mav238

to the "creaky" steering wheel. Before the servicing, I had noticed that the steering wheel "creaks" audibly when turned past 90 degrees, when executing a right or left hand turn at stop signs or traffic lights, or when parking. This creaking sound occurs even when the blinkers are not turned on.

Initially the service advisor indicated that their tech did not notice any real sound, but later they did find the sound, but could not really attribute it to whether the steering column housing was loose or too tight... they readjusted everything, the sound was still there... they then replaced the REEL CABLE ASSEMBLY, which apparently is an assembly which house all electrical cables into one single reel unit, sort of to tidy up the wiring inside the column. They thought it was because the steering wheel column was "scraping" the reel during the turning...

Well, got back my car, checked it out, and yes, the sound is no longer audible.

Some people may think it's being picky... but my other car TSX, and previous cars (BMW, SAAB) didn't have this sound...

Anyway, got it looked after...

c_hunter

It's nickname is the "clock spring". It's a spring loaded reel with a cable wrapped on it, that winds/unwinds as you turn the wheel. The cable carries wiring to/from the steering wheel switches, horn, and airbag.

mav238

Thanks for the clarification. That was actually what the service advisor explained to me.


Curious, does no one else have this issue with the steering wheel, or am I just one of those "intolerant" types that is really picky on the small issues in the car which most people would not even bother with.

terdonal

Don't have it myself but if I did they would be on it quickly enough. One thing I can't stand in my vehicles are sounds that shouldn't be there. I have gotten rid of a few vehicles in the past that had noises that couldn't be located and fixed. One Mustang comes to mind.

dennarda

You're not the only nit-picker. I had the same noise fixed at my first oil change.

glnn01

Me and the lady just purchased an RDX last weekend. It hasn't been a week but it already has a noise that's inherent while driving at highway speeds! Sounds like air is creeping through either the windshield/headliner/moonroof section. Or it could be bad weather stripping. I'm getting it looked at the dealer tomorrow with a tech.

sasair

Are you sure it's not the turbo whooooosh?

glnn01

Haha, nah. I can differentiate the turbo whoosh to this other noise I was talking about. In a way, it sounded as if one of the speakers had static, but the stereo was turned off.

But I just got back from the dealer and it appears there was a loose screw somewhere around the windshield. It was re-tightened. All is well now