FixValve Cover Gasket Replacement Cost
What owners actually paid
The shaded middle is where half of all these repairs landed: $190 – $495. The price on any one car depends on the vehicle — the table below shows the range for each.
What this repair is
The valve cover gasket seals the top of the engine. When it hardens with age, oil seeps down the engine sides — the classic slow oil leak with a burning smell after highway driving. The gasket itself is cheap; access is what sets the labor on V-type engines.
Valve Cover Gasket 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota Camry | $144 – $292 | $201 |
| Chevrolet Cruze | $244 – $450 | $328 |
| Honda Accord | $147 – $380 | $233 |
| Ford F-150 | $307 – $842 | $535 |
| Honda Civic | $166 – $355 | $240 |
| Honda CR-V | $207 – $427 | $300 |
| Jeep Wrangler | $196 – $598 | $330 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | $242 – $482 | $350 |
| Ford Focus | $161 – $344 | $222 |
| Toyota Corolla | $167 – $326 | $227 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee | $184 – $499 | $291 |
| Nissan Altima | $153 – $374 | $246 |
| Hyundai Sonata | $240 – $491 | $328 |
| Buick Encore | $258 – $569 | $385 |
| Ford Ranger | $203 – $458 | $320 |
| Toyota RAV4 | $173 – $355 | $252 |
| Ford Explorer | $280 – $546 | $387 |
| Ford F-250 | $297 – $661 | $447 |
| Subaru Outback | $310 – $622 | $439 |
| Ford Escape | $245 – $617 | $445 |
| Chevrolet Sonic | $264 – $495 | $379 |
| Ford Fusion | $177 – $420 | $263 |
| Jeep Cherokee | $164 – $302 | $216 |
| Toyota Tacoma | $240 – $497 | $370 |
| Subaru Legacy | $192 – $341 | $258 |
| Toyota Pickup | $119 – $266 | $158 |
| Toyota 4Runner | $235 – $474 | $354 |
| Toyota Tundra | $313 – $564 | $415 |
| BMW 328i | $593 – $1,244 | $913 |
| Dodge Ram 1500 | $208 – $468 | $301 |
| Ford F-350 | $306 – $755 | $539 |
| GMC Sierra 1500 | $241 – $545 | $379 |
| Kia Optima | $246 – $469 | $338 |
| Chrysler Town & Country | $322 – $542 | $433 |
| Subaru Forester | $277 – $569 | $405 |
| Hyundai Elantra | $141 – $319 | $204 |
| Mini Cooper | $305 – $795 | $596 |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | $245 – $523 | $386 |
| Honda Odyssey | $376 – $622 | $509 |
| Chevrolet Trax | $287 – $564 | $432 |
Middle half of real invoices (25th–75th percentile) for that make and model, parts + labor.
What moves the price
- Inline or V — V-engines have two covers, and the rear one is often under the intake.
- Cover condition — warped plastic covers can't seal — replacing the cover costs more.
Quotes near the low end usually mean one gasket on an inline engine with clear access. Quotes near the high end usually mean both banks on a V-engine, cover replaced because it's warped or cracked, intake removed for the rear bank.
The complaints behind this repair
Owners who end up with this repair most often came in with: Oil Leak · Burning Smell From Car · Car Running Rough or Misfiring. 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.
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