What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($1,183)MiddleHigher-cost states ($1,507)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $1,507 and AR the lowest at $1,183, across 51 states.
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 under 3 years old (86%), against 40% for all complaints: the biggest difference between the two.
Is it urgent, and what do owners notice first?
286 owner complaints name this part.
Owners say the dealer could not fix or repeat the problem. If it comes back after a repair, ask what was tested before you pay again.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
5-24 mph leads at 61%.
Owners reported it most often in parking lots and slow traffic. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 286 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2024 is the largest at 185 (65%), followed by 2015 at 11 (4%); the smallest shown is 2018 at 5 (2%).
When in the year do owners report it?
NHTSA owner complaints about this part run furthest above the usual seasonal share in January: about 127% more of them name an incident that month than complaints about any part would predict. A complaint is a report, not a measured failure.
What it shows: January is the largest at 21% (all: 9%), followed by February at 11% (all: 8%); the smallest shown is May at 3% (all: 8%).
Which drive types show up most in complaints about this part?
Among 274 owner complaints about this part where the VIN identifies the vehicle, 67% involve vehicles with AWD/All-Wheel Drive, against 16% of complaints about all the parts we track.
Drive type of the vehicles in complaints about this part, against all tracked parts. AWD/All-Wheel Drive: 67%; FWD/Front-Wheel Drive: 17%; 4WD/4-Wheel Drive/4x4: 10%.
Are the parts for this repair getting more expensive, or only the labor?
The federal producer price index for new transmission and power train parts rose 13.5% 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 transmission and power train parts, as shops buy them from makers, since December 2019, against consumer prices for motor vehicle repair. New transmission and power train parts: +13.5%; All motor vehicle parts: +17.4%; Motor vehicle repair, labor and parts together: +55.2%.
Has this part been recalled abroad on cars that may share it?
Manufacturers filed 1 foreign recall campaigns that name cv joint with NHTSA since 2015 (matched by the filing text); the latest, from ZF North America in 2026-02.
| Filed | Manufacturer | Foreign recall no. | What the filing says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02 | ZF. | 019 | Full corporate name of fabricating manufacturer ZF CVS Turkey Sakarya 1, OSB 1, Cadde No. |
How many cars have the drivetrain this repair fixes?
EPA's Automotive Trends data show four-wheel or all-wheel drive in 63.3% of new vehicles in model year 2024 against 26.8% in 2005, so more cars now carry a transfer case or rear differential that needs servicing (sales-weighted national shares).
| Model year | Front-wheel drive | Rear-wheel drive | Four-wheel or all-wheel drive | Trucks and SUVs with four-wheel drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 55.5% | 24.3% | 20.2% | 46.3% |
| 2005 | 53.0% | 20.2% | 26.8% | 52.2% |
| 2010 | 59.6% | 13.7% | 26.7% | 61.0% |
| 2014 | 55.3% | 12.1% | 32.6% | 68.3% |
| 2018 | 43.7% | 10.2% | 46.1% | 75.6% |
| 2021 | 31.6% | 10.0% | 58.5% | 82.3% |
| 2024 | 29.2% | 7.5% | 63.3% | 85.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | Aviator 2020–2026 | SSM 54827 | May 15, 2026 | Some 2020-2026 Explorer/Police Interceptor Utility/Aviator vehicles may require replacement of the front drive halfshaft inner/outer CV joint boot for various reasons. |
| RAM | Promaster City 2015–2017 | 9003641 | Nov 30, 2016 | Shaft, Axle Half Clunking noise at low speed due to worn Half Shaft, CV Joint or Tripod Joint. |
Manufacturer warranty extensions naming this part (1)
| Maker | Vehicles | Date | Notice number | What the maker extended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi | Q5 2018–2020 | Feb 7, 2023 | AWA 23 | CV joint. |
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
2024 Honda Prologue, 434 miles outside of warranty, CV joints failing and requires over $1,000 out of pocket.
In May 2026 the vehicle experienced a CV joint failure at 20,411 miles — approximately 1,000 miles after the January repair.
Vehicle CV joints failed at 6000 miles, dealership took over 3 weeks to replace them.
I recently reported my Ford maverick for the failure of the front right CV joint/axle at 22k miles.
Check your car
The typical CV joint replacement cost is $851–$1,872 for one outer joint with a new boot, at an independent-rate shop of about $120 an hour. Whether you need only the boot, one joint or both sides moves that number most, followed by the shop you choose.
What does a CV joint replacement cost include?
Our estimate prices one outer CV joint with its boot, plus the labor to remove the wheel, free the axle and refit it. It's parts and labor together, for a typical front-wheel-drive car.
Many shops do that, because swapping the full shaft often costs about the same as rebuilding one joint.
The estimate leaves out an alignment, a wheel bearing that failed alongside the joint, and any towing. It also leaves out taxes and shop fees. Ask whether any of those are on your quote.
How much do shop type, scope and quantity change the CV joint replacement cost?
Each row below changes one setting from the default. Boot-only is the cheapest fix, and it only works if the joint itself isn't damaged yet.
| Setting | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Default: one outer joint + boot, $120/hr shop | $851–$1,872 |
| Inner boot only | $383–$851 |
| Both sides (two joints + boots) | $1,498–$3,336 |
| Independent shop ($100/hr) | $766–$1,702 |
If your quote for one joint sits far above the top of the default range, get a second price. A quote near the bottom is fine if it names the part and the hours.
Should you replace the joint, the boot or the whole axle?
Replace only the boot if it has just torn and the joint still turns quietly. Clean the old grease, repack the joint and fit a new boot. Once dirt has entered, the joint wears fast, and a boot alone won't save it.
Replace the joint or the whole axle once you hear clicking. Most mechanics prefer a complete axle shaft, since a new unit is more reliable than a rebuilt one. Ask which they're quoting, and ask whether the part is new, remanufactured or original-brand.
How do you tell it's the CV joint, and how urgent is it?
A rhythmic click or pop when you turn is the classic sign of a worn outer joint. Grease flung on the inside of the wheel, or a torn rubber boot, points the same way. A vibration when you accelerate can mean the inner joint.
A torn boot can wait a short while, but not months. A loud click or clunking means you should book the repair this week, because a joint that breaks can leave the car unable to drive. Don't keep driving on a joint that's binding or knocking.
How do you get a fair CV joint replacement cost quote?
Ask for the part, the labor hours and the shop rate on separate lines. Ask whether it's the joint, the boot or the full axle, and which side. Then check the total against your row in the table above.
Ask the shop to show you the torn boot or the worn joint. Ask what the warranty covers, and whether alignment or a wheel bearing is included. If a shop recommends both sides, ask why the second side needs it now.
What do owners ask about this repair?
Can I drive with a clicking CV joint? For a short trip to a shop, usually yes. Driving for weeks risks a break that strands the car, so don't put it off.
Is a torn CV boot an emergency? It isn't an emergency, but it's the cheapest moment to fix it. Waiting until the joint clicks turns a boot job into a joint or axle job.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- NHTSA owner complaint files with VINs decoded by NHTSA vPIC data from 2025
- BLS Producer Price Index, commodity data for motor vehicle parts (series WPU14120503); BLS Consumer Price Index item SETD for the repair row file downloaded August 2026
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, Foreign Campaigns (filings under 49 CFR 579.11, public API) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- U.S. EPA, The 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report (EPA-420-R-26-001) file downloaded 2026-10
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote. 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 ($1,309–$1,414) on 2026-10-06: our default's midpoint is 0% above the middle of that range. Methodology