Broken clock spring/spiral cable?

Why not just order off Amazon or ebay for much cheaper? Can you not wait that long?

If you're buying from napa any of the ones that say with cruise or audio is what you want. They both mean the same thing just different brands. I bought mine from ebay for $8.33 and works perfect. If it goes out within a year or so, it's a 15 min job to replace, no need to go OEM or Napa if you could wait for shipping.

 

Would you be able to explain this? This is the problem that I'm having and I'd really like to avoid replacing the clockspring.

 

There is a free pin on the clock spring which is not used. I don't remember the exact pin it was, but if you are handy with a wiring diagram and a schematic then finding it should be no problem at all. The mod definitely works great though.

 

IMHO if you're having to pull apart the steering wheel to get to the clockspring, why not just replace it? The one I mentioned that I paid $8.33 for is still working great today. It was so cheap I bought a spare. Just wanted to chime in since my post 2 years ago and say that after 2 years it's still working great like the day I put it in. Not sure what prices are on ebay today but even at $20 it's still worth it to just replace the darn thing. Messing with tiny pins and potentially bending or breaking them and rewiring them is a great way to create a short. Those wires going to each pin are tiny, maybe 22 gauge wire or less. A short can easily melt those wires and mess up all your other steering wheel functions. Best case you just blow a fuse, but worst case you destroy your air bag circuit. And that ain't cheap to repair. I mean it's your truck, just wanted to point out some things for you to think about.

 

I am looking for help with a clockspring. Our 2012 SR5 V6 AC cruise quit and I am hoping it is the clockspring. The problem is that the dealer used the vin to provide a part number. The part they said is listed for my vin, pn 8430604080, is not with cruise control. The truck has factory cruise control thus why we are replacing the clockspring. Not buying from a dealer but want to make sure I get the correct one. Truck has cruise but does not have steering wheel controls. Another question is can we use one made for steering wheel controls without using the swc socket. Thanks for any help.

 

Yes. Get the 84306-0E010.

 

I went thru 4 dealers today and every one gave me the same 04080 part number. Being a transition year model it may be different. I found a 04080 for $11 shipped. The picture shows the cruise connector pins. When I install it then I can compare the original to a 0E010 before I buy one. For $11 what do I have to lose. If it lasts 6 months then it pays for itself.

 

Sounds like a plan. Let us know if it worked or not. So other people with the same questions can get an answer.

 

New one arrived. Will update soon.

 

Installed the $11 pn 8430604080 from Walmart today. Works fine. Cruise is back. Separating the angle sensor was indeed a bitch. There are 2 holes in the sensor to align the clockspring plastic pins. Broke half of one of the molded holes off the sensor. Fortunately there was enough radius remaining to maintain the alignment with the 2nd aligning pin. Scary at first though. All good. Very happy for $11. The actual pn on the box, from Bapmic Auto Parts Inc, was A0153A0002. It did have the pin connection for steering wheel controls that we don't need. Looks exactly like the 0E010 clockspring.

 

Yeah that's the problem with aftermarket clocksprings - they last 6 months to a year, then you'll have to replace it again. Think the steering angle sensor will survive another swap?

 

For $11 I will do this every 6 months if needed. Truck is nearing 160k so may not have it another 6 to 12 months. The sensor will be fine if need to swap again. Next time will slide small shims under each locking tab, to hold each one open, instead of fighting and pulling to separate it. If it was my 2008 with only 84.9k miles I would go all out and spend $40.

 

My cruise control was working intermitedly befor it finally failed. After reading of all the post of folks going thru multiple aftermarket clockspring assembies or problems with part numbers. I went down to the dealer and gave them the VIN. Part was correct and the instal was easy. Just use a paint marker to line everything back up. BTW, I did not need a puller to remove the steering wheel.

 

Not sure if sarcastic. The $11 and $40 clocksprings will be similar quality chineseium parts with different markups. To get any reasonable longevity, you'd need the Toyota OEM part, which is $140-200.

 

Some people using the cheap clockspring are still good after 3 years. Time will tell. If the $11 one lasts at least 6 months then next time I will buy 6 of them and store them with my other maintenance items. I would never pay $140 from Toyota. I was being sarcastic about paying $40. The last item I bought from a Toyota dealer, in 2017, was a plastic windshield wiper stud cover for $6. I could have bought 25 of them for $8 on Amazon but didn't want to wait. Would you buy your alternator or starter from a dealer ? I wouldn't. My Toyota battery in my new 2016 Tacoma lasted almost 2 years and 15k miles. I surely didn't want another Toyota sourced battery. I will admit that some items should be bought from Toyota but not many. Changing a clockspring is faster than changing spark plugs so it is not worth paying over $140 for a Toyota brand to me that very well may be manufactured in a Chinese factory. All vehicles manufactured do have some Chinese parts in items or assemblies sourced from USA suppliers.
I am not a fan of China. In fact last year I sent over 20 cease and desist orders to Chinese copycat sellers infringing on my intellectual property rights on eBay. Within 6 months there were 27 more Chinese copycat sellers on eBay. There is no international copyright, trademark or patent protection to stop China.

 

Well actually, I'm going on over 2 years with my ebay $8 clockspring. A buddy of mine bought the same one 7 years ago, still going strong. I know guys who have bought OEM clocksprings that had to replace them within a year. So saying that an OEM one will out last an aftermarket one isn't entirely true. The one at the dealer and the one from ebay are identical, I know because I compared them and looked at every little detail down to the solder joints to each pin. They're exactly the same. Same gauge wires, same connectors, same pins, same everything. Not saying all aftermarket ones are the same, just saying many of them are. So paying $11 to test one out is a very smart move. Paying $140 from a dealer is not. Heck if I so much as open the package, the dealer won't let me return it.

 

Obviously, it is your money and you can do what you want. I had a horn only issue which required a clock spring replacement on my '11 off-road. I got the part from the local dealer. It was expensive at $ about 300 with a discount. I had used eBay for Chinese parts for blower motor resistor and ended up having to replace after only a few months with an on-line OEM part. I did not want to do the clock spring job again soon, so I opted to spend the $. It was not a hard fix and took me only about 90 min, but hopefully it will last another 11 years like the original. I simply don't like working around the air bag

 

I get that about the blower relay. That is something that I would certainly prefer being a brand name product. FWIW that is a poor design from Toyota particularly for pre 2012 models. Still would not buy a Toyota brand part. Working around the airbag is intimidating to some. As long as you cut the airbag power by disconnecting the battery there is no real threat. In all my years of working on vehicles I have never seen or heard of an airbag going off during repairs if powered down. Bottom line is my $11 part fixed the problem. If it craps out tomorrow then I cannot complain. Still cheaper than a meal at the burger joint.