Horn Stays On When The Left Side Of Pad Is Pushed

[BluesImage]

Last week I bought my 1st Lexus a 1995 LS400 with 158,200 mi and I really
like the car. The next day I tried to use my horn and it did not work
(the only thing I forgot to check when I bought it) so I checked the
fuse and there was no fuse for the horn. So I put a fuse in it and
pressed the horn and it worked! But when I pressed on the left side of
the pad it stayed on until I pushed the right side of the pad. When I
barely pull back on the steering wheel or touch the pad the horn goes
off or when I shut the drivers door it honks all it takes is a little
vibration and it honks. I was not able to drive it like this because any
little thing sets it off. The pad springs back in all 4 corners so I am
not sure how to fix this problem because I drive a 100 mi a day through
downtown Atlanta and I need a horn. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.

[pj8708]

Last week I bought my 1st Lexus a 1995 LS400 with 158,200 mi and I really

like the car. The next day I tried to use my horn and it did not work

(the only thing I forgot to check when I bought it) so I checked the

fuse and there was no fuse for the horn. So I put a fuse in it and

pressed the horn and it worked! But when I pressed on the left side of

the pad it stayed on until I pushed the right side of the pad. When I

barely pull back on the steering wheel or touch the pad the horn goes

off or when I shut the drivers door it honks all it takes is a little

vibration and it honks. I was not able to drive it like this because any

little thing sets it off. The pad springs back in all 4 corners so I am

not sure how to fix this problem because I drive a 100 mi a day through

downtown Atlanta and I need a horn. Any help would be greatly

appreciated.

Hi Mark and welcome to the Lexus Owners Club!

Well I guess you found out pretty fast why there was no fuse in the "Horn" fuse block. That's kind of bad sport to turn a car in with a known saftey defect.

I don't know of any specific reason for your situation, but to my knowledge there is no recall or Tech Bulletin out for that prolem. It is more proable it is related to 19 years of great service.

There is a problem in fixing problems involving the stering wheel. The entire steering column is put together as one sealed unit. This is done to contain the Air Bag unit in the center of the steering wheel. If the horn problem can be repaired by something simple, short, switch, then you will have a low cost repair. However, If the Tech has to pull out the entire unit, Air Bag, turning stock, wiper stock, telescoping steering shaft, and tilt. This is big money.

I would urge you to get multiple bids.

Paul

p.s. Whats with the horn in Alanta traffic? Are you trying to become New York City suburb? LOL

[1990LS400]

My understanding from the independent Lexus repair facility that I have used for about 17 years and trust is that the horn pad / air bag mechanism is not repairable. When I had a problem with the horn pad on my 2000 LS400 about three years ago, the solution was a used assembly from a salvage company - around $500 not including around $200 labor if I remember correctly. A new part was far more than that.

Removing the horn pad is not as bad as Paul made it out to be. I've not even sure that the steering wheel had to be removed and it certainly isn't necessary to get into the steering column, turn signal and wiper stalk mechanism. The salvage horn pad assembly came with the cruise control switch.

You might even be able to find a used steering wheel including the horn pad and air bag on eBay. Apparently salvage companies sell the air bag with the horn pad although the repair shop used my original air bag with the salvage horn pad.

[pj8708]

Hi Jim,(1990L).

Thank you for filling in with more tech.information and DIY solutions.

When a new member comes on, my practice is to assume they are not a "creeper" person and doesn't want to spend all Saturday

under the car.

That being said, our goal here is to always provide accurate infomation.

After you've read the info. come back and let us know how things are going.