Next Track Button Not Working on Steering Wheel

So this is a bizarre one....

I have a Sony stereo installed on my Gen 2 Prius, the stereo has Apple Car Play and Android Auto, I got a box that connects to it to ensure that the steering wheel controls work which they do ..... for the most part.

For whatever reason, the Next Track button doesn't work, every other button on the steering wheel works fine, previous track, volume up and down, mode, they all work, just not next track.

So I ordered a replacement off Ebay, received it and asked my buddy who's a mechanic to help me install it, so went through the process, removed the airbag, removed the controls on the left, installed the new controls. Before putting everything back we tested it and everything worked, all the buttons including next track.

Feeling confident we put everything back together, talked for a while and then I drove off. Low and behold, just noticed that the next track button doesn't work, which means my previous one was probably fine as well. It seems to have stopped working after putting back the air bag and putting everything back together?

It's the most bizarre thing, I've tried resetting the stereo back to factory settings but no dice, same thing, all buttons work except for the next track button.

This is driving me absolutely nuts, I wish I knew which little box I bought that hooks up to the radio so the controls work on the steering wheel I'm wondering if it's something to do with that, having said that, if that was the issue it would have failed before my buddy put everything back, but no, it failed after everything was put back together.

Any suggestions guys? If you need any more information I can try and look it up, the stereo model I believe is a Sony XAV-AX100

Thanks everyone

 

Thank you for your response, my only argument is that it was working, before we put the airbag back in it's place everything was tested and worked fine, car was powered on radio ran and was tested without issue, once everything went back on and it was tested afterwards it didn't work, if it was an issue such as the one you describe I figured it wouldn't work at all. My stereo also has a learning function to configure the controls, when going through it I can calibrate all other buttons except for next track, very puzzling.

Again, thank you for your response, I will have a look at it again hopefully this weekend.

 

Hi Everyone,

More to report on this weird issue. Today after a friend of mine gifted me enough tools to repair a spaceship I decided to take another crack at the situation.

I put back the original controls as putting in new ones didn't seem to matter, the new one I had put in I bought on Ebay and it was actually in worst physical shape than mine so I was glad to put back the original.

As soon as I put everything back in, I tested it and low and behold it worked again, but again, it was only temporary, shortly after it stopped working again.

I got home and left the car parked outside for a few hours before putting it away in the underground, as I got in the car I tested the controls and they worked, however, after about a minute, they stopped working.

@MickyMatter I believe you're on the right track although I'll have to continue to do more research, what I do know is that there's nothing wrong with the stereo and nothing wrong with the controls on the steering wheel, the problem is somewhere else, probably the little box that I had to buy to get the controls to work with the stereo. I don't remember the brand or much information about it so I'm going to have to look that up and then track the problem that way.

If anyone else has had this issue or can provide any other input I would greatly appreciate it, so far I do believe that @MickyMatter is probably on to something.

Thank you all for your assistance.

 

I thought about the clock spring but no it doesn’t make a difference if I turn the wheel, I have experienced clock spring issues in the past with another vehicle it was the first thing I thought of. The only consistent behaviour is that it works for a minute or two after turning on the car if it’s been off for a few hours. I have a feeling it’s it’s something to do with the box that sends the signal from the steering wheel to the stereo, but not sure yet. Will keep researching