Steering Wheel Replacement / Swap
 

Well now, I have ascertained(by calling Scion and talking with 2 dealerships) that the "leather trimmed" steering wheel may have no leather on it at all! on my new 2016 and I would like to obtain a new wheel, but I don't want to void my warranty. Any suggestions? I thought about just getting a wheel from a 2016 BRZ limited (just the wheel part, not the accent piece, cruise control or airbag. Or ordering the JDM part and installing it but... someone at Toyota would most definitely notice this... right?


Please give me any suggestions you might have, I am not happy driving around with a Urethane steering wheel on a brand new car... I love every aspect of the car but this is really bugging me. In japan it comes with a leather wheel on all but the G model (which also doesn't even have aluminum pedals...) I just feel like for the price I should have gotten leather.


I don't want to void the warranty in any way as the car is still on it's first 1000 miles. I don't plan to do anything major till I hit at least 25,000 so keep that in mind with your responses.


Thanks in advance!

can you post a pic of the wheel you have ?

I would presume its the same as all the other base FRS's out there.

How the hell would swapping a steering wheel void a warranty?

OP-"damn my engine just threw a rod."
Scion- "we did an investigation and the result was your aftermarket steering wheel caused the fault":bonk:


On a serious note OP there are aftermarket steering wheels that let you keep the airbag. check those out if your not happy with the factory wheel.

"The increased leverage you gained from the aftermarket wheel allowed you to make directional changes of such an abrupt nature that all of the oil in the pan went to one side, causing the pump to come up dry, which lead to oil starvation in the rod bearings while under acceleration coming out of the turn."


Okay, now that was a masterful bit of B.S., if I do say so myself.

There it is. I assure you even though it looks "leathery" it is urethane...

Haha, seriously though, that is what all of Toyota/Scion(dealerships and the official customer service number) warns me about. I even asked if I could install a Japanese part from the same model year and they said "that is considered a modification" .... Don't modify your steering wheel or you will lose your warranty. I even have the part number for just the wheel part, keeping my airbag cover/ airbag, and existing things intact. I just want the wheel portion to be leather, this urethane stuff actually leaves my hands red after my hour long commute in the morning.

It's leather. It's low quality leather. But it is intact leather. You can always go to an aftermarket wheel which has real leather. Unless the manufacturer can confirm that your wheel caused the issue they deny warranty for they can't deny just because.


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I have an aftermarket wheel with no air bag and have got warranty service done.


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Do you mean the trim is leather? left and right of the wheel? I might believe that but the top and bottom are the same material that the E-Brake is covered in which is urethane in the 2016.

I was hoping to just swap in the BRZ's wheel or the JDM wheel. I have also been looking at the TRD momo racing wheel as all of those options would keep exsisting airbag, covers and cruise control.

Did you install it yourself? I am very curious if there is a way to "certify" a wheel so that it isn't an issue.

If you've spent any amount of time haunting forums, you know that is B.S. of the deepest kind. Under federal law, they have to prove that the modification caused the failure.

I don't want to have to fight them about it, I don't understand why they would hassle me over just a small change like this... why can't I just do it via the dealer?


I am more concerned with them honoring any sort of warranty extension I purchased or accidentally deploying the airbag if I try to do it myself which would be an insurance risk...

I highly recommend the DAMD steering wheel. Looks OEM (if you get the black leather with red stitch), retains the airbag, and makes a world of a difference in the driving experience. The grooves feel incredibly nice in your hands. And it's 7mm smaller in diameter compared to stock, but thicker.

I have the TRD wheel which is slightly thicker than the OE one, and positioned slightly differently.


I love it, retains the factory airbag and is quality leather.


As to changing it - there are plenty of DIYs here, if you don't feel comfortable get a shop or a dealership to do it. The biggest risk is not the airbag deploying in your face but wrecking and having to replace the clockspring which is not life threatening, just expensive.

If you are looking for a reason to upgrade your wheel, that's fine - the quality of the original is very good for the cost of the car, but I am always amused by the justification dance people feel they need to go through to do these things. Either you want to change it or you don't. If you do then change it but don't cloak doing it in spurious logic.

Op this will be a good read for you.

www.impalasuperstore.com/naisso/magmoss.htm




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Dont worry about warranty. The moment car leave the dealership, the warranty was voided.

Hmm I will Definetly check it out. Trust me when I say I am not looking for an excuse, I actually had hands on a 2013 and 2015 stock wheel recently and they both don't feel like this. The leather wheel is just a much softer feel where is this one is rigid and rubbery.. Its like a hard rubber. It's hard to explain as the wheel looks identical but it's the feel and yes as far as looks there are no major differences from 2013 to 2016 the wheel looks the same.

I am very much considering the TRD wheel is there a DIY up.. Guess I will start searchingsearchingsearching. Thanks for the info!

Got a link to where I can obtain one? I honestly would take a stock leather wheel out of a 2013 over this wheel.

http://www.kamispeed.com/DAMD-D-Shap...ss358-z-rd.htm

It ain't cheap, but I think it's well worth it. The steering wheel is one of few things you're touching 100% of the time when you're driving, so it better feel good.

This is my 2nd DAMD wheel by the way. I have one in a Subaru Legacy as well. It's now my mom's car and she didn't want me to part it out since she enjoys it over the stock wheel as well :lol:

That is honestly the entire reason I want to swap the wheel. I touch it more than any other part of the car and currently it just doesn't feel comfortable. The car does exactly what I want it to do, and looks just the way I want it to look.