Steering wheel swap

[CheesyTaco]

I ordered a TRD Pro steering wheel during the holiday sale and it’s expected to arrive in a few days.
For those that have done it, anything I should be away of? I have not tackled this before so am wondering how difficult (if at all) it is.
Thanks!

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[theDLR]

There are 3 locking pins which hold the airbag onto the hub. 2 of them you can easily access by the holes on the backside of the wheel. You'll need a thin but strong little bar (i used an allen wrench) to pull the retaining clips that hold those pins down. its a little tricky at first because its hard to tell what to push and how much force to use without being able to see it. The 3rd pin is the biggest bitch, because for whatever reason, toyota decided not to put a third hole in the bottom to use a push tool and unlatch the bottom pin. so when the 2 top ones are loose, use a hook tool which can grab the lever to pull up on and release the bottom pin.

also, and i'm sure you're aware, truck should be disconnected from battery. Also leave for 3-5 min AFTER you pull the battery before you go at the wheel so the capacitors in the airbag system can drain out.

also you'll need that giant allen key to remove the main bolt from the hub and get a breaker bar, and someone to hold the wheel while undoing it, because it takes a lot of force. it is thread locked in. i forgot what size though, larger metric ellen key size.

you'll pull the two plugs and ground wires from the back of the airbag. set aside. and as that comes off, you'll fully see the 3 levers that you were initially blind in detaching, so then you have a better idea of the motion and force needed in the future.

from there, you can take out the harnesses that go to the hub which connect your steering controls. once harnesses are disconnected, then you can wiggle loose the button controls, they pull straight off, they are not screwed. you can use a pry tool, i usually use a towel and gloves and just continue wiggling the initial force feels solid, but then gets loose.

After you've taken those out, then you can work on the main bolt to get it off. Once off, I used a marker, to make an alignment mark for when putting the wheel back on, it does lineup mostly, but i did it just to be sure.

and from that point your wheel is off, transplant your buttons and do it all in reverse.

should you want to easily access the 3rd push lever in the future. drill a hole in the bottom of the wheel backing panel. if you're wheel is mounted the hole should be going from the bottom of the wheel upwards. i just eyeballed where the hole should be. and its on the back, so no one will see it.

Go slow, and take your time as always. oh and de-static yourself before doin electronics.

 

[CheesyTaco]

Awesome! Thank you so much!

 

[px3_taco]

That bottom pin sucked and was by far the hardest part. But it looks good.

 

[Wife bought my 24 TRD]

Look great, may I ask how much that set you back.

 

[ixo]

That bottom pin sucked and was by far the hardest part. But it looks good.

BRO, we're ditchlight/antenna twins!

 

[exia]

That bottom pin sucked and was by far the hardest part. But it looks good.

Sick I’ve been wanting to do this, didn’t know it was possible. How hard was the heritage logo in the passenger seat ? How much was the part?

 

[VBFD Taco]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is so special about the Pro wheel?

 

[Rubenc87]

Looks really good.

 

[rijc99]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is so special about the Pro wheel?

I like the look of it compared to the Offroad one.

 

[Rubenc87]

As long as you feel it's worth it then that's all you need. But yeah It looks really good. Considering this is the view you will have when driving.

 

[rijc99]

Yep. For me it’s no different than changing wheels for the aesthetics. If you like it and are willing to pay the price then do it.

 

[Pirata1899]

I have a trd steering wheel for sale.

 

[BLtheP]

Has anyone done a steering wheel swap to a wheel that has heat on a truck without heat? I have an SR with no heat and I want to go to a leather wheel. I don’t care so much about adding heat (though it would be neat if it were easy to do), but I mainly want to make sure if I were to bolt on a wheel from a used truck off eBay, that if it had heat it will work on my non-heat truck no problem.

Also curious if beyond that, I could possibly grab a heater control panel out of a truck without heat and swap to activate heaters on a swapped heated wheel.

Toyota has consolidated parts among options quite a bit on this gen. For example, the heater control panel uses the same wiring connector on all trims regardless of seat heaters, steering wheel heat, manual or auto AC, dual zone or single zone, etc. So I’m wondering just how compatible things are.

First thing I want to do though is swap the wheel. If a wheel comes with a heater clock spring, that’s fine but I want to make sure it will work on a non heater truck if someone has done that.

And while I’m here, anyone want to sell me a leather wheel? Lol.

Thanks.

 

[rijc99]

And while I’m here, anyone want to sell me a leather wheel? Lol.

Thanks.

I’m in So.Cal. I have my original Off-Road wheel with heat that you can try if you’re in the area. Otherwise I can take a picture of any connectors on the wheel tomorrow for you to compare.

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