SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I would be amused if SR+ cars equipped with the heated steering wheel but not activated can swap the wheel with older cars that want the hardware to activate.
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2021 heated steering wheel Discussion thread
- Thread starter 808BOB
- Start date
No reason they shouldn't be able to, I would've have thought.
There is a minor harness change (extra blue connector) but this harness is part of the wheel assembly, as is the controller. From some investigative work a guy in China has already done, the plug and wires that go into it that connects the wheel to the rest of the car is identical.
The wheel has been designed quite smartly so that all of the necessary wiring that matters is part of the wheel itself, so swapping a steering wheel should just function, in its basic sense anyway (scroll wheels, horn, etc).
What will be interesting to see is whether a heated steering wheel installed on a pre-2021 car makes either the option appear in the app to buy it (when it becomes available), whether it automatically enables if it you already have the "premium interior" option code, or whether it just doesn't acknowledge it at all.
JaeTheDev
Active Member
Ask 100 SA or service techs, youll set 100 different answers.
Thanks for the info! Can you link me to the place in message where I can also order the heated wheel?
Thanks for the info! Can you link me to the place in message where I can also order the heated wheel?
I just phoned one of the major service centres in the UK, in London. You would just need to phone your local service centre and ask to buy that part number (1490214-00-B).
I would be wary though - it is a lot of money to spend when you might end up with a wheel that does nothing more than your current one does. Even if it has the heating hardware inside, it might require Tesla to code the option to your car if it was never meant to have it. That could be a problem, if they dig their heels in and say "there's no retrofit".
I would be wary though - it is a lot of money to spend when you might end up with a wheel that does nothing more than your current one does. Even if it has the heating hardware inside, it might require Tesla to code the option to your car if it was never meant to have it. That could be a problem, if they dig their heels in and say "there's no retrofit".
JaeTheDev
Active Member
If a dude can make a 2020 Y work with it, Im sure a 2021 December built 3 LR would have even better luck. I reached out to my SA (whos off on Fridays though) to see what he thinks. Ill update when he writes back. Thanks for the info!
JaeTheDev
Active Member
My SA stated yesterday that my vehicle does not have the hardware needed to have the steering wheel activated. Left it as that, so Ill wait for someone to retrofit it themselves successfully and Ill follow suit.
I should know reasonably quickly.. depends on how fast Tesla UK can get a wheel from Shanghai over to me. It's on order.
The only thing I am certain of is that the wheel will fit, and the connectors that attach to the car are the same (physically).
I would presume that the scroll wheels on the new wheel will work, as there is no security reason they shouldn't (i.e. not paired to the car like the RFID reader). The heated functionality will almost certainly not work, as in there wouldn't be a button on screen or in the app to turn it off and on - as it would be a feature flag that Tesla would need to enable.
On the basis that it seems inevitable that it will be offered as a paid upgrade for SR+ owners, it seems like it would be something Tesla can toggle on - like FSD, EAP, rear heated seats, etc.
The necessary hardware is inside the steering wheel - the harness and the controller. Tesla rather smartly designed the Model 3 to have the controlling hardware actually inside the wheel itself.
Someone jury rigged a 2021 heated steering wheel to work on an older car, using power from the car, so it is certainly possible for a pre-2021 car to provide sufficient voltage to power the heating element.
As if by magic I got a reply from a Tesla tech about "activating the wheel":
Pretty black and white. Hopefully things will change in due course. I'm probably going to get and fit the wheel anyway because I'm keen to see what happens.
Pretty black and white. Hopefully things will change in due course. I'm probably going to get and fit the wheel anyway because I'm keen to see what happens.
Just took delivery of my M3 LR VIN 903XXX and it has the heated wheel.
can you let us know what month/day you ordered and when you received delivery? just want to know timeline and when to expect other deliveries if any insights can be deduced.
Ordered 12/30 Blue/ white M3LR, delivered 2/27 with heated steering. Car drives and performs great- better than expectations. Two minor issues at delivery. A small scratch on a door panel that cannot be buffed ( cut through paint) and an annoying rattle in the passenger seat belt when driving solo. No sound if passenger in car. SC appt next week to fix these.
JohnnyEV
Member
I picked up my M3P on 2/27 ....Build 2/21 Vin 914 and it has the heated wheel.
Damn it, I've got 909xxx coming. Was quite sure it would get the heated steering wheel...This is really becoming a big mystery... in Germany a delivered M3LR on Saturday with VIN 904XXX, Production date 8.2.21 in Fremont with software version 2021.4.11. has no heated steering wheel
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