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Horn not working, but buttons on wheel still work...Clockspring or something else?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by gradyoactive, May 22, 2020.

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  1. gradyoactive

    gradyoactive Junior Member

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    So the horn on my 2010 Prius stopped working several months ago. At first I could get it to honk by turning it more than 90 degrees to the left, so I assumed it had a faulty clockspring. I bought one of the cheap eBay replacements, but haven't installed it yet. I've been procrastinating, but since my inspection is now well expired, I plan to try to fix the horn this weekend to be able to pass.

    Now I can't get the horn to work in any wheel position. But my steering wheel buttons all still work perfectly. Wouldn't those stop working as well if the clockspring was broken? I just don't want to risk putting a cheap clockspring in there if it might not even solve the problem (I also can't afford to mess up and have my car not be driveable, since I drive every day for work). Could it be a blown fuse? Something else entirely?

    Thanks,
    Grady
     
    #1 gradyoactive, May 22, 2020
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the clockspring doesn't necessarily fail altogether. you would have to do some testing to be 100% positive, but it sounds like the clock spring to me, since turning the whhel affected performance.

    don't use a cheapo clockspring, they fail quickly
     
    #2 bisco, May 22, 2020
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  3. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Check the horn itself.
    The technology used in making horns dates back to about 1900.
     
    #3 sam spade 2, May 23, 2020
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  4. gradyoactive

    gradyoactive Junior Member

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    Thanks for the replies. I just tested the panic button alarm, and it works fine. Does that mean the horn itself still works, or are there 2 separate horns?

    bisco, how quickly do the cheap clocksprings break? Because I already have 205k on this puppy, and I don't expect it to last more than 240k, which for me is only about 1.5 years. Even if I need to replace the clockspring again before then, I'll have save a lot of money by avoiding springing for the OEM part.
     
    #4 gradyoactive, May 23, 2020
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    then you're probably better off with the chinese knockoff. unless you can find a cheaper oem salvage. there's no data on how long they last, just what i've read here about reliability
     
    #5 bisco, May 23, 2020
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  6. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Yeah I'd roll the dice on the ebay part-alike if the remaining service expectation is that low.

    Good luck!
     
    #6 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, May 23, 2020
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  7. jcny33

    jcny33 Junior Member

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    I had problem with the horn - must hit it hard to work and sometime doesn't work at all. I tried replacing the spiral cable, but that's not the problem. It was the blue wire connection problem at the steering wheel, not at the airbag end. After I make sure it is tight, it works again without any problem again.
     
    #7 jcny33, Sep 12, 2020
  8. blaze001

    blaze001 New Member

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    any update on how this was resolved? Facing similar issue.
     
    #8 blaze001, Mar 15, 2021
  9. Trevor Gunderman

    Trevor Gunderman New Member

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    Im having the same issue. All of the buttons on the steering wheel work great although the lighting for the buttons is extremely dim. I had a shop replace the clock spring for me as I didn't want to mess with the air bag but the horn still only works when turning the wheel slightly. Where do I go next?
     
    #9 Trevor Gunderman, Aug 23, 2021
  10. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    BACK to the shop that did the spring.
    And tell them WHAT you want fixed, not HOW to fix it.
    Those lights are really dim on many models.
     
    #10 sam spade 2, Aug 23, 2021
  11. Trevor Gunderman

    Trevor Gunderman New Member

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    I haven't gotten back to the shop yet unfortunately. Today, however, the horn started to randomly blow on its own. Just a quick beep here and there. During this I was able to beep the horn with my steering wheel once, but now it's not working at all anymore. Could this be a simple relay replacement? Any idea where the horn relay is on a 2011?
     
    #11 Trevor Gunderman, Aug 30, 2021
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