recently everytime i hit a large bump my steering wheel makes a 'ding' sound. now its making the ding sound everytime the road is uneven. ive taken my steering column covers off and from what i can see theres some black metal piece that is hitting something in that mess of wires and brackets behind the airbag. does anyone know how to fix this?
its driving me nuts!!!

 

bump anyone know what this is?

 

Ttt... 12345

 

I know this is a really old thread, but searching yielded nothing else close to what I'm looking for. I have exactly what is described here going on with my steering column when I hit a bump. I can even take the tilt loose and tilt the column fast to the stops and get the "ding" to happen. I did not see any piece of metal moving when I took the covers off this weekend to see what I might find. Sounded like it was coming from inside the clock spring housing. Does anyone else have this noise going on, and has anyone figured out what it is? The only function I seem to be missing on the steering and column is that my cruise won't set, checked the brake switch for that problem and it seems to be just fine. Could it be I just need a new clock spring? I really hate to just throw parts at the problem.

 

There is a fix posted somewhere on the org. I'm on my phone now, but I'll try to find it later.

 

https://maxima.org/showthread.php?p=...nk#post7957403

 

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ing-wheel.html

I ripped out the damper. It was getting very annoying. No difference noted.

 

That is exactly what I need. Thanks a lot. Just using the wrong search terms I guess. Is removing the air-bag as simple as that write-up, just make sure to disconnect power? I've got the factory service manual, haven't looked at it yet for air-bag removal, does it have pretty clear instructions?

 

Its fairly easy, just follow the write-up. It was my first time removing the air bag and it took me 10 minutes and I am not mechanically inclined. Just make sure you disconnect both the negative/positive terminals and wait at least 5-10 minutes before proceeding with the removal of the air bag.

 

It's that cushion looking thing that's prob worn. Take off steering and you should be looking right at it.

 

Well, this all definitely looks plenty easy, should be a breeze compared to those LCAs and that rear motor mount. I've never messed with airbags before, and I'm always a fan of the FSM instructions. I noticed that the FSM mentions the tamper resistant torx screws are "coated with special bonding agent" and the screws should be replaced when installing the airbag? Does anyone actually do that (other than a dealer tech)? I'm guessing it's just blue loctite, I can put new loctite on the screws for sure. If I need to buy new screws form the dealer certainly isn't hte end of the world just wondering if anyone bothers with it.

 

Just use loc-tite on the originals.

 

wow resurrected from beyond. but yeah, i figured that out awhile back. Just take the airbag out and you'll find that little culprit and rip him out. very easy to do.

 

Got that annoying damper weight removed yesterday. I was thinking about gluing rubber to it, like I saw in some other instructions, but then I looked at the rubber suspension things that piece was on to provide the damping. Yeah, all the little rubber springs are toast, so just left the part out. I certainly don't feel any difference in the column at this point. I'm a little curious if any replacement part is available, though? No way would I pay much money for a new part, but if a replacement was out there for $10 or less I might consider it. Anyone even run across a replacement piece, or even thought a about replacing it?

 

Well its good to see that my thread came to use. Also, you can usr krazy glue to stick back the rubber boots as well so that it does not move.