Hi, My 2007 Subaru forester had some issues so I took it to the dealer shop. The horn didn’t work, and neither did the hazard blinker. When I use remote control, the blinkers didn’t flash any longer. The dealer said that the last two (hazard blinker and remote control non-blinking) was related to fuse, but the horns were just simply broken. I asked what I did to the horns (there are two, I’m told), but they said sometimes horns just break. So they ordered parts ($80), and replaced the horns ($120). I’m just curious how the horns just break. Since I read online that nonfunctioning horn is sometimes fuse problem, I’m wondering if I just got ripped off (I didn’t see the broken horns)? Since horns are about safety, I feel like the dealer shop should at least offer the service some sort warranty, but there isn’t any…
Horns do sometimes fail, but on a 3 year old car, that is not common, unless one of the pros knows someting about this particular car? The horn is mostly just a vibrator with an amplifer, and for two of them to fail at once is unusual to say the least. It does indeed sound more like a fuse, or a poor battery connection than broken horns to me. Mind you I am only a shade tree guy who has never worked on any thing newer than about 1994.
Old horns generally fail for corrosion either internally or where they electrically ground (mount) to the car. But a 3 year old horn failing is highly unusual. Especially both tones. It would almost have to be some internal weakness in the horn design.
Prices at dealers are generally very high. I don’t think they actually ripped you off, but you did pay much more for having gone to a dealer.
My brother once owned a 1977 Cadillac and the horns failed. He thought it odd, but replaced the horns with new ones he obtained from an auto parts shop. It turned out that the horn switch in the steering wheel had made contact while the car was parked and nobody was around and the horns blared until they burned out. My brother was around when the horns sounded when nobody was in the car the second time and traced the problem to the horn switch. I had a similar problem with the horn switch on a Ford Maverick. The horn started blasing in the middle of the night, but I heard it and went out and disconnected the battery cable.
Get yourself a bumper sticker that reads, “Horn broke. Watch for finger.” 