Heated Steering Wheel

[strider]

You live in the SF Bay area, Strider, where "cold" is a lot different than "cold" in places where we really get winter. If you're not plugged in, there will be a significant energy savings from heated seats and steering wheel, vs. cabin warming. Cranking the heated seats responds much more quickly than trying to warm those same surfaces by indirect warming from the air. I welcome get toasty, fast, when getting in my car after skiing in -10F weather.

I'm not saying Model S shouldn't have heated seats and steering wheel for comfort. If you don't like hot air blowing on you or waiting for cabin heat by all means switch on those seats and wheel and enjoy.

My point was that I didn't want threads that say, "don't use the heater or you'll run out of power and have to get towed!". As I mentioned, there are hypermiling geeks that will want to squeeze every last mile out of their vehicle be it ICE or EV and that's fine, but I'm just worried about adding to people's apprehension with those types of posts.

 

[WarpedOne]

I really can't understand why a heated steering wheel is such a rarity.
Leather gets cold and needs quite some energy to warm up. Yes, gloves help but they also reduce the feel and comfort. I'm sure the cost is much less than heating the seats.

 

[JAG]

I hope they have a way to turn off the air flow, or rather limit the air flow to just enough to prevent humidity build-up.

On a couple of occasions I've driven the Roadster long distances in cold weather with the cabin heat off, using only the seat heater. I found a lot of cold air comes into the cabin at highway speeds. Eventually I discovered that if you set the controls to dashboard vents and then close all the vents the air flow is kept to a comfortable minimum - just enough to keep the air fresh and humidity low so the windshield doesn't fog up (unless you hit a stop light, in which case you have to turn on the defog and heat briefly). If the Model S could handle this automatically, i.e. a seat heater only mode, then it would be very handy for those times when you are pushing the range in winter.

You may as well stop by a Starbucks and fill up a hot water bottle too.

c'mon, at that point I would rather tow a small generator behind me to make my car a temporary hybrid not enough to run the cars heater at full blast ... enough to add 45kwatts to my battery over its usage time... Now that's a million dollar idea to kill range anxiety for those trips... Send a check worth a Tesla performance model x to me and it is all yours Elon.

...not to be disrespectful to this poster, because this info could come in handy , I just wouldn't want EV owners to be expected to do these kinds of things. I own a very impractical sedan, rear wheel drive 322 hp Mercedes 1994 E500 which is useless in the snow. I own one car, and would prefer to own one car. So finding a single car alternative is a good idea as opposed to dating a girl with an SUV. I'm not thinking a model S will make it up a steep icy grade... But I need some cold weather use. I would opt for a full cold weather package.

 

[Ravarju]

One of my favorite features when I had my 2001 Audi A6 4.2 (beyond the terrific engine, quattro, etc.) was the heated steering wheel. I haven't seen any official confirmation of a heated steering wheel on the Model S, but has anyone noticed that both the Betas and the Design Studio show a heated steering wheel switch?

View attachment 5197

I know that the interior climate can be pre-conditioned, which would obviate the true need for a heated steering wheel, but it would be a nice feature here in the (usually) cold Chicago winters.

I always thought heated steering wheels were unnecessary until I had one in the Winter. It is the one luxury item I'll miss the most. (Also from Chicago)

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I always thought heated steering wheels were unnecessary until I had one in the Winter. It is the one luxury item I'll miss the most. (Also from Chicago)

I'm actually surprised this didn't become common place before heated seats. In cold climates who wants to hold a cold wheel when the car is first starting off, you have pants at least between you and the seat.

 

[dsm363]

Tesla should add it at some point but you may find you don't miss it as much as you think you might. It's been below 10 here in the Midwest and when parked in a unheated garage at least, steering wheel isn't that cold. With possible ability to preheat with mobile app, that will help as well. People still want it so Tesla should definitely at least make it an option.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

A heated steering wheel absolutely should be part of the Model S. Here's why: the touchscreen won't respond to your touch if you have gloves on. As in the Audi, the heated wheel should come on when the heated drivers seat is turned on. Driving without gloves during a New England winter will be enough of a challenge.

Update:

I just learned that there are gloves that will work with the touchscreen...

The North FaceETIP GLOVE

Isotoner Gloves

 

[dsm363]

They absolutely should add it and hopefully it is able to be added back to older cars. If you could preheat the car to 76 before you got in would you still need driving gloves? People expect this feature in a car this expensive so it needs to be there anyway.

 

[alset]

A heated steering wheel absolutely should be part of the Model S. Here's why: the touchscreen won't respond to your touch if you have gloves on. As in the Audi, the heated wheel should come on when the heated drivers seat is turned on. Driving without gloves during a New England winter will be enough of a challenge.

You need a pair of gloves that work with touchscreens, for example:
Amazon.com: Agloves ® Original Touchscreen Gloves, iPhone Gloves, Texting Gloves: Sports Outdoors

They work in the car and with a smartphone...

 

[ToddRLockwood]

Thanks for the heads-up. I found this one too...

The North FaceETIP GLOVE

 

[tezco]

I always thought heated steering wheels were unnecessary until I had one in the Winter. It is the one luxury item I'll miss the most. (Also from Chicago)

Agree. Those of us with Ranaud's really need the heated wheel. Even my Leaf has it!

 

[MikeK]

Leaf didn't offer it the first year either, as I recall. I would really have appreciated it, though, on the Model S. My hands get cold when driving, so I've worn gloves for awhile. Got a set of touchscreen gloves for Christmas specifically for this reason. Haven't really tried them so far, as they turned out to be a bit small and I need to exchange them.

 

[vfx]

Question is, does Mercedes offer it?

 

[tezco]

Leaf didn't offer it the first year either, as I recall..

True, and there was no battery heater either, but they also didn't market the car in the colder climates that year. My '97 Audi has the heated wheel, so the technology isn't that cutting edge...

 

[tezco]

Yeah! It's on the way for 2015! See here.