yeah, a brand associated with people that can afford to own a half dozen different cars. I don't see why hitting the buttons during aggressive movements is such a perceived issue, since you should have all distractions turned off at that time anyway. A/C, too, while we're at it.

Or they could just put in a software override to disable the buttons for people with fat fingers.

What does owning more than one car have to do with steering wheel controls?

I like the purity of not having anything on the wheel. It doesn't matter if the stereo is off in a lot of cars, you can turn it on with the wheel controls. How distracting is that going to be while auto-x'ing.

I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea but I like it. The steering wheel is for steering. Done. The radio isn't that far away. The basic unit I have is probably much easier to find buttons by feel though, I'll give those of you with the Bespoke or Subaru units that.

Nathan

What I did
 

I added this to my old Jetta. It was an iPod remote that I took apart and rebuilt into the wheel. Carbon was from and old RC car chassis, buttons radioshack. Was great to be able to skip tracks and adjust volume.
J

Exactly what I'm looking for too! Having to LOOK and TOUCH at the screen when receiving phone call is just wrong, defeats the purpose of having handsfree a bit.

I was trying to lookup some info on how to made one myself, like what Sloober is doing above, but for the HU we get in Canada, Pioneer avic-x930bt. So far nothing.... :sigh:

Yes. Three horn buttons and some yellow plastic tape to indicate "right straight ahead" - a quote from the Three Stooges..,

Were driving controls optional??

typical tuetonic interior! german blandness. makes your heart race a little faster when you go for service too! they don't give service,OR the car away!
germans get every dime for their stuff,and NONE of 'em have a "better than average" repair record. so much for superior german engineering.

There are a few things I do miss from my legacy, one of them was the cruise control on the steering wheel, was fantastic placement. However, I think the one item I find I miss the most (as in steering column controls) was the wiper controls in my legacy.

BRZ:
Momentary Up = Mist
Pull toward = Washer Fluid
Down = Intermediate/Slow/Fast On

Legacy:
No Up
Down = Intermediate/Slow/Fast On
Pull Toward = Mist
Push Button = Washer Fluid

I loved being able to have my windshield wipers on a slow intermediate speed, then if there was something that got splashed on the windshield I could just pull the stock toward me for a quick clearing wipe. With the BRZ, you would have to push the stock all the way up, then reset back down to intermediate.

I might see if I can swap the mist and washer fluid wires around one of these days.

every steering wheel i used has controlled something

Hopefully the front wheels.

Provided the 'nut' behind the wheel knows what to do.

For those that don't know, Fujitsu Ten is "Eclipse" and many of the parts are interchangeable. In the 90's, everytime someone with a Toyota came in for a deck swap we sold them an Eclipse deck. The wiring harness is factory Toyota so it was plug and play. 10 minutes later and the job was done.

If you search eBay I'm sure you can find some Eclipse remotes. The next step is verifying that the factory decks have an IR receiver. If they have an IR receiver then there are ways to make it work pretty easily. If there is a 3.5mm jack on the back of the radio then you most likely can hard wire some controls also. You can buy a wheel for another Subaru model that has the steering wheel controls and make them work if the car has the input on the factory deck. If you go with an aftermarket deck, you can get a wheel with steering wheel controls and a SWIX and it'll work perfect. You can even select what each of the buttons control during the programming. I've done this mod many times on cars that don't have factory SWC.

I haven't tried this on a FR-S/BRZ but I'm positive I could make it work. Personally, that's not what this car is about for me so I won't be adding SWC to my wheel. I like the factory wheel and the feel/feedback and the last thing I want is a bunch of buttons to clutter it up.

Some may know my background and many of you don't, but this is the kind of stuff I've done my whole life. I can do some pretty trick mods using factory switches and parts with a final look that's as clean or cleaner than factory. My work has been featured on Street Customs, Inside West Coast Customs, Overhaulin, Rides, and even though I'm not proud of this one, Pimp My Ride.

If any of you decide you want to attempt this and have any questions you would like to bounce off of me, shoot me a PM. I'm always happy to help a fellow enthusiast.

The stock FR-S radio is a Pioneer... Not sure an Eclipse remote is going to help anyone there.
@BRZfan-There's only one horn button. It's the whole airbag. The three plastic pieces on the spokes are just trim. ;)

Nathan

Here's the back of a BRZ deck, for those who are curious:

http://i.imgur.com/cnDeoCN.jpg