylinder engines whose pump is reachable without opening the timing chain cover, which that bulletin lists as a separate and much longer operation. The pickup and luxury times are for electric pumps on General Motors turbo engines and include an inspection. The sedan time is for a small turbocharged engine, and its bulletin lists filling the cooling system as an extra line not counted here. The parts, on the other hand, are priced for the reference vehicles of each type, such as the CR-V and Explorer for SUVs, whose engines differ from those in the table. A quote for your own engine can be shorter or much longer.
The pump itself
For the reference sedans, the Camry and the Accord, pumps listed from $24 to $139. The SUV median is $58. The two luxury references stand apart with a median of $251 and a top listing of $725 in the same catalog. Some pumps are sold with a new gasket or seal and a thermostat; others alone. Coolant is not priced in this estimate.
| Type | Reference vehicle | Lowest | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 2016 Honda Accord 2.4L L4 | $31 | $53 | $94 |
| Sedan | 2017 Toyota Camry 2.5L L4 | $24 | $49 | $139 |
| SUV | 2016 Ford Explorer 3.5L V6 | $31 | $64 | $84 |
| SUV | 2017 Honda CR-V 2.4L L4 | $31 | $52 | $94 |
| Pickup | 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L V8 | $33 | $66 | $269 |
| Pickup | 2017 Ford F-150 5.0L V8 | $45 | $57 | $100 |
| Luxury | 2016 BMW 328i 2.0L L4 Turbo | $169 | $336 | $725 |
| Luxury | 2016 Mercedes-Benz C300 2.0L L4 Turbo | $88 | $165 | $433 |
Water pump for your vehicle and state
Water pump, SUV, national: typical cost
$192
| Labor time, SUV | 1 h |
| Shop rate, national | $114 to $159 per hour |
| Labor, typical | $134 |
| Parts, typical listing | $58 |
When the pump and the timing belt share the job
On engines where the timing belt turns the water pump, the belt has to come off to reach the pump, and the pump sits behind the timing belt covers. Many shops therefore suggest replacing the belt, its tensioner and the pump in one visit, since most of the labor is shared. Whether that applies to your engine is something the shop can confirm from its service data. The timing belt page prices the belt job on its own.
A pump failure that led to overheating can leave other damage behind. If the engine ran hot for long, ask the shop whether it checked for a leaking head gasket before replacing the pump; the head gasket page shows why that repair is in a different price class.
The state and the part, side by side
On a sedan the pump is cheap, so labor carries most of the bill and the state rate matters: from about $187 in West Virginia to $261 in the District of Columbia. On a luxury car it is the reverse. The part is most of the bill, and the same job moves only from about $471 to $590 across the states. The state rates scale a national survey of posted shop rates by local technician wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To check a quote line by line, the quote checker compares the hours, the rate and the pump price with your state's band.