Hi all, I've done some reading and it seems like I need to replace my clock spring (horn only works when wheel is turned). The OEM replacement part costs $700+, which is pretty steep. A OE-quality part costs $15 on ebay. Is it worth shelling out for the OEM version? Anyone have experience they can share? I don't want to cheap out and have it affect something serious like the air bag.
For $15 I would look and decide or ask someone who knows what they think. One of them is way out of line and I think you already know which one.
A part the seller calls OE-quality? Or a part that is OE-quality? If we had a way of knowing that was OE-quality, we'd all be snapping them up. I haven't bought an eBay clockspring. I have bought a few eBay door lock actuators for Gen 1. Out of those purchases, I actually got one that worked correctly. I dissected one of the ones that didn't, instead of sending it back, and found that the reason it didn't involved actual absence of some parts that belonged inside. -Chap
I have been very lucky with things I bought on eBay including a car. So let us know how and what you decide. If you buy from ebay check the sellers feedback.
I assume you’re referring to part number 84307-47020, the spiral cable sub-assembly, shown on the last illustration of Figure 84-01 in Toyota’s parts catalog, with the list price of $746.44. No one here can tell you what you would get for $15. I suppose it could be a new part in perfect condition, though I doubt it. It could be a part with a defect you would find immediately. More insidiously, it could be a part with a defect you would find only when the SRS airbag doesn’t deploy in a collision. If I had to buy a similar part for my own car, I’d consider these alternatives: Buy a new one from a Toyota dealer selling online at a discount; one near me lists it for $507.09, plus shipping and tax. Since this is a part that’s also used on Prius cars built for sale in Japan, buy a new one from one of the Japanese firms, about which I’ve written previously, that exports new Toyota parts. The list price in Japan is ¥25,300, or about $240, plus currency conversion and Japan Post EMS shipping, which might add another $30 to $50. Buy one from a junkyard, but only if they’d let me pull it myself.
Other than they are in the same general location, I don't know whether the spiral cable is involved with airbag deployment. OTOH, since they are in the same general location, I would never work on this myself. In my other car, I am about to have my fourth spiral cable installed. I participate in a forum for that car also, and I'm the only one that is going through spiral cables every 40,000 miles. Don't know why that is, or why the spiral cable is also called clock spring!
I believe the Spiral cable is shaped much like the old mechanical clock springs. The airbag gets electrical signals to deploy through the cable. Here, people have found original Toyota cables are more reliable than aftermarket ones. As previously stated, used ones can work too.
