Hello! I have a 2006 S40. For years I suffered thru the well known, class action lawsuit filed, leaking sunroof issue (I was too late to join in). It was a stinky hell-scape! Finally, last December, the floor became so water logged that I could hear loud “sloshing” coming from my back seat. Luckily, I finally had a little money, and had the carpeting entirely replaced, and the sunroof framing replaced as well. Finally the leak problem seems to be fixed. But ever since then, the flooring around my left foot bumps up a bit whenever I turn the steering wheel all the way to the left or right. The dealership, where I had the work done assured me that they just needed to put in a few more carpet clips. They did, but problem persists. But I can live with it, I guess. However, after picking up car second time, the lights on steering wheel (audio controls, cruise control, etc) dim on and off. Admittedly, I know nothing about cars, but as the light dimming started happening on my way home from dealership, I thought perhaps when replacing carpeting, they might have jiggled some wire loose coming down from steering column. Dealership denies any culpability. Thought I’d check with you smart people before calling them again. Certainly possible I’m just completely wrong, it was just a guess, but I like to go into disagreements armed with facts. It is odd though, that both issues happen only when steering wheel is turned all the way, left or right… Thanks for any wisdom (regarding “bumping” carpet, or dimming lights) you may be able to pass on!

 

There is no wiring running down or thru the steering column. Any signals needed to be passed from the steering wheel area go thru the contact reel. That's mounted right at the steering wheel next to the wipers and TS switches.

 

Looks like this in the parts catalog

 

Thank you for ur response. So it sounds like there was nothing the service dept did that would have caused the dimming issue, guess it was just a coincidence of timing. Of course, there’s still the weird “bumping” of the carpet when I turn, but if neither of these things make the car unsafe to drive (dealership claims its safe), then guess I’m good with that. Thanks for helping me not sound stupid with service dept.!

 

It could have been that the high humidity in the car during the "aquatic phase" might have affected the contacts to the steering wheel "clockspring" mechanism.

I'd really want to know what's going on with that "foot bumping thing" though. If any part of the steering mechanism is making contact with the floorpan, something is NOT right. Steering is one system you really want at no less than 100.000% correct. I'd look for signs of contact between anything and the floorpan, and document it. Shouldn't be happening. Or it could be flex in the steering column (there are a lot of universal / slip joints involved) that could be causing the sensation, which could be that some part of the mechanism is making contact with the carpet. That's not nearly as scary, but should also be VERY easy to diagnose / spot (by laying with your head in the driver's footwell, looking for movement while you or a helper saws the steering wheel back and forth.