Steering wheel wear
 

My year old steering wheel is wearing on the very top as shown in the attached snapshot. I keep the windshield covered with a sun shade. Do others have tis wear? Any other ideas?

Brian
Attachment 78358

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56755


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62644

TRD JDM Wheel calling out to you.

Some of us have gotten the steering wheel replaced by the dealer, it is very thin, and susceptible for wear. Be careful of what you use to clean it, just a damp cloth is advisable.
You can get a cover, but if you were to replace it yourself take a look at the Cusco offerings, will be similar price or cheaper than OEM, and maybe would hold up as well or better? Have not seen too many yet, but would be worth looking into. If mine starts peeling again that is the route I plan to take.

hmmm......my 1 year old steering wheel looks fine. DD & garaged.

Maybe some leather conditioner will help it.....??


humfrz

As long as the leather conditioner doesn't dry slippery.

I have/use the Meguiars one.

Generally body oils deteriorate your steering wheel because your body oils contain acids and salts which is harmful to the material.

Damn... Still no solution to protect this or TSB hmm? :(

Wash your hands and steering wheel.

I know I do... but that's not the point.

Compared to other vehicles with leather wrapped steering wheel; this is the first I've seen such early premature wear.

Is that where you roll your boogers, best pick another spot. ;)

Steering wheel is not leather wrapped - it's a synthetic material...much like what is used on the door panel. There are no leather products in this car from the factory....

Synthetic leather is the what they claim "real" leather now a days. Lol

My wheel did the same thing. It was because my hands were just super sweaty though D:

This is an interesting discussion.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...and-gear-knobs



humfrz

My mom's jetta did this prematurely. She used a ton of antibacterial hand cleaner (alcohol based stuff). I think that had a lot to do with it. She'd use it before drive thrus, etc.

And this is why I wear driving gloves.

driving gloves
 

Well, reading the replies to this thread, and how others saw wear where (usually around 8 o'clock on the wheel) it occurred to me that my 12:30 o'clock problem relates to where I grab the wheel, apparently. So I have started to wear a glove and if nothing else, it has made me conscious of where I grab the wheel. I guess that is an odd place to grab, but it seems to work for me.

Thanks for the replies,

Brian in Atlanta

Two words for y'all. Hand lotion

leather conditioner as hand lotion.

I'm at 1 year and 4 months. No wear. I usually hit the interior with aerospace 303 once a month. Other than that, it's just a damp microfiber to clean it.

I'm bringing this one back to life simply because after 1 year I have noticed my 7' o-clock has peeled off / disintegrate. By this time we should have a much bigger sample of users... This is garaged/DD/sun protector... only 6k miles in the first year.

The material looks to be less than paper thin. I guess I'll try to get the dealer to replace. :[ Anyone else have issues ?

>> Admin please move this to Warranty/repairs

35k on mine...it's shiny but no real wear.

Do you wear rings?

Mine had some shiny spots but nothing abnormal for wear. Do you drive with your hand that far down on the wheel? Rings? Or is this a defect that may have been there forever?

Moving the thread in a second.

I do put my hand down there when cruising...now that you mention it, it might be due to my ring. I've have many cars... none that had the steering wheel crap out after just a year! .... I guess they did save a few ounces by having such a thin cover !

The sealant on the first production run of the steering wheels was just awful. The newer steering wheels are a lighter color and harder.

Mine blistered but I haven't changed it because I still prefer it to the newer ones.

A few ounces is unlikely to make a difference on a nearly 3,000 lb vehicle.

$5 per unit on what is nearly 200,000 units and counting, probably paid for the decision maker's salary for the rest of his career at Toyota as well as a few underlings.

There is a difference I can feel and see in material in my friends 2014 vs my 2015, the top part that people say is deteriorating off everyone's steering is the difference. His steering wheel is shiny, my seems kind of matte or darker.

My steering wheel on my '13 BRZ was flaking off small bits of the gray color leaving white color underneath (pin head size spots). I never liked the gray color anyway so I stained my wheel dark black. Looks great and is holding up well!

They must have changed it more than once. I thought it had been changed it earlier than that. Yeah. The matte finish I've seen is a dark grey. The shiny black ones are those that peel. It was really tacky in the heat for the first year.

My wife still gets after me to have it replaced. -___-

Yup that's a good description of it. Mines a smooth matte finish, his is a shiny one. I actually never noticed it till actually swapping cars, must've been done on the down low for reliability. You should get a Cusco or TRD steering wheel :lol: