Upgraded to 08-09 Steering Wheel

[wardlws]

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.

 

[mickeytee]

Curious, so you got all the functions to work with no airbag light. id be scared of the bag as they are usually engineered for specific cars with driver distance, steering wheel angle etc all built into the size of the bag and propellant charge amount. Why did you not consider the 08-09 xlr. wheel ? I do like the look . when doing leather look at the scraper that shaves off the hide on the rear and thins it down for folding around sharp edges . ive did a few and dont have the patients to sew it up. Looks really nice. is the wood heated? Thats what i heard that some xlr wheels with the full leather they did because the wood did not heat up well. ilm looking to do one with the flat bottom but was going to adapt a factory xlr wheel. I had not considered swapping to a vette styke wheel already done. Might look into that. Thanks for your post and appreciate the work you put into it.

 

[wardlws]

No airbag light, the heat works, the radio buttons work. I need to check on the cruise gap buttons... I couldn't find a steering wheel with the correct wood color, heat, and cruise gap buttons... this one has seek up/down. I assume that they will control the cruise gap, but I never use cruise on this car. The buttons on most GM steering wheels have the same resistance, so volume up might be like 3.5k ohms and will be the same for this steering wheel or that.

You are correct about the airbags being different, and I should have mentioned that. Don't get an SRX nor STS airbag, you want one from an XLR or CTS. The 08 XLR and 08 CTS have the same part number for the ebony driver airbag.

When I looked for this style steering wheel with the same color wood, I did see an 09 XLR wheel, but it was in perfect condition for over $350 and I wasn't about to rip the leather off of it! The SRX wheel that I got was around $75. The main difference is the buttons (cruise gap and color) and the metal trim does not have the printed grid pattern.

The wood is not heated on this style steering wheel. I'm not sure I've ever seen a steering wheel that has heated wood.

You might look at Exclusive or AZA custom steering wheels:

Steering wheel Cadillac CTS-V 2008-2015 Alcantara/Napa/Black stripe

1. Features First, multiple premium materials in ergonomically grooved side grips stabilize steering control and boost driving comfort. Furthermore, we preserve OEM groove patterns on the back of the stock steering wheel. In addition, choose premium stitching in a wide range of colors. Moreover...

www.aza-autowheel.com

2008-2013 Cadillac CTS/XLR/STS/SRX Custom Steering Wheel by Exclusive

Please reach out to us at sales@exclusivesteering.com or use the online contact form if you are looking for further customization beyond our standard options. All exclusive steering wheels are make to order and will take between 8-12 weeks before crafted to perfection. Price includes steering...

www.exclusivesteering.com

You just need to double check the electrical connector for the CTS wheel is the same... though, I'm not above cutting both connectors off and swapping them. Also, the CTS-V wheel doesn't have heat; instead it has a traction control button.