Clock spring/Spiral cable

My horn stopped working a couple of weeks ago. It appears that I need a new spiral cable. I’m going to attempt to do it myself. I’m by no means handy, but I’m relatively capable.

My concern is this… The OEM part is nearly $400. I typically prefer OEM parts, but it looks like I can get A/M for a quarter of the price. Has anyone had any experience with the A/M parts? If there’s any kind of fit adjustment required, I don’t like my chances.

Any advice/insight is appreciated.

 

Not exactly an answer to your question but I had a Subaru that the clock spring went and it was going to be more than I wanted to spend to replace so I ended up just wiring the horn to a button near the light switches.

 

Are you able to drive on a broken
Clock spring/Spiral cable - if you know it's the clock spring

 

Yes. Evidently mine needs to be replaced. The only symptom I currently have is my horn isn’t working. I hear that the other steering wheel controls may be next.

 

Yes of course The clock spring is just the wires in the steering wheel wrapped in a loom that spins so over time sometimes the wires have a tendency to break but all it affects is the controls or horn on the steering wheel nothing as far as actual steering goes. Keep in mind if your car needs to pass inspection it will fail. It is possible to wire the horn to a button on the dash which I did with a car in the past that I didn't feel like replacing the clock spring on.

 

I'm assuming your looking for part number 84306-0E010? If that's correct, several Toyota dealers online are selling that part new for $225. I'm curious if you walked into a dealer and they quoted you $400 which would be expected. I did some work on my steering column last year and can tell you there isn't much to the clock spring and it's fairly durable, not prone to damage. If it were me, I would try buying a used one from ebay. For example. https://www.ebay.com/itm/116715558923?_skw=84306-0E010&itmmeta=01K28TQ68G1TEQZVETSEG7QV6H&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dwXk3bpaShvAMar8w2sOBTkTQAkknB1GQBEsya%2FrS2fG8ptzZwnmLTYskpBLEh0VwADn1bu05jSY29XzbVvPjzMqEp8nRkdsZ235cHswms0oy6Cm7KY3QOdPUKqkSnQ8UJY7+BpEnYGtD+M26PqIy3k8boGDV1x9rd9fi+shjyoo25xnijBT0hAGAcdsMIXELbSnaHxm%2FGazUQu0W3AhhaFk2tZd+7nHBzKw+wP0Gi1eUeLAA74UsYjo+HNE10KqXjcpra1vV0AwEm%2Ft0JI%2FFx%2FQhgAgaj4SDgp2K+gv9l9A%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMxOTcmpJm&LH_ItemCondition=3000 If you buy a used clock spring, you'll need to ensure your steering, steering wheel and the clock spring are all centered when you reinstall them. Centering the steering and steering wheel is straight forward and as you'd expect. To center the used clock spring, gently turn it all the way in one direction and then turn it all the way back in the opposite direction with the goal of finding the center point. Hopefully this makes sense. The new ones typically come centered with an orange tab installed that in essence is designed to keep it centered until you install it.

 

Thank you! I haven’t looked up the part number. As far as price, I have some friends that can get me cost plus 10% on Toyota parts and I think they told me $400. It’s been a while. I’ll get a used one and give it a shot. Thanks again.

 

Another note, the "steering angle sensor" attaches to the clock spring. You'll need to transfer your sensor over to the replacement clock spring. It's not difficult, you just need to gently pry and release each tab around the sensor one at a time. The sensor also needs to stay centered during the transfer which is easy enough to do. I used a zip tie around it to prevent it from turning. The clock spring is relatively inexpensive. Toyota also offers the clock spring / steering angle sensor as one unit and that can be expensive if purchased new. You'll also want to disconnect your battery before taking your steering wheel off as you'll also be removing the air bag.