Clocksprings and Airbag System Compliance
The clockspring is the part most owners know least about when they buy an aftermarket steering wheel. It's also the part that matters most. Here's what a clockspring does, why yours is matched to your exact variant, what kills one, and why the PVS kit is built so that yours stays in the column.
What a clockspring does
- Driver airbag (SRS system)
- Horn
- Cruise control buttons
- Audio and multimedia controls
- Phone and voice controls
- Lane keep assist and other driver assist inputs (where fitted)
Those are the circuits a clockspring keeps alive through the full range of wheel rotation. The clockspring, also called a spiral cable or clock spring, is a rotary electrical connector inside the steering column. It sits between the fixed wiring of your vehicle and the wheel that turns. Whatever position your wheel is in, the connection holds.
It's a consumable safety component, and it's vehicle-specific. Electrical paths, connector pinout, loop resistance and physical dimensions all differ between variants, model years and steering wheel configurations.
Why your clockspring is specific to your vehicle
On a Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, the factory clockspring is engineered for that exact variant. Its electrical paths, connector pinout, loop resistance and physical dimensions are matched to the vehicle it was built for.
If your vehicle has steering wheel controls, its clockspring carries extra wiring paths for those functions. Without those controls, it uses a different clockspring entirely. The standard 70 Series clockspring makes no provision for steering wheel controls, so adding buttons to one has traditionally meant replacing it.
If a steering wheel kit hands you a replacement clockspring, it's asking you to swap a component matched to your vehicle for one that has to be verified against it. That verification is yours to do, not the seller's, and you can't check it by looking at the part.
What kills a clockspring
- Repeated steering over many years of driving
- Faulty installation, or incorrect centring after a repair or a steering wheel change
- Airbag deployment, which can damage the clockspring
- Exposure to heat, dust or moisture
Those are the causes commonly cited for a component that's consumable by design. The ribbon cable inside takes constant rotation and vibration every time you turn the wheel.
Look at the second one. Installation is itself a cause of failure. Fitting a clockspring isn't a bolt-on job: you disable the SRS, pull the steering wheel, then centre the new unit correctly. Get the centring wrong and normal steering travel can tear the ribbon inside.
When a clockspring fails, the result runs from annoying to serious. Your steering wheel controls and horn can stop working. You may get an SRS or airbag warning light on the dash. Fit a clockspring that isn't correct for your vehicle and you can raise other dash warnings too: one Australian steering wheel seller notes on its own product page that where the wrong clockspring is fitted, "the vehicle may show traction control or stability control warning lights".
The worst case is the airbag circuit, which runs through the clockspring. Break that circuit and the airbag may not deploy in a collision. Often you get no outward sign it's happened until someone runs an SRS diagnostic scan.
Compliance: what actually applies
The Australian Design Rules are national standards that apply to a vehicle when it's first manufactured or imported, under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018. On their own they don't govern what you do to the vehicle afterwards.
Your modification is governed by in-service state law. In New South Wales, the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2017 requires a vehicle to be constructed to comply with the applicable Australian Design Rules, and to continue to comply with them to stay registered for road use. The Regulation also requires that vehicles be safe, which for a modification is interpreted to mean at least as safe as the unmodified vehicle. Other states and territories have equivalent in-service requirements, and your modification may need certification under the relevant state scheme (VSCCS in NSW, VASS in Victoria, the Approved Person Scheme in Queensland, or equivalent).
- ADR 42/05 General Safety Requirements, covering internal protrusions and electrical wiring
- ADR 90/00 Steering System
- ADR 93/00 Forward Field of View
- ADR 94/00 Audible Warning, covering the horn
Those are the Australian Design Rules that bear on a steering wheel in a 70 Series LandCruiser, which is a light goods vehicle.
The occupant protection rules (ADR 69/00, 72/00 and 73/00) aren't applicable to this vehicle category, though the collision tests they specify are useful references when you're assessing whether a steering wheel modification affects driver safety.
An inactive or faulty airbag system, or a live SRS fault code, is a roadworthiness problem at inspection no matter what caused it.
Tell your insurer what's fitted
Declare your modifications. It's worth taking seriously for a reason that surprises most owners: where a modification hasn't been disclosed, an insurer's ability to reduce or refuse a claim doesn't necessarily depend on the modification having anything to do with the loss.
In one 2025 determination by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, a vehicle was stolen from a hospital car park. The insurer refused the claim because the owner hadn't disclosed an exhaust change and a tune. A car park theft has nothing to do with an exhaust. The refusal was upheld anyway, on the basis that the insurer had been prejudiced by the non-disclosure.
The lesson isn't that modifying your vehicle voids your cover. It's that undisclosed modifications are the risk. Tell your insurer what's on your vehicle, and fit parts you're comfortable declaring.
How the PVS wireless module gets around it
PVS Automotive built its wireless steering wheel control module to take the clockspring problem off the table entirely.
- The factory clockspring remains completely untouched.
- The SRS circuit is factory-original.
- The airbag, horn, and all safety-critical wiring remain as manufactured.
- The vehicle's ADR compliance envelope is not affected by the steering wheel upgrade.
That's what you get instead of replacing the clockspring to route new control signals from an upgraded wheel. The module sends those signals wirelessly from the wheel to a receiver connected to the headunit's steering wheel control (SWC) input.
It's also why the PVS steering wheel kit can be independently assessed for ADR compliance as a complete system. No other approach in the Australian aftermarket for the LandCruiser 70 Series achieves this.
Ask these before you buy any aftermarket steering wheel
- Does the kit include a clockspring replacement? If yes, request the part number and confirm it is vehicle-specific for your exact variant and steering wheel configuration.
- Has the complete kit (wheel, hub, module, and clockspring if included) been assessed as a system for ADR compliance? Assessment of the wheel alone is not sufficient.
- Will a qualified automotive engineer in your state certify the installation? Ask this before you buy, not after.
- Will your insurer cover the vehicle after fitment? Request written confirmation.
- Does fitting the kit trigger any SRS or warning lights? If yes, that is an active fault in a safety-critical system.
Those five questions apply to any airbag-equipped vehicle, and you'll get the answers more easily before your money moves.
Last updated: July 2026