QuestionI have a 2000 Dodge Durango with tilt steering wheel. The steering column does not lock when the vehicle is off and in park and when driving, 95% of the time the cruise control will not turn on. Also, the horn does not work. What could the problem be?
AnswerHi Lynn:
The steering columns on all Chrysler vehicles only lock in the 6:00 position. There is only one cutout on the shaft. If you shut the car off, then try to turn the wheel completely around, it should lock when it's upside down.
Regarding the horn and the cruise, it's most likely the clockspring in the steering column that is causing this failure. is the airbag light illuminated as well? Usually, they all go out together.
The clockspring is a ribbon wire that is coiled up inside the steering column. This component is the subject of many discussions on these threads. Many times the steering wheel or column is disconnected and then rotated beyond the center position it is required to be in. This will cause the clockspring wire to break. The clockspring delivers current to all of the systems above it… the airbag, cruise control and horn. When it fails (and they do a lot) the wire breaks leaving one or all of the circuits open and inoperative. This will cause the airbag light to come on and shut down the airbag system. As long as that light is on, the airbags will NOT deploy, even in an accident. Sometimes it’s intermittent as the wire begins to break. Once it breaks completely, the ‘airbag’ light will illuminate.
This was a factory recall for many vehicles and many customers are unaware of that.
Check out the last site for information on researching your own vehicle for factory recalls.
…or contact your local dealer and they will accommodate the replacement for you.
Check out these web pages for a more complete description:
I am going to refer you to a page that has more information on this topic if you are interested.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/docs/Clockspring.pdf
Good luck
Doug
