SRS warning light/no steering wheel controls.

So I had to have my steering rack replaced, and I just got the truck back yesterday (mind you this is a mechanic we go to, not Toyota), and now my SRS light is on, I have no steering wheel audio controls, and when I turn the wheel, it sounds as if a spring is being wound and unwound? I know he had someone do an alignment on it, and I'm not sure if the steering wheel needs removed to move the sector shaft to get the old rack out and new in or what (didn't get a chance to talk to him as he wasn't there). Before I take it back to him, I want to make sure if it's the spiral cable that's broken, that I don't get charged for it, since I didn't do it obviously. Does this sound as if it's most likely a spiral cable issue, or what?

 

Yup- Spiral cable is "made to" withstand the turning of the wheel and supply power/information signals to the airbag and the wheel controls...so I would guess that it is broken.

 

Fantastic. Just keeps getting better.

 

The spiral cable is only manufactured with enough cable to allow the steering wheel to rotate maybe 2-3 complete turns in any one direction - which is the same number of revolutions from center to full lock in either direction. If you had the steering rack removed, the steering wheel can now spin in any direction for pretty much infinity (since the steering shaft is removed from the steering rack) - but the spiral cable can still only rotate 3 turns before breaking.

Someone turned your steering wheel more than 3 times while the rack was out - breaking your spiral cable. Its been done many, many, many times before.