pffandrew

I got a 2010 with 58 k miles that when I turn on the car in the morning have a an electrical cracking sound coming from the steering wheel. Any idea what could it be?

plusONEran

iTrader: (2)

can you take a video?

pffandrew

Hope this helps.

Clutchless

I listened. I think you should have the dealer listen. I speculate if it may be related to steering column issues, I thought there was a TSB regarding that, but I could have my Lexus models confused. Or, if you are hearing the horn spring rubbing or clicking inside the wheel.

Here is the TSB

Service Bulletin No.: LSB-0026-11
Component(s): STEERING
NHTSA ID Number: 10039115
All Products Associated with this Service Bulletin
Details
0 Associated Documents
Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
SUMMARY:
TOYOTA: LEXUS 2010-2011 RX350. THERE MAY BE A RATTLE NOISE FROM THE POWER STEERING WHEN TURNING OR DRIVING OVER ROUGH SURFACES. *RM

RXSF

Here is my steering wheel sound. Can you believe the dealer keeps saying this is "normal"? I have brought it in at least 4 times for this issue. At first I couldn't replicate the issue and it wasn't so bad. Now, I realize I have to have the turn signal on and then it gets bad.

At about 25 seconds into your video I thought I heard some clicking.

raylor4

That is NOT normal. Sounds like ratcheting to me. I suspect the directional signal cancelation device. Not electrical. Mechanical. I think your dealer is blowing smoke. I recommend you locate a mechanic with a five star reputation. I assume there's no warranty,
Ray A.

RXSF

Tell me about it. Went in today and everyone is frustrated with the situation. The head mechanic says it is normal and brought out another RX to verify. Indeed, that one did have cracking sounds to a much lesser extent but it was old (like a '10 or '11) so it could be the same batch of parts as mine. Advisor suggested that I contact corporate and have them step in. I am not under warranty but because I have brought up this issue in the past two years, it is assumed that it is done under "goodwill"

gsxryder41

iTrader: (1)

Im sorry you feel that we were trying to "brush you off." As we discussed, we had another RX to provide an example of the noise. The recommendation of contacted corporate is for you report the situation to them if you are not pleased with our diagnositc results. As you've requested, we are addressing the concern and we will contact you as soon as we have an answer. If you have ANY issues, you can feel free to contact me.

James

RXSF

Well this is certainly a pleasant surprise. Hi James, I took our convo to PM.

pffandrew

Wise on me to have the extended warranty as the technician found out a bend steering wheel, so they replace it (the cost was $2,600). I will test this whole week w/o the radio on as I didn't hear any sound at all on the steering wheel from the loaner (RX ‘15). Also, something I noticed when I compared both vehicles, if lift my feet from the gas pedal mine kind of goes to high gear (slow w/o the break pedal) and the loaner didn't change the gear it just keep rolling unless I press the break. Which one is normal to mine or the loaner?

Also the rear shock was leaking ($160 warranty replacement). They only replace one shock and not both as I though they would. I was told that warranty replace the leaking one. This doesn’t make sense as when you replace your shocks are in pair not one. Is like when you replace your brake pads, you don’t replace one pad you replace both. Why Toyota warranty do that (cost savings)?.

jtrue28

Did they replace the steering wheel or the entire steering column? $2,600 sounds a lot like our issue with the steering column.

Fortunate for us, we had it documented in our service records that we brought the issue up twice before with no fix done. Only to realize later that the TSB mentioned above would have fixed the problem. Needless to say, corporate had to get involved and our dealership helped to get the full cost waived, since we were out of warranty now.

raylor4

Did you mean bent steering COLUMN? If the steering column is bent, I suspect an accident or poor quality control at the factory, or the dealer is doing more than is necessary to bump up the warranty claim.
Did you mean "...goes into LOWER gear? I suspect there's a transmission or transmission controller problem here.
Yes, both shocks should be replaced when one is bad. That's the way it played out on our '11 CPO.
Bottom line: I think your dealer is still blowing smoke, sad to say.
Ray A.

pffandrew

This is what they wrote: STEERING COLUMN IS BINDING - 57853 TECH REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN PER LEXUS EXTENDED WARRANTY .

raylor4

They tend to be brief, don't they? I'm glad you stuck to your guns and had the steering assembly replaced under warranty. This is a known issue. Happy motoring.
Ray A.