Never driven a car with a heated steering wheel. In days before I was able to warm the car in advance I wore gloves for the first couple of miles ... but now, with a warm car, I can't think I would ever use it. So the answer has to be no.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
What would/will you pay for heated steering wheel?
- Thread starter Morriscoombes
- Start date
Don't think I would pay especially for it. I'd be cheap and wear gloves
When I lived in North Dakota I wore gloves. It wasn't enough. Maybe gloves are okay for the weather in the UK & Ireland. I actually wore mittens so heavy that operating the controls was awkward. At minus 35 C my hands were still cold. It was actually a really nice place to live, but a heated steering wheel would have been a wonderful thing to have. In the end it was the cold that drove me away.
Ouch. At -35 I think i would stay in bed. Yeah in the UK we have fairly mild winters, anything below -10 tends to be national news.
I suffer from Raynaud’s disease which causes my fingers to go white in cold damp weather. Until I got the Model X I had never had a car with a heated steering wheel and if asked I would have poo poo’d the idea. However as it came standard with the car I have it on nearly all the time in winter up here in N Scotland. Even when the car is pre-warmed my hands are still pretty cold when I get in the car and a heated steering wheel is the absolute bees knees!
I would definitely agree that anyone with Raynaud's would be well served by a heated steering wheel... well worth paying for.
All of this is pretty academic really because it's almost certainly the case that the hardware for this potential software unlock or whatever only exists on 2021+ cars, and maybe not even them yet.
I don't know how much a 2021 steering wheel would cost, assuming it could be retrofit, but I don't imagine it's cheap.
I don't know how much a 2021 steering wheel would cost, assuming it could be retrofit, but I don't imagine it's cheap.
New Teslas to come with a coin slot. £1 for 1 hour of heated steering wheel... Drives itself back to SC to deposti the pound coins once a month.
SpareHeadOne
Member
When the initial reports of the changes were appearing a few months ago the heated steering wheel was one of things reported that doesn't appear to have happened, but during that time I did see one report saying it was going to be added into the manufacturing process from mid December - so we wouldn't see it in the wild until early next year.
I expect there would be additional wiring required that may not even be practical to do. I asked about having one retro-fitted to a car I had years ago and I was told that the wiring wasn't present to the switch, the steering column or the fuses and it was basically a factory-fit only so that all the right parts were in the car.
I thought it was dealer BS, but a third party specialist told me the same thing.
CD Autochanger, wiring was all there, get the unit and mount then fit it where there was a blanking plate and it all worked. Heated wheel? Technically possible, but was something like £1200 of parts and labour.
If part of the standard build and manufacture of a mass market vehicle the cost of a heated steering wheel must be tiny ... yet the perceived value ... associations with luxury brands etc, as well any functional benefit, ... is clearly high ... so looks like a relatively low cost way for manufacturers to move their car into a higher band of desirability. For some people I suspect it can end up like those kitchen gadgets that you buy because they look like a great thing but end up in the back of the cupboard ... but then lot's of people swear by their bread makers and smoothie makers ... ... ... or on the other hand you get it and can't believe how much you enjoy having it! I can't think I'd every be bothered but I can't know for sure because I've never lived with a car with a heated steering wheel.
I can't imagine why they would change the whole steering wheel, finish, switchgear etc.. only to then change it again for a new function a couple of months later. I guess until someone cuts open a brand new steering wheel, or Tesla actually tell us, we won't really know.
