Grinding sound beging Steering wheel / Airbag

[Rambruiser]

Had my steering wheel replaced a month ago due to the frayed leather wrap caused by the steering wheel heating coil cooling it. After the wheel was replaced, there’s now a grinding sound coming from behind the airbag when turning the wheel. It sounds exactly as if, you’d take a hacksaw to a PVC pipe and start hacking away. It took the shop 4 days to identify the issue. They replaced the Steering wheel module, followed by the Airbag Clockspring to no avail. The issue appears to be a plastic piece that is part of the wheel. The way it was molded is incorrect. Got my vehicle back, “part on backorder”. It was also brought to my attention that, I am not the first one reporting the issue. Anyone else experiencing this by any chance?

 

[Alex2014]

Had my steering wheel replaced a month ago due to the frayed leather wrap caused by the steering wheel heating coil cooling it. After the wheel was replaced, there’s now a grinding sound coming from behind the airbag when turning the wheel. It sounds exactly as if, you’d take a hacksaw to a PVC pipe and start hacking away. It took the shop 4 days to identify the issue. They replaced the Steering wheel module, followed by the Airbag Clockspring to no avail. The issue appears to be a plastic piece that is part of the wheel. The way it was molded is incorrect. Got my vehicle back, “part on backorder”. It was also brought to my attention that, I am not the first one reporting the issue. Anyone else experiencing this by any chance?

I have a similar issue, I have a rattle but my technician don’t find and when I turn to the right side I heard a grinding noise. Do you feel a rattle behind your steering wheel?

 

[Rambruiser]

I have a similar issue, I have a rattle but my technician don’t find and when I turn to the right side I heard a grinding noise. Do you feel a rattle behind your steering wheel?

Yes, I do. Sounds like a new, known issue, according to the mechanic.

 

[Alex2014]

Yes, I do. Sounds like a new, known issue, according to the mechanic.

Please can you identify the part or have a number of that piece. My car was two days in the dealer and the technician don’t find the problem. The service advisor say if you open a case this will take 5 or more days to find the problem.

 

[Rambruiser]

Please can you identify the part or have a number of that piece. My car was two days in the dealer and the technician don’t find the problem. The service advisor say if you open a case this will take 5 or more days to find the problem.

I will be back in service tomorrow and, ask for the part number. It’s in backorder though so, not sure how soon the part could be replaced. Either way, I no longer feel safe driving this with the airbag grinding when turning. I have PTSD due to a vehicle accident I was involved in before buying the RAM and, I honestly don’t feel comfortable looking at the “barrel of a 50cal machine gun” ready to go kaboom at any sec while making a turn.... lol! That would suck in a big way haha

 

[Alex2014]

I will be back in service tomorrow and, ask for the part number. It’s in backorder though so, not sure how soon the part could be replaced. Either way, I no longer feel safe driving this with the airbag grinding when turning. I have PTSD due to a vehicle accident I was involved in before buying the RAM and, I honestly don’t feel comfortable looking at the “barrel of a 50cal machine gun” ready to go kaboom at any sec while making a turn.... lol! That would suck in a big way haha

thanks, I need to see if the dealer technician can find a solution.

 

[Alex2014]

thanks, I need to see if the dealer technician can find a solution.

Greetings, be careful there is a recall for airbags. Verify in NHTAS and enter your vin number to see if your vehicle qualifies.

 

[RuggedLongHorn]

have a 19 Longhorn. I recently returned from a 7000 mile road trip... the worst thing about putting 7k miles on your new car before you make a payment on the thing is the dread that you feel when you uncover issues that you cannot find a fix to and are not sure that you can live with. On my trip I experienced the “tea kettle” but I was in North Dakota going 80+ MPH with a 40 MPH cross wind and I doubt I will experience those conditions too often but if I lived in North Dakota I’d be very upset.
I experienced some weird issues with the Uconnect... like if more than one phone is plugged into the USB station on the dash I get feedback from the streaming audio... that sucks really bad.
Oh... the thing with the every 20 minute whoosh of fresh air from the AC system... yep apparently that is by design... idk but it is a pretty serious distraction when you are in the truck doing 500 mile non stop runs and every 20 minutes you hear that... over the crackle/feedback in the speakers since you had two phones plugged in but only if the tea kettle was not going off from the cross wind.
The biggest annoyance is the shaking/fluttering/vibrating/grinding in the steering wheel and vibration in the floorboard. Sorry I know it took me a while to get to it.
So here is my theory... I believe they are related somehow...
I first experienced the “grinding” noise behind the steering wheel when I was driving on a 17 mile stretch of well groomed dirt road. It started around mile 4 and continued until I parked the truck but went away when I first started down the same road the next morning until it came back again. The only way I can describe it is like a plastic gear that is spinning and not quite catching a metal tooth.
It comes and goes, as others have mentioned on “uneven road surfaces”
Then the vibration at highway speed in the wheel and from floor boards... now I used to run a tire shop so I know all about tire and wheel balance... I have put 25 k a year on new cars for as long as I can remember and have never had to balance a tire that was not new. Not that balance may not potentially be an issue but it is not an out of balance feel which I can spot from a mile away.
This “vibration” does not start right away... usually after 5 or ten miles at highway speed... then it starts and is persistent between 45 and 80+ mph... it does not get worse at certain speeds or go away at others... it is just there... another reason I believe it not to be balance related.
So what gives... I think there is a sensor or a module that controls the power steering... something that helps it find or maintain center and it get taxed on “uneven road surfaces” or when you are driving on a highway with a crown for a good bit of time and it is not at a true center and something in it loosens up or releases or overheats from the persistent resistance... I don’t know because these damn things are super complicated not but I feel like when that happens... it manifests itself as a rattle or grinding noise on bumpy roads, and as a slight and very consistent vibration on flat surfaces where you have the wheel constantly ****ed off center...
I know one person included a thread about an electric power-steering torque sensor or something... maybe that’s it but I’m not sure.
Oh yeah... got the clicking brake pedal too... thanks to the person who shared how to take that apart and grease the cone dome rod stuff. It worked like a charm. Now if I can bring myself to leave it at the dealer long enough to diagnose the rest.

 

[Rambruiser]

A quick update: my vehicle has just been re-purchased from me by FCA, under the Lemon Law Rules. Got all my money back, including what I paid for car insurance, interest rate, attorney fees etc. What a nightmare it has been! But, At the end of the day, i walked away victorious...!!! Lol! Cheers everyone! Peace out!