Mattopotamus
Member
preheat is the real answer. Why anyone wouldn't do this in the winter is beyond me.
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How do you deal with cold steering wheel ?
- Thread starter coolmanfever
- Start date
I hate those "it's fine for me so it has to be okay for others" responses, because theyre non constructive...
...but, I agree.
Steering wheels are plastic and/or leather. They don't retain thermal mass. I drive it in Alpine region and never knew cold steering wheel was such a big deal.
On the other hand, if you've ever had to use metal shift knobs in the cold or in the heat.... hooooboy is that a treat!
XLR82XS
D M C
SK360
Member
If it is really cold I just have a set of winter golf gloves that I wear. I have them for golf anyways so it isn't even any extra cost and they work with screens.
In my younger days I would have probably made fun of the OP for even asking this question but... I had a 2015 Nissan Leaf before my model 3 that had a heated steering wheel and I have to be honest, it spoiled me. It is one of the few amenities I might actually pay to retrofit into my car at some point... just feels awesome on a cold morning.
I wouldn't even run the cabin heat in the leaf, just the heated steering wheel and the seat heaters were sufficient down to about 20 degrees F as long as I dressed appropriately (which was a good thing because the car only had about 50 miles of range in the winter if I ran the cabin heater
).
In my younger days I would have probably made fun of the OP for even asking this question but... I had a 2015 Nissan Leaf before my model 3 that had a heated steering wheel and I have to be honest, it spoiled me. It is one of the few amenities I might actually pay to retrofit into my car at some point... just feels awesome on a cold morning.
I wouldn't even run the cabin heat in the leaf, just the heated steering wheel and the seat heaters were sufficient down to about 20 degrees F as long as I dressed appropriately (which was a good thing because the car only had about 50 miles of range in the winter if I ran the cabin heater
).I haven't had a single car with heated steering, so I've always had cold hands. I'm not complaining that my M3 doesn't have it, but I sure wish it had for the price it cost. Now, I see plenty of people from warm climates saying it's not required. Fair enough, it's not required for YOU. Have you ever driven regularly in negative F temperatures? We've had a few of those already and it's just december. Try driving with big, thick oven mitts and you''ll see why we prefer a heated steering with no gloves
My kids make fun of me because I said I would never get another car without a heated steering wheel and then I went and got a MY. Previous car was a pathfinder and I used it up until early June every year.
I keep a pair of thin gloves in the car, that combined with pre-heating works out ok.
Watched a video on youtube yesterday where I guy took apart his brand new MY steering wheel to show there was no wire for a heated steering wheel.
I keep a pair of thin gloves in the car, that combined with pre-heating works out ok.
Watched a video on youtube yesterday where I guy took apart his brand new MY steering wheel to show there was no wire for a heated steering wheel.
I haven't had a single car with heated steering, so I've always had cold hands. I'm not complaining that my M3 doesn't have it, but I sure wish it had for the price it cost. Now, I see plenty of people from warm climates saying it's not required. Fair enough, it's not required for YOU. Have you ever driven regularly in negative F temperatures? We've had a few of those already and it's just december. Try driving with big, thick oven mitts and you''ll see why we prefer a heated steering with no gloves
I am born and raised in southern california, a place where, in general, we drive to snow somewhere in the mountains if we want to, but it doesnt impact most peoples daily lives unless they live in said mountains.
One winter I was re located to work, to Kentucky (US midwest, a place that gets colder than california for sure, but not like someplace like minnesota). Anyway, I was there for most of the year, traveling back home every 4-6 weeks to see my family and then flying back (there is a point to this story, I swear....)
When I came back to Kentucky from california around the end of november, my rental car had some strange stick in it I was unfamiliar with. I had become friends with the manager at the car rental counter in the airport, and they always hooked me up with an upgraded car for the company standard rate.
Anyway, I got out of the rental, went back in and told the person at the counter "I think the previous renter left some device in the car... there is some stick in there I dont recognize". The rental counter manager, knowing I was from California, broke into a smile and said "Oh, thats right, your from California... That there is an ice scraper, you gon' need that here shortly". Lol.. I had no idea.
Also that same trip, my wife (also born and raised in California, but very much a "plan for all contingencies" type), said... "honey dont you need to buy some gloves? Its going to be cold there." Keep in mind that most Californians dont have what most would consider real "winter coats" or anything. I own a pair of driving gloves but thats it.
Where I live, the coldest it gets is low to mid 30s during the middle of the night in december / jan, but usually that is high 50s low 60s during the day, so "cold" for us, but not cold by most standards. So, I dont own gloves, and told my wife "I dont have any gloves (she does), and I dont feel like going to go buy any, I will be fine, how cold will it be?". When I got there that time, it was around 15 degrees (Fahrenheit).
The drive from the airport to my hotel was about 30 minutes, and the steering wheel was so cold it actually hurt to touch. When I stopped, I had a hard time even "uncurling" my fingers from the steering wheel because they felt frozen in the position of holding the steering wheel. My hands HURT. I went into work late that next morning, because I drove straight to a Dicks Sporting goods to buy some $!#@#$@! gloves (lol).
The point of all this rambling I am doing is, those of us in warm climates dont really know what this is like, unless we have experienced it. With that being said, someone living in a cold climate has experienced it before so should be prepared, and should do "whatever they used to do with other cars".
This car allows you to pre heat it without running an engine in your garage, so I would imagine its "not that bad" but I dont know, since I have not driven my model 3 in freezing temperatures.
My wifes BMW has a heated steering wheel, and its only been on 1 time in the now 2 years we have had it, and that was day 2 of our lease, when I was checking to make sure "all the stuff worked" on her car, because we got one that was loaded with every feature, and picked it up 2 hours from home, and it was a custom order so I didnt drive it before we picked it up. We only got it because it came in some other package or other we ordered with the car.
The TL ; DR of this is, yes, I agree those in warm climates have NO business saying stuff like "its fine for me, so it must be fine for everyone".
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it gets decently cold in the Alps and in Scandinavia ....
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
If you use Autopilot, you only need to put one finger on that cold wheel ")
But seriously, I never considered a steering wheel heater to be a big deal, intil I found out it was included on my X. Now understand the reason people want it. A nice luxury indeed.
Hope Model 3/y comes with it standard soon.
But seriously, I never considered a steering wheel heater to be a big deal, intil I found out it was included on my X. Now understand the reason people want it. A nice luxury indeed.
Hope Model 3/y comes with it standard soon.
calidreamz808
Member
Aim your heater vents at the steering wheel? LOL I dunno why i find this question so funny but then again, I live in a warm climate. whatever.
Here's the upside on a heated steering wheel for us up here in Minnesnowta.
It's about comfort AND energy.
1. Getting into a cold or even preconditioned car when it's 0 degrees F outside is cold, I live here and it's still cold, it sux plain and simple. Having your seats and steering wheel toasty warm is a privilege only us northern folk can appreciate.
2. If I can have my seat and steering wheel warm, I don't need the HVAC system to get my car from 0 to 70 degrees, I'd be fine with the HVAC set to 45-50 as long as my seat and wheel are warm. I don't have engineering data to back up my claim, but I'd imagine it could be more efficient vs. heating the whole cabin to 70.
It's about comfort AND energy.
1. Getting into a cold or even preconditioned car when it's 0 degrees F outside is cold, I live here and it's still cold, it sux plain and simple. Having your seats and steering wheel toasty warm is a privilege only us northern folk can appreciate.
2. If I can have my seat and steering wheel warm, I don't need the HVAC system to get my car from 0 to 70 degrees, I'd be fine with the HVAC set to 45-50 as long as my seat and wheel are warm. I don't have engineering data to back up my claim, but I'd imagine it could be more efficient vs. heating the whole cabin to 70.
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