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I live in Miami-Dade county and we have the most atrocious drivers in the nation here by a longshot. Needless to say I'm always punching the horn on my steering wheel, and most of the time the horn barely sounds or doesn't sound at all. Lexus engineers certainly failed in designing the horn on this car. Still not even sure where on the steering wheel pad I'm supposed to be pressing...
While the horn itself also sucks, it's the button under the pad that I have a gripe with. I have to hunt around for the one square inch of the entire pad that has the horn button under it, and then it's too late to even use it, or it lets out this pathetic half-activated completely wuss fart sound. Hitting the horn is an instinctive reactionary move, accomplished by aggressively mashing your palm into the approximate center of the horn pad, not some tiny hidden unmarked area off to the side or down at the bottom of the pad.
Thanks rkw but I can live with the stock horns. I'd just like a big broad button to mount on the steering wheel though so that I never miss a chance to let some garbage driver know they're a worthless piece of ****!
I've never really had any issues either getting the horn to fire without thinking about it or with people noticing it. I'm pretty sensitive to that same problem as well and some rental cars drive me nuts.
I wonder if something is wrong with yours... car ever been in an accident and the airbag deployed & replaced?
I've never really had any issues either getting the horn to fire without thinking about it or with people noticing it. I'm pretty sensitive to that same problem as well and some rental cars drive me nuts.
I wonder if something is wrong with yours... car ever been in an accident and the airbag deployed & replaced?
Agree - the horn on my 2006 LS430 is plenty big and loud. You may want to check your wiring connector and horn body for dirt and corrosion. It's a pretty easy mod to add a second horn and run a splice from existing positive wire on OEM horn to the new horn. The negative (ground) is metal mount point so most installs only need single wire. Existing fuse will likely run both horns with no issue unless you buy a semi-truck or boat horn.
We owned a 2010 Mazda Miata for a while and its horn was embarrassing and dangerous. I actually added an air horn to the existing horn to make it safer and more useful.
... I have to hunt around for the one square inch of the entire pad that has the horn button under it, and then it's too late to even use it, or it lets out this pathetic half-activated completely wuss fart sound.....
I feel your pain
I had the same issue with my '05. But I attributed it to the fact that driver airbag had been deployed (prior to me buying the car), and the contacts under there were obviously not properly re-seated/re-connected. Hence the sporadic horn.
Here in Texas, a vehicle will not pass annual inspection without a working horn - not to mention that it is probably unsafe... Please take a look at below the pages from the repair manual for instructions to replace a defective horn button assembly...
I don't think your horn is functioning properly. Mine is plenty load and easy to engage. I also don't use it a lot so as to not incite others. More for a warning if someone is not looking rather then showing my dissatisfaction at the poor driving habits of others. You have to be careful these days. People loose their minds when driving and totally irrational behavior seems to present itself.
As I'm getting older I'm finding it easier to relax and let morons be morons. Being cut off and disrespected on the road does not bother me as it used to. I tend to look at it as more that the other driver has issues and hope they can come to terms with it someday.
Here in Miami it's a must-have. I use it daily not to be insulting but to alert these imbeciles of the presence of others rightfully on the road. My mind is continually blown at how bad these people drive here. Sudden unexpected stops/multiple-lane changes without even looking, pulling out from side streets and businesses without a care as to oncoming traffic, driving 10-15mph under the speed limit in the left lane, jaywalking, etc. It really is a third-world country down here.
Years ago I stopped to visit a buddy working at local Goodyear shop. He took me over to a Cadillac that they were putting tires on to show me its horn setup. The Caddy's owner had installed a huge ocean liner style horn on it that was air driven and run lines for it back to two 80 cf high pressure scuba tanks installed in the trunk.
Hard to describe how loud it was, but anyone within about 20-30 feet of it would involuntarily jump up in the air when it went off. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen installed in a car...but I admittedly have a strange sense of humor.
07-21-15, 05:58 AM
LS430 has the worst horn ever
