A/C Expansion Valve Replacement Cost

Based on real repair records · last updated October 20, 2026

$454

typical range $262 – $844 (parts + labor, all vehicles)

typical labor time 3 hrs · parts $73 · labor $288 · the rest is shop fees & tax (medians)

Median and middle-half range computed from real AC expansion valve replacement repairs across all makes and models.

What owners actually paid

$262

1 in 4 paid less

$454

half paid less, half paid more

$844

3 in 4 paid less

The shaded middle is where half of all these repairs landed: $262 – $844. The price on any one car depends on the vehicle — the table below shows the range for each.

What this repair is

The expansion valve (or orifice tube) is the metering point where refrigerant flashes cold. When it clogs or sticks, the A/C blows warm, cycles oddly, or freezes up — often with correct refrigerant pressure on one side and nonsense on the other. The part is small; evacuating, replacing, and recharging the sealed system is the real work.

A/C Expansion Valve Replacement cost by vehicle

The most-repaired vehicles first. Each range is the middle half of real invoices for that vehicle; vehicles with their own page carry the full breakdown, real repair reports and a printable Fair Price Report.

Vehicle	Typical cost	Median
Ford F-150	$308 – $704	$419
Dodge Grand Caravan	$521 – $1,108	$723
Chrysler Town & Country	$544 – $1,036	$852
Ford F-250	$256 – $724	$458
Subaru Forester	$373 – $800	$545
Toyota Tacoma	$1,095 – $2,169	$1,908
Chevrolet Silverado 1500	$234 – $577	$359
Honda Civic	$414 – $745	$542
Ford Escape	$161 – $372	$240
Honda Accord	$300 – $783	$439
Honda CR-V	$600 – $1,080	$796
Jeep Grand Cherokee	$266 – $1,003	$381
Toyota Camry	$552 – $1,828	$1,079

Middle half of real invoices (25th–75th percentile) for that make and model, parts + labor.

What moves the price

Where it lives — an orifice tube in a line is quick; a valve at the evaporator behind the dash is hours.
Drier renewal — opened systems usually get a new drier — standard, and a real parts add.
Refrigerant type — R-1234yf charges cost far more than R-134a.

Quotes near the low end usually mean orifice tube in an accessible line, partial charge. Quotes near the high end usually mean valve buried behind the dash, drier renewed with it, full recharge of a large system.

The complaints behind this repair

Owners who end up with this repair most often came in with: Car A/C Not Cold · Fluid Leaking From Car. Each of those pages shows how often the complaint actually ends in this fix, and what the alternatives cost.

Not sure what's wrong yet?

Start from what the car is doing. The FixDozer drill asks a few plain questions and shows which fixes that complaint usually turns out to be — with the real cost of each.

Start from the symptom

Where these numbers come from. FixDozer computes statistics from a large, continuously updated body of real-world US automotive repair records.
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