Steering Wheel Removal

[TindalltheFirst]

Hi Folks!

My question has to do with my 2005 Pontiac Vibe.

Backstory: I had a usb cable that was stuck between the steering wheel and the column. It was quite hard to get out, and I had to pull it quite hard to get it out. After I got it out, my horn and cruise control didn't work, and the airbag light came on in the dash. This leads me to believe that it's the clockspring.

I unhooked the battery (let it sit a good half hour), got the Torx screws out of the steering wheel, and loosened the horn button. Now, however, the horn button seems to be hooked somewhere and I cannot pull it off.

Does anyone know if the horn button is indeed hooked somewhere, or is there a tab that needs to be pushed to get it off? I don't want to just go and start pulling things without knowing what the outcome could be.

(My overall intention is to see if the clockspring merely needs to be plugged in, or replaced entirely. The clockspring is readily available, but if it's only a matter of reconnecting it somewhere, that's what I'm going to do.)

Thanks for any help anyone can give! I like to tinker with things, and this looks like an opportunity to

[sideshowalan]

According to the service manual:
http://madstyle1972.com/Repair/50/200kq/w040001.pdf

It should just come out with some slack behind it that allows you to disconnect the airbag.
I would look really closely in the area under the dash where the usb cable was stuck. See if it pulled anything loose or broke any wiring under there first.

[TindalltheFirst]

That's a really good resource, that attached PDF! I'll see what I can do with it, it really lays things out nice and clear.

My concern lies with how much force is needed to remove the horn assembly. However, it doesn't appear as though there are any tabs or anything, just maybe a good strong tug to get it off.

Here's hoping!

[TindalltheFirst]

Well, no luck. I'm stuck on '4-a', which if I have get stuck somewhere it's probably better that it's right at the start than right in the middle. Disappointing!

I unscrew those Torx screws as far as they will go, try to get them to catch on the screw case (pushing in the screw case, pulling the screws with needlenose pliers) and they just won't take. Maybe if I went and got some really powerful magnets...

If anyone had done this and knows the trick - let me know!

[tommytipover]

I unscrew those Torx screws as far as they will go, try to get them to catch on the screw case (pushing in the screw case, pulling the screws with needlenose pliers) and they just won't take. Maybe if I went and got some really powerful magnets...

If anyone had done this and knows the trick - let me know!

Oooh, I just had mine out and I see what your issue is. The heads of the screws have a groove in them and they are meant to be captured by the plastic cover on the back of the steering wheel. On my car, the last person to tighten the screws (very tightly I might add) also pushed then out of that groove. I had to fiddle around with the plastic cover on the backside of the wheel to move the screw far enough out to get the nose of the screw out of the airbag assy.