2010 Gen3 Prius Steering Wheel Climate Button Problem

This is a 2010 Gen3 Toyota Prius. The steering wheel mounted climate controls (temperature up, down, and recirculating) have stopped functioning. They still illuminate the “phantom” display on the dash, but do not modify the climate settings themselves. This leads me to believe it is some kind of fault not at the steering wheel itself. What could it be?

(before you say "clockspring", please note that the phantom display still works up on the dash, which means a signal is getting from the button on the steering wheel, to the car itself.)

 

Thanks - I was forgetting that the "button press" and "lightly touching a button" are two completely different functions.

I guess I am lucky that it is a redundant signal (I can still modify the climate controls obviously on the console), and not something like the TRIP or DISP functions, where there is no secondary button...