carrying car back in on SAT but was hoping for some idea to lead them in the right direction so MAYBE it can be fixed this time..

just had airbag rattle fixed yesterday -- I also had a clicking noise when turning wheel at low speeds - CLEARLY coming from steering wheel area inside the car. Got service writer to drive around lot to hear it before leaving with it yesterday since all techs had already gone -- will go back SAT to try to get fixed.

Have done searches on this and haven't found anything conclusive other than it might be related to the airbag issue and having the TSB done fixed it; HOWEVER, this didn't fix mine.

Any ideas??

 

i took my car in today for oil change and N flash. i also have a slight clicking and rubbing sound when i turn the wheel slowly. i'll let you know what they say.

 

it is the slip ring inside the steering wheel. plastic piece that the horn and air bag is wired to and allows it to rotate without tangling or damaging the wiring. sometimes the tangs inside will catch and make "ticking" noises. common problem on many cars.

 

thanks DANomite -- that's sounds exactly like what it has to be.

now -- is there a way to fix it or do I just live with it. It has never done this before and now it does it ALWAYS (last 2 weeks)

 

you know now that i think of it it sounds more like something is tumbling around in the steering column more than a clicking sound. perhaps it's the same thing though.

 

according to the mechanic the sound on my car is from the clock spring. it is part of the turn signal stem and will be installed next week. safe to drive until then.

 

yes...the ring could also be incorporated into the turn signal/wiper stalks. hope these pictures help out a little bit. these are off of a BMW E46 330i. i just worked on one today for the same exact problem you are having.

 

THANK YOU so very much....I am going to call the SM tomorrow and go over this on the phone and hopefully I can get him to order the part without me bringing it by....

but obviously this tells me that unless they had one in stock I cant get it fixed tomorrow anyway.... (it's a fairly small dealership and they seem to keep NOTHING in stock on the 8, and why should they when they can get things easily overnighted and not have a huge stock inventory)

this has been a HUGE help.

 

just to warn you...this is not a complete and 100% sure diagnosis. it could very well be something different. i'm just giving you a heads up of what it COULD be. also, since it will be covered under warranty, you cannot order it yourself. the technician/service writer/service manager will have to verify that the ring is the problem and decide wether it is a warranty matter.

also, almost every dealership on Sat. will not take in anythin' more than a maintenance job. since they will be short handed on technicians, you can't depend on them to work on one car too long. otherwise, the waiters will get upset.

if you have an appointment already made for Sat. for the airbag TSB, just tell them about the clicking noise. i'm only telling you this b/c we (my dealership) get a lot of customers ordering they're own parts. majority of the time, its either the wrong part or a part that doesn't fix the problem. so to save you your valuable time and the dealerships time...just take it in and have them do all the work.