For the past couple years my steering wheel tilt has not been working at all. The telescope would retract when I would turn the car off but would not return to the pre-set position when starting. Only manual telescope would work. I just figured it was time to replace both motors. Fast forward to this morning. I got into my car after sitting over night and saw that my wheel was all the way to the exit positions and when I started the car, the wheel moved in both directions to a pre-set position. As of now the wheel has been working properly all day. I'm not really sold on it being "fixed" now and wilL keep my eye on things for now. But I'm curious as why after 2+ years of not working, why all of a sudden everything works as advertised. Any ideas fellas?

 

I would take out the fuse while it's set at your preference and call it a day. You don't want to have a fail at an awkward postion and have no choice but to change out the motors.

 

you may want to grease all the gears and see if the problem returns.i guess the gremlin hit the road.

 

Greasing the gears is a good idea. Disabling the auto retraction is even better if you want it to last.

 

So to clarify, have you been using the telescopic switch to manually extend your steering wheel for the past 2+ years? or have you left it in retracted position and a few days ago, it started to extend automatically?
The telescopic function involves the same motor, jack-screw, and linkages whether it's invoked automatically or manually - not sure why it would work manually but not automatically. Of course you can disable this function via TechStream, which brings up another question - has your car been hooked up to TechStream lately?

 

Yes I've been using the switch to manually telescope out but when I turn the car off it would retract on its own. No tilt movement in any case. Now all of a sudden everything works. Very weird! I will grease the gears up and keep an eye out when the next time it happens. Could it be a control module? I do have a faulty spiral cable that's soon to be replaced but I doubt it has anything to do with T/T functions. Hopefully the gremlin has hit the road. Lol.

 

Have you recently replaced the battery ?
Problems with my tilt wheel were unexpectedly cured when I eventually had to have my battery replaced.

Walt

 

It's been a while since i replaced the battery. At least 6 months or more.

 

Will the dealer do that? If so, for how much? Do you or does anyone know that?

Mine still works brand new (whisper quiet, etc.) but I'd like the motors greased.

Disabling the auto-retract is a wise idea but I just don't want to bc the power wheel is one of my favorite things about my car. Key in, :whoooooosh, wood and leather in your face. I love it.

 

Depends on the dealer and your relationship with them. I disabled mine right after I purchased the car. I I would rather have working motors for the life of the vehicle. Those little suckers are expensive and a pain to fix. You can always pick up a copy of Techstream and just disable them yourself.

 

I know it's a common issue, but I'd say in many, MANY cases they last the life of the car.

An ex co-worker drives a '95 LS400 that she's had since new now with over 250k, and I specifically asked her if the wheel still functions properly. She said yes.

Another ex-coworker had a 93 SC that was a complete beater and I personally got in and checked it; worked fine also.

Most old beaters I see parked (or most LSs I see parked, period) have them in the up position. I'm sure a good percent of the time with the old ones it's because they still work, and in 199/200 cases of 430s I see parked I bet they're still working.

But yeah, don't get me wrong, the second I hear anything louder than the normal "whoosh", notice ANYTHING, I'm disabling it. But I'd like to do some preventative maintenance and grease the motors, bc honestly, I think the power wheel will last the life of the car.

It's still crazy to think JUST HOW MANY TIMES the wheels have extended and retracted over the cars' lives. But then again, maybe not, as these are cars that will goo 400k on original motor and tranny if cared for correctly.

I just want mine greased up nice and I'm sure it'll continue to work flawlessly for another decade.

IDK if this has anything to do with it, but my car has never really been exposed to the elements.

She's been garage kept since DAY 1. The worst "elements" it's faced is when it sits outside in the heat while I'm working, etc.

The interior has never spent a winter outside freezing, (or literally a night, for that matter) nor a summer sitting outside stifling.

I think that could possibly extend the lives of these motors.

 

The T/T on my '01 (263K miles) works flawlessly - been exposed to extended extreme temps of cold (-15*) and heat (+105*). I like the little extra tilt down for longer highway driving - manually click 5 times after the auto tilt down.

The auto T/T on one of my '06s tilts fine, but the telescope does not.

 

Thanks for the tips fellas but any ideas as to why it start working properly after 2+ years of it only working at 25%??

 

SLVR - same thing happened to me. For about 2 years the tilt and auto extend stopped working. Several months ago or maybe even a year ago it magically started working again. I am happy camper with 202K miles on a LS430 (2004).

 

Very strange indeed. Still working as of now(knock on wood). They are working as if they are new. I guess from 2+ years of no use then i would act new too! I also took the time to grease up all associated areas. Something could have seized up due to lack of grease and with this very hot summer we had here, somehow became un-seized due to the grease becoming very "loose". This is just my theory but i'm happy nonetheless because i dont have to buy those motors at this time.