chrysler sebring emblem on steering wheel pokes horn switch

The main problem why the horn goes off by itself because the Chrysler Sebring emblem on the steering wheel is poking the horn switch below it and causes dent. The Chrysler Sebring emblem on the steering wheel is attached to the center of the steering wheel with pointed/sharp studs. Over time, when the driver presses the center of the steering wheel to activate the horn, the driver is pressing down on the Chrysler Sebring emblem but at the same time the pointed stud of the Chrysler Sebring emblem is making a dent (the size of a pepper corn) on the horn switch. The horn switch is composed of a rectangle looking plastic (approx 2"x5") with a semi-liquid conductor inside this rectangular plastic.

So the dented plastic part of the horn switch is what creates a complete circuit and activates the horn by itself. I was able to get to the horn switch on the steering wheel and massage the dented part of the horn switch back to almost flat surface. I filed the Chrysler Sebring emblem studs a little bit so it would not be pointy/sharp anymore.

Here is one for the books with photos to prove it. Bought a 2005 Sebring GTC Convertible 2.7L yesterday. One of two problems was that the horn had not worked in the 2 1/2 years the previous owner to me had it. (75K to 126K). So I troubleshot it determined to fix it.

1. The owner was not quite right. The horn worked on FOB Panic mode and door lock. Just not from steering column. 2. The Air Bag dash light cycled properly on startup, thus according to many fix it posts, the Clockspring was not faulty. 3. The Horn Relay, bottom one in Dash Compartment, did not audibly click not could I feel a click when I pressed the steering column horn. Being the same as the relay beside it, I switched the two and tried again without any difference. I left them switched because the suspect one now worked properly for the turn signals as did the original. 4. I learned that the actual Horn Switch is an integral part of the Trim Cover and Air Bag and would not be cheap to replace. Plus you have to watch out for low priced E-Bay Air Bags as many of them are counterfeit and inoperable.

Critical Note: I did NOT remove the negative battery cable for two minutes before proceeding because I had absolutely NO intention of unplugging the two yellow Air Bag connectors from it.

5. I removed the Cruise Control units by unscrewing two, small, star head screws on the back of the column and laid them aside still connected. 6 Then I removed the two star/allen screws holding the Air Bag onto the column and gently pulled the unit from the column, laying it on the steering wheel. 7. I immediately saw a weird ass problem! The horn connector from the steering column was floating loose. AND! THE AIR BAG HAS NO TERMINAL ANYWHERE ON IT TO CONNECT THAT HORN CONNECTOR TO! 8. I used a bent paperclip to short the floating horn connector and the horn works perfectly each time a connection is made, short or long no matter.

Look at the photos. You can see the white horn connector, and the back of the Air Bag without any terminal that is usually raised, and located right beside one of the cutout tabs. I am certainly not poking or probing into either hole to see if the terminal is recessed which I truly believe is not the case. Look again at the photo. The Air Bag appears to be a genuine OEM article however the horn could NEVER have worked in this configuration. Has it been changed? The car has no visible indications of being repaired from a crash, but even so any OEM air bag replacement should have had a horn terminal. Today is Sunday. The Chrysler dealership is one mile up the street. Guess where I am going tomorrow to demand a $600 replacement airbag for free. I will update this, if possible when I know.

Update from Sep 30, 2015: Parts counter guy a real jerk. Told me airbag rotated on clockspring for horn connection. Telling him that he was wrong was as bad as having punched him since he then told me off with spittle and stormed into his office. I finally stripped the whole air bag system down to a hollow trim cover.

Final Finding: Behind the air bag unit is a clear plastic 6" x 3" oval plate held to the trim cover 1/2" above the horn press pad. It is held by 11 sliced rubber heads that protrude through 2 matching holes for each, and then the rubber prongs are fused together by heat. The top 6 of mine were sliced to pull back the top of the plastic thus using the lower prongs as a hinge. Without knowing more I can safely guess some rogue put this airbag on my car without replacing a faulty, or missing horn switch. I have never seen the actual switch but visualize its design to lay behind the plastic plate lightly compressed to the horn pad until used. A wire has been shown in several pictures to come from behind and beside the air bag that attaches to the metal plate with a matching horn connector to the 6" clockspring two wire horn terminal.

Bottom Line: $600.00 avg to fix a working horn by replacing a whole damed air bag, or $250 for a new trim cover with horn switch. There is a perfect hollow on the steering column to drill a 3/4 inch hole and add a nice horn button for under $10 from Amazon.

I originally put my complaint up (#20) on Jan, 3, 2011. My complaint has still not been fixed. I had to disconnect the horn fuse (which the dealer said couldn't be done). Because the dealership mechanics couldn't figure out how to repair the horn malfunction and it was no longer under warranty, I could not afford to pay them to try to figure it out on my dime.

My ex put in a button and connected it the horn. They was an okay fix but then my battery started draining and I would find it dead if I didn't drive for a couple of days. Found out the way my ex wired the button is was putting a drain on the battery. So....again, NO HORN!!! TOTAL SAFETY ISSUE!!! Well, it happened, which so many times I was able to avoid, yell or whistle out the window to an driver not paying attention. Well, on May 3, 2014, it couldn't be avoided....I had nowhere to go and the driver t-boned right into my drivers side. Had my horn worked, it may have been avoided or at least minimized. I was out of work for 6 months, still in major neck pain and where is Chrysler with the recall?????

Well, research have it I found who we ALL need to contact: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 1-888-327-4236. Maybe if we all start calling or writing them we might just get our recall. Worth a shot.

Very annoying both to me and the drivers around me as well as my neighbors, that my horn honks incessantly almost every morning that I leave for work. It blasts (not just a honk) as soon as I open my driver's side door until I hit the horn several times, then it intermittently blasts as I drive out of my complex and down the road for about a mile continuing to bang on the horn to make it stop, as I am waving and shrugging my shoulders to the other drivers as they glare at me like I'm doing it on purpose.

I have seen the many, many posts on this obvious Chrysler product problem and cannot afford to take the car into a dealership and be charged $1000.00+ for this fix. I can and will however, pull the horn fuse but that is NOT a fix. The horn is put on a car as a safety device and I am being forced to dismantle a safety device to drive this (my only) car. NOT A GOOD IDEA CHRYSLER!!

I too am interested in a class action case if there is one being prepared. I am sure Chrysler has seen these MANY, MANY posts and just will not address it. Maybe if the Government offers to pay them to recall these cars they would do it, they seem to have no problem being bailed out of their financial woes on the backs of taxpayers and then snub their noses at their taxpaying customers.

Tired of this damn horn going off by itself, sometimes three times into the night. My son has been driving the car and the horn just started going off and he had people slowing down, stopping, trying to see what the problem was. All he could do was hold up his hand and shrug his shoulders in embarrassment hoping it would stop and not do it again.

Well, it's been months and the horn still goes off by itself, mostly at night and seems like only when it's been cold does this happen. But people in the neighborhood are waking up asking is there a problem because they think someone is wailing on the horn and won't get off it. I'm tired of this bull...Chrysler needs to do something about this defect!!!!!!!!!@

I have the same issue with my horn. When you push the horn it will not turn off. I pulled the fuse out so that I would not have to deal with the horn having a mind of its own. My fix was to purchase a switch about $4-5 at the auto store and rewire the horn in on my own. It looks a little tacky, I put the switch under the turn signal, but it is far better than being in traffic or at a light and having the horn go off for 5 minutes. straight. I never took it in but I am guessing it is an issue with the horn switch which is under the airbag. Expensive fix which is why Chrysler will never pay to fix the issue. just look at GM they were too cheap to fix faulty ignition switches that lead to deaths and accidents.

My horn first started malfunctioning while I was honking at someone who was about to change lanes into my car. The horn kept honking and I punched it thinking it was stuck. It stopped. But latter the horn would go off while driving, while waiting at a light. After a few days, it started going off every time I opened the door from the drive side and sometimes when I close the door. I have to tap the horn in order to make it stop. This is very annoying, my issue sounds identical to countless other Chrysler owners. I'm planning on removing the horn fuse, once I figure out which one it is. I can't afford to repair it now. This car has had a lot of problems, but I love it. It's my first convertible and I've enjoyed driving it for over 50,000 miles. I bought it used at about 75,000 million. Its now at 132,000 miles. Oh I forgot to mention, I put a new engine in it a few months ago, $1,300 rebuilt engine. And still I love my car.

Last week I took my 2005 sebring to Chrysler as the horn was acting up again; The horn goes off first thing in the morning when I unlock the car or the trunk; after about five mins it stops but starts blowing again while I'm driving so it is also a safety concern in the traffic. They kept the car for two days than it did it so they recommended to me to change the horn and the air bag: the only way they say to solve the problem properly; but the cost is $1236.94 and the car isn't under any warranty; I feel it should be part of a recall since so many people have had the same problem. On top of all this I had to pay the Chrysler dealer up front for them to order the parts (Ottawa Dodge Chrysler/St-Laurent Blvd). The parts will be under warranty for a year. Anyone knows about a recall on this or a class action going on?

I've also had some problems before with the air bag light staying on related to the

seatbelt tensioner but it was fixed and it seems ok for now.

Was involved in a minor fender bend/ hit and run monday so I laid on the horn at the lady as she drove off. I was hit from behind so it was nothing serious. The next day I unlocked my car, it was like 55 degrees out and my horn just went of continuously for like 5 minutes, it stopped and went off again. I tried to hit the horn to shut it off but nothing worked. I stopped before I left and then as I tried to use the horn just to test it, and it wouldn't go off. I hadn't removed any fuses or anything. With the car being in the fender bender and the air bag being tied to the horn I opted to leave the car at home. Will see what the body shop says today.

I purchased vehicle in July-2005. The first time it happened was11/22/06,they reprogrammed the system it work for a while then it happened again in 03/20/07 they replaced horn relay switch. And it has just started happening again this pats week

12/09/2011 and they are telling me they can't fix the problem unless it replicates itself while they are working on it. It is obvious that I am not the only one with this problem and Chrysler does not seem to think it is a problem. If it causes an accident while I am on the road with this problem I am going to hold Chrysler Corp. responsible and legal action will be taken against them. They were quick to take government money when they were in trouble but when it comes to customer concerns the really don't care!