2016 Chevrolet Colorado - Horn

Maintenance/Repairs
1

My 2016 colorado horn takes 20+ lbs to operate it and does’t always work in a emergency. Several times it didn’ work in an emergency. Things have gotten very close. Fortunately no collision. Do you have this problem?

2

Sounds like a bad horn button, you need to replace it.

I can’t remember the last time I had to use my horn, Try defensive driving instead of offensive driving.

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3

You beat me to it . May I add that just honking the horn at every situation also increases your chance of Road Rage with someone who should not have a firearm.

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4

Most likely a faulty horn switch.

5

The problem is with the horn contact ring behind the air bag.

https://www.mygmwholesaleparts.com/p/Chevrolet__Colorado/Horn-Contact-Ring/74585808/84433483.html?partner=googlebase_adwords&kwd=&origin=pla&partnerDevice=c&userLocation=9019557

Tester

6

Thanks for the reply. I should have included the fact that 2 Chevy dealers replaced the horn parts in the steering which made no difference. A third dealer said there was nothing they could do. Now what?

7

Push harder. It is unlikely that there is a part failure, some horn switches have tight springs.

8
9

I very seriously doubt anyone could remember the last time (or any time) they used the horn, unless it was immediately before an accident. However, I certainly need to use it several times a month for safety reasons–not to stroke the flames of road rage. The purpose of the horn is to alert another driver to your presence, and hopefully avoid an accident, not to p*** them off.

Typically, I use the horn if I have the right of way, and see another car moving, such as someone waiting to turn right into my path, and I notice their wheels turning. Or if another car driving in the same direction starts “straying” into my lane. Another situation where I would use the horn is if I am proceeding through a yellow light, and there is a car waiting to turn left. The point is to tell the other driver that I am not going to stop/will not be able to stop, so please don’t turn into my path.

Back to the OP–you should get your horn switch (which may be part of the airbag assembly) repaired or replaced. On a 2016, it should still be under warranty.

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10

Thanks for proving my point, a defensive driver would never be in those situations.

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11

I have no idea how to respond to that statement . Some how that just seems wrong.

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12

I probably used my horn a half dozen times in 30 years prior to moving to the Boston area. Around here, people are honking all the time. The primary use is to alert some schmoe that the light has changed and to put down the phone and go. But people tend to be very vocal drivers around here. They’re honking for just about any reason it seems…

13

Did that dealer shop mean they can’t reduce the amount of force required? B/c the springs designed for that function have a certain spring force that can’t be modified? Or did they mean there’s no way to make the horn work in an emergency situation? B/c you mentioned in your post you were having both of these problems: too much effort needed, and it won’t work at all sometimes. I can understand that there may be no way for them to decrease the amount of force required; , but it seems difficult to believe there’s no way to make it sound in emergency situations, when presumably you’d be apply well above the needed force. It’s a weird problem to have, no doubt about it. One idea, maybe if you disconnect the battery and spend 30 minutes just pressing and releasing the horn button the repeated action might make the springs a little easier to compress.