Can you identify this sound? (Video)

[SkyTree]

My wife was coming home from work the other day, and according to her, the steering wheel started making this awful clicking/grinding plastic sound when making turns. I recorded a video of the sound, which can be viewed below.

I'm familiar with the higher pitched wheez/whine rubbing sound (which our steering wheel has had for awhile now), but this is certainly new.

The plastic-y click makes me think it's the clock spring, yet all steering wheel functions are working normally (horn, radio buttons, cruise control, etc), so the wiring harness in the clock spring, at least, doesn't appear to be damaged.

There is a 2010-2015 LR4/RR TSB noting a clicking/grinding sound coming from the steering wheel. Sounds like we are experiencing it.

Any thoughts or experience with this sound?



Notes: PS fluid levels are good, no leaks, no sound outside the vehicle, no shimmy or shake in the column, no play in the steering wheel. It's coming from inside the plastic section immediately behind the steering wheel under the dust cover.

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[Jimmy Brooks]

Can you feel the plastic grinding or can you only hear it.

 

[SkyTree]

Can you feel the plastic grinding or can you only hear it.

Hey Jimmy, I can feel it clicking, but it's not a deep in the column feeling like a rumble or shimmy/shake. It steers fine, but feels like there's piece of plastic behind the steering wheel that is being "clicked through" for lack of a better way of putting it.

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[PaulLR3]

My guess is the clock spring is damaged or broken. Not a common LR4 issue. (But very common on some Audi models I had owned before)

 

[SkyTree]

My guess is the clock spring is damaged or broken. Not a common LR4 issue. (But very common on some Audi models I had owned before)

Very helpful info, Paul! My hunch is clock spring also.

The temp has ranged consistently from 105-120° here for the past 5 days or so (not sure if that has anything to do with it). Maybe that accelerated the clock spring's demise?

Our LR4 hasn't had any steering or alignment issues of any kind... drives like a champ... so, this surprised me a bit with it's suddenness.

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[SkyTree]

Update:

Yesterday, the steering wheel's Horn, Cruise, and Infotainment control buttons stopped working, and the Airbag light came on, confirming that it's 99.9% the Clock Spring causing both the clicking noise and coincident electrical problems.

Thanks for having a listen to the video clip, as well as leaving comments to help get a confirmation of what was going on.

SkyTree

 

[sonicpix]

Mostikley the clocking. I replace mine. Turns out it was ok. Not a difficult job but requires a special tool and if you do it, make sure the battery is drain so you don't trigger the air bags. There is a good YouTube video on removing the steering wheel.

 

[SkyTree]

Mostikley the clocking. I replace mine. Turns out it was ok. Not a difficult job but requires a special tool and if you do it, make sure the battery is drain so you don't trigger the air bags. There is a good YouTube video on removing the steering wheel.

Thanks for the info, @sonicpix. I probably checked out the same video you are referring to, haha, as I was preparing to do the replacement myself. Turns out, our warranty covers this since it's both Electrical and Mechanical (which are both covered), so I ended up just taking it to our dealership, JLR Newport Beach.
They do excellent work and have incredible staff.

Even after we found out it was covered by warranty, I still contemplated doing it myself since it's a relatively easy job, as you mentioned, and the drive to the dealership is about 1.25 hours from our house. But I figured I may as well have the dealership check out the truck again, do an alignment, and do another multi-point (these take about an hour and are complimentary at JLR Newport Beach) while we are still under warranty.


Side Note:
JLR Newport gave us a complimentary 2020 Discovery 5 to drive as a rental while the LR4 is being worked on. Can't say enough good things about this dealership, truly. Don't get me wrong, the prices can be dea£er$hip level (much less than the JLR dealers in LA & Anaheim though!), but most everyone who works in the service department drives LR3s or LR4s themselves and are true fans of the brand, especially pre-2014 stuff.

if you still have a warranty (factory or 3rd party) or it's a job you just plain don't want to do, they're a great spot in SoCal to go for dealer work. When you call, ask for Armando or Jeff (Robin and Steve are great dudes too).


SkyTree