I’ve been having various systems issues with our ‘08 Sequoia Limited, first was intermittent loss of steering wheel controls for the stereo and then full loss, then the front HVAC fan would only blow at low strength even after replacing the blower motor while the rear would blow at full strength, and finally the airbag dash light came on and stayed on. I’d noticed the horn was weak was well.
Digging into the airbag light finally led to a thread on tundras.com where somebody mentioned the steering wheel clock spring as a likely culprit and that intermittent loss of steering wheel controls might also be present. The clock spring is the wiring coil that allows the wheel to spin without ripping out the electronics, and on a Limited it is feeding the horn, audio controls, phone controls if you have the integration, airbag, and there are HVAC controls for the front seat system (Auto, temp up and down, and Off).
Plenty of people on these threads advise “get the cheapest you can buy, it’s a $12 part”, but I figure it’s the electrical interface to the airbag so I spent the $150 to get OEM from Partsouq. This has cured the ghost in the machine: airbag light is off, horn is working at full strength, steering wheel controls work for all audio and phone (I have an upgraded head until with Maestro controls), and the front HVAC fan is running at full blast properly on auto climate control setting.
Simple procedure, don’t skip renting the steering wheel puller.
www.tundras.com
I’d never thought through the idea that circuitry for a bunch of separate systems is running through the steering wheel and as the clock spring ages, weird things can show up like your front HVAC not blowing properly. I didn’t take pics to document the whole procedure, this is just PSA stuff for our forum here.
Digging into the airbag light finally led to a thread on tundras.com where somebody mentioned the steering wheel clock spring as a likely culprit and that intermittent loss of steering wheel controls might also be present. The clock spring is the wiring coil that allows the wheel to spin without ripping out the electronics, and on a Limited it is feeding the horn, audio controls, phone controls if you have the integration, airbag, and there are HVAC controls for the front seat system (Auto, temp up and down, and Off).
Plenty of people on these threads advise “get the cheapest you can buy, it’s a $12 part”, but I figure it’s the electrical interface to the airbag so I spent the $150 to get OEM from Partsouq. This has cured the ghost in the machine: airbag light is off, horn is working at full strength, steering wheel controls work for all audio and phone (I have an upgraded head until with Maestro controls), and the front HVAC fan is running at full blast properly on auto climate control setting.
Simple procedure, don’t skip renting the steering wheel puller.
DIY: Replace Clockspring/spiral cable + remove steering wheel
Below is the install as completed on my 2012 5.7L Rock Warrior Crew Max. Should be the exact same process for all 2007+ Tundras. I am in no way...
www.tundras.com
I’d never thought through the idea that circuitry for a bunch of separate systems is running through the steering wheel and as the clock spring ages, weird things can show up like your front HVAC not blowing properly. I didn’t take pics to document the whole procedure, this is just PSA stuff for our forum here.
