Honda Car Forum

The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.

Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
epoxy and a short wire attached to it.

Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
100 years.

I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!

Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.

Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
$3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.

$120 or so at
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...REAR+LOWER+ARM

www.slhondaparts.com should have a similar price.

I have used both these online companies before. Good
service.

"Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> wrote
> The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code
> said "rear
> left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be
> open.
>
> Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of
> wire, maybe
> 200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then
> potted in
> epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>
> Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been
> made for over
> 100 years.
>
> I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't
> they have one
> in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than
> $138.
>
> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in
> China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for
> less than that.

Waiving the right to remain silent, "Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> said:

> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.

Easy... Dealer markups on cars are very thin. Options and/or parts are the
profit centers.

--
Larry J. - Remove spamtrap in ALLCAPS to e-mail

"I've come here to enjoy nature. Don't talk to me
about the environment!" - 'Denny Crane'

"Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1154120072.426028.274400@s13g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
> left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.
>
> Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
> 200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
> epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>
> Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
> 100 years.
>
> I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
> in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>
> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>

Any chance of this being covered under warranty or recall, as it's safety
related? Probably not, but I thought I would suggest it.

-- R Flowers

"Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> wrote in
news:1154120072.426028.274400@s13g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com:

> The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
> left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.
>
> Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
> 200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
> epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>
> Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
> 100 years.
>
> I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
> in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>
> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>

It's the connector...(at least that's what I think after pricing an O2
sensor with and without connector) ;-)


Get one from a junkyard.

(seriously,there's yearly taxes on parts inventories,there's stocking and
facilities expenses,then some companies raise prices on parts as the end-
use item gets older,trying to tell you to buy a new item.)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Ancient_Hacker wrote:
> The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
> left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.
>
> Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
> 200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
> epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>
> Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
> 100 years.
>
> I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
> in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>
> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>
ok, so i can fix broken hardware in my pc for almost nothing, BUT
/knowing/ what to fix is worth hundreds of dollars. same principle
applies here. if you can make one cheaper, go right ahead. but if
you're starting from scratch, to do the job properly, the messing about
with testing and materials will cost you many tens of times more than
the relatively small sum you're looking at. even messing about in a
junk yard trying to find a used one is arguably more expensive, if you
price time and effort, than buying new and having it delivered to your
door so you can fit it inside 20 minutes. your choice though.

In article <1154120072.426028.274400@s13g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
"Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> wrote:

> The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
> left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.
>
> Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
> 200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
> epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>
> Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
> 100 years.
>
> I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
> in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.

Go to slhondaparts.com and plug in the part number, see what they say.

R Flowers wrote:
> "Ancient_Hacker" <grg2@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:1154120072.426028.274400@s13g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
>>The ABS light went on in our 97 Odyssey. The fault code said "rear
>>left sensor", and by doggy- the ohmeter show it to be open.
>>
>>Now let's think about this sensor. It's a little coil of wire, maybe
>>200 turns of like #38 wire, on a little iron core. Then potted in
>>epoxy and a short wire attached to it.
>>
>>Nothing very high-tech there. Coils of wire have been made for over
>>100 years.
>>
>>I call the dealer and ask for the part-- not only don't they have one
>>in stock, the price is, now hold on, $188 !!!
>>
>>Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>>
>>Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
>>$3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>>
>
>
> Any chance of this being covered under warranty or recall, as it's safety
> related? Probably not, but I thought I would suggest it.

recall-warnings.com lists only ignition switch and front lower ball joint as
recalls for the '97 Odyssey.

Ancient_Hacker wrote:

>
> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>
> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>

Because it is a low volume custom dealer only part without aftermarket
competition. In such cases, the car companies and dealers make a
fortune and we get the short end of the stick.

Maybe you can disassemble the old one and repair or rewind it?????

John

John Horner <jthorner@yahoo.com> wrote in news:3suzg.2237$8v.1557@trnddc05:

> Ancient_Hacker wrote:
>
>>
>> Even after calling around, I can't find it for less than $138.
>>
>> Can anybody explain why something that could be made in China for maybe
>> $3 is so outrageously high? I've bought whole cars for less than that.
>>
>
> Because it is a low volume custom dealer only part without aftermarket
> competition. In such cases, the car companies and dealers make a
> fortune and we get the short end of the stick.
>
> Maybe you can disassemble the old one and repair or rewind it?????
>
> John
>

Better to get one or two from a junkyard.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net