pschmutzle

Hi everyone,

My 2014 ES350 is getting on my nerves. This only happens when it's warm, which it's quickly becoming more often here in Tennessee.

When I start the car, the seat and steering wheel go to the last memory position. The steering wheel makes a pretty awful squealing sound as it telescopes and tilts. Any ideas where this comes from and how to fix it? All my searching only found issues with squealing steering wheels when turning the wheel, not telescoping.

(f)-LEX-ible

My mother has the same car. A few months ago, she was having the same issue as you. With the steering wheel extended, I sprayed a generous amount of WD-40 under the cover by slipping in the nozzle of the can.

So far, the noise has stopped and there have been no issues from the lubricant.

LisaES350

My steering wheel also squeaks (like a bird) while telescoping in warm weather. I'll try the WD40 fix. Thank you!

pschmutzle

Thanks. I'll give that a shot this weekend.

LisaES350

Let us know if it fixed the issue and any tips you can share.

Aron9000

YES!!! My 2014 ES350 did the same thing the other day when it was "warm", ie sitting in the sun all day at 70 degrees. Only time I've heard it though, so I will give the wd-40 thing a whirl if I hear it again .

pschmutzle

Well, I couldn't seem to access behind the steering wheel anywhere without extensive disassembly (which I was not about to undertake), but I removed a screw from underneath the column. I then squirted a moderate amount of WD40 in there. That seems to have fixed it, so I guess it got where it needed to go. Thanks for the tip, (f)-LEX-ible!

Riick

WD-40 is a poor lubricant. WD stands for Water Displacer.
I've had luck using a lubricant spray that contains Teflon; made by DuPont.
It's colorless, non-staining, and applied in the blind manner indicated, should give you a longer lasting fix.

rmak

I turned my steering wheel and seat off (just the auto portion when shutting off car). I plan on having this car for a long time and do not want the hassle of replacing a burned out motor. Plus it got on my nerves. Definitely easier to get in and out, but also caused me to spill coffee when I was not expecting the seat and wheel to move.

Also test drove an older ES 350 that made a grinding gear noise in the seat when I turned it off. Sounded broken but the salesman did not know how to shut it off.

In short, I had to make my car dummy proof (me being the dummy)

st1800

Thank you , WD 40 isn’t good for much of anything. Certainly not a lubricant...

fits in the same category as Armor-All...

Littleguy

I typically go with a silicon lubricant.