wardlws
Seasoned Member
I never really liked the 04-07 steering wheels; especially the very light shale steering wheels. With those, I feel like I have to wash my hands before getting in the car, so I don't get the steering wheel dirty.
My old truck also had the shale leather interior, but the steering wheel and touch points were the darker color... almost the exact same as the medium neutral color in the XLR.
So... I bought an 08-09 style steering wheel from eBay; knowing that I would need to re-upholster it. It turns out that several cars have that style steering wheel. I was able to find an 08 SRX wheel with heat and the same electrical connector. Unfortunately, the pin locations were all different, and I needed to add a power (ignition or RAP) and ground to the column for the heated part, but that was easy.
It took me a couple of tries to get the cut and stitching just right, but I really enjoyed stitching it by hand. I learned a lot from this video:
The new leather feels great, and I really like the style and feel of the new wheel. The buttons and heated part is nice too!
If anyone is thinking about upgrading their wheel, feel free to ask questions.
My old truck also had the shale leather interior, but the steering wheel and touch points were the darker color... almost the exact same as the medium neutral color in the XLR.
So... I bought an 08-09 style steering wheel from eBay; knowing that I would need to re-upholster it. It turns out that several cars have that style steering wheel. I was able to find an 08 SRX wheel with heat and the same electrical connector. Unfortunately, the pin locations were all different, and I needed to add a power (ignition or RAP) and ground to the column for the heated part, but that was easy.
It took me a couple of tries to get the cut and stitching just right, but I really enjoyed stitching it by hand. I learned a lot from this video:
The new leather feels great, and I really like the style and feel of the new wheel. The buttons and heated part is nice too!
If anyone is thinking about upgrading their wheel, feel free to ask questions.
