Hey friends! After searching the internet far and wide, I came up short on finding much (if any) info on swapping the MY17 steering wheel trim. So I thought I'd throw a quick guide together and hopefully help out anyone else looking to swap this piece. Before we jump in, I'd like to throw a quick shoutout to @
gpvecchi and reddit user /u/Warenfetischismus for answering all of my questions!
Now, onto the fun stuff. As you probably know already, the 17+ steering wheel is a bit of a different process than the 13-16 wheels. First thing's first - disconnect your battery! You'll need a 10mm socket or wrench. I just disconnected the negative terminal and put a rubber glove between the post/contact, no need to remove the entire battery. No one wants a surprise airbag to the face, so better safe than sorry, right?
There are still 3 clips/torsion springs, but they're accessed by removing a cover on each side of the steering wheel. The right side cover is at the cruise control lever, but will slide right over the lever once you pop the cover.
Popping these covers was harder than I expected. There isn't really enough room for a screwdriver or panel gap tool, so I ended up using a guitar pick. Anything small enough to clear the steering wheel will work. Once both are removed, the pins are accessible.
This is the only one I was able to get a good picture of, but they all three work the same. This is on the left side, which has two pins. Using your screwdriver, shift the pin up/down/out. There will be very little resistance here and an audible "pop" will signal that you popped that spring. If it doesn't want to budge, you're going the wrong direction or aren't on the right piece.
Upper pin on the left side. You'll have to get pretty low to see this. Same as the previous one, just shift it with your screwdriver and you'll get another pop.
Upper pin on the right. I wish I'd had someone to take my picture because it requires a bit of contortion to get a good view of this one. Same deal, shift and pop. Now the airbag is loose! Be sure not to let it hang freely by the connecting wires.
There's a lot going on in this one. First of all, you'll have to remove the two screws that are circled. Be sure not to lose the washers. Remove the ground wire from the airbag by pressing the small clip down (top circle). Unplug the remaining two connections (arrows point to the tab locations).
Now we can pop the trim off the steering wheel with a plastic trim removal tool. I inserted the tool between the trim/wheel at the left, right, and bottom. It came loose pretty easily. The only other thing is that there are two tab things near at top, above the connector, that holds the wiring out of the way. Slip the wires over the tabs. Then thread the airbag through the trim/electronics and it should come off!
Ta-da! Now, if you have a 17 like me, and ordered the black steering wheel trim from an 18+ tS, you won't be able to use the new electronics. Not to worry though, they're pretty easy to swap.
There are two of these on each side. It might be easier to disconnect the wiring so you don't have to fight it to get to the top screw.
Once the screws are out, two plastic tabs are holding the controls in place. Slightly press outward on these and you can slide the controls out of the trim. Then you'll be left with just the trim piece!
Now you can install the new part! Swap the controls from the new piece, reconnect all screws and wires, feed the airbag back through the trim/electronics and press the trim back into place. Be sure none of the wiring gets caught between the trim and the wheel. Plug all the clips back in and be sure you reconnect the ground wire to the airbag. Put the airbag back into position and gently press over the springs to lock them back into place. You'll get three more pops to let you know it's secured. All that's left now is to reconnect the battery!
Woohoo! Blacked trim looks so much better than the silver, in my opinion. Hopefully this guide was helpful! If not, be gentle - it's my first time
