I am having my 99 Forester repaired at the Subaru dealership and they have informed me that I need a new clock spring. The horn does not work and the air bag light is on. I need these repairs to pass inspection, so I don’t have much of a choice. They say the part is $271 + labor of 4 hours will be roughly $637. They’ve had my car for 2 days and still have to order the part. I know with 135k miles, these things are inevitable. Does this all sound pretty accurate to anyone out there?
It’s a royal pain to do, and I wouldn’t want to do it myself. The clock spring is what allows the steering wheel to turn while still allowing power to get through to the air bag, horn, and any buttons that might be on the wheel. So it’s pretty important.
I don’t know how it could take 4 hours, but I’ve never been in the steering column of a Subaru, so I don’t have anything to base an opinion on.
I think that the need to repair it is valid, as is the cost and time estimate. I had the clock spring on my Outback replaced under warranty, so I have no clue as to what it cost, and I was provided with a loaner car for the 2 or 3 days that they had my car, so I really didn’t worry about the time factor.
However, I believe that it is fairly time-consuming to do this job. Clearly it didn’t take them 2 or 3 days, but I didn’t care!