Heated steering wheel?

[Nubo]

Well that sucks. I was looking forward to the heated steering wheel. I too like the little graph, and that is exactly how I would feel. It probably would have been better if it had an on/off switch and some kind of adjustable thermostat. They probably built it this way cause if it was able to drastically heat up you would have those with sensitive hands turn it on to high, and then ram something cause they wouldn't be able to touch the steering wheel. So it would wind up similar to the Toyota "runaway" accelerator bs, only it would be runaway steering wheel heaters. So I imagine it is the way it is for liability reasons. Sadly this is what the world has come to. Where something cannot work to well for fear of someone not reading the manual and injuring themselves or others. There was an article just last week talking about heated seats causing rashes. :roll: http://blog.autoshopper.com/articles/1691/To-The-Bottom-Of-The-Problem-NHTSA-To-Investigate-Seat-Warmer-Hazards/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; So just think in the future the stuff will probably work less than it does now.

I should note that I'm in a temperate climate. It rarely drops below the '40s here. I imagine the colder it is, the less bothersome the cycling behavior might be. But it still boggles my mind that it has such a huge peak-to-trough cycle.

 

[Roadburner440]

It doesn't get much below 40 here either. Usually 37 or so on average at the coldest. There is 1 or 2 days it has been in the 20's, and only 1 day where it was cold enough to trip my Volt's engine on (less than 25F).

I think it would be the opposite as in the colder it is the more annoying the cycling would be. Granted there would be less time between the troughs as the steering wheel would cool faster. I still think it would be annoying. Luckily my drive to work in the morning is usually short, and I get enough sunlight in the car throughout the day to heat the interior by the time I leave work. So it nothing else I will only need to deal with it for a short stint in the morning. The heated seats will still be a huge improvement over not having anything at all in the Volt.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

It does have an on/off switch and I don't think its function in particular is a good example of our overly litigious society. Combined with a 15 minute preheat, which also preheats the steering wheel, its actually pretty awesome. Vs not having the option, it's heaven! Preheating, seat warming and the steering wheel heater make it managable to stay comfortable without giving up such a huge chunk of range to staying warm. Our 2011 without CWP was quite frustrating. any time it got below say 40 degrees, I found myself going to extraordinary measures to avoid using the heater, which I believe is a deal breaker in terms of mainstream adoption.

With the cold whether package, this car is ready for prime! The main adaptation, compared to driving an ICE, will be getting used to relying heavily on prewarming rather than climate control while driving.

Well that sucks. I was looking forward to the heated steering wheel. I too like the little graph, and that is exactly how I would feel. It probably would have been better if it had an on/off switch and some kind of adjustable thermostat. They probably built it this way cause if it was able to drastically heat up you would have those with sensitive hands turn it on to high, and then ram something cause they wouldn't be able to touch the steering wheel. So it would wind up similar to the Toyota "runaway" accelerator bs, only it would be runaway steering wheel heaters. So I imagine it is the way it is for liability reasons. Sadly this is what the world has come to. Where something cannot work to well for fear of someone not reading the manual and injuring themselves or others. There was an article just last week talking about heated seats causing rashes. :roll: http://blog.autoshopper.com/articles/1691/To-The-Bottom-Of-The-Problem-NHTSA-To-Investigate-Seat-Warmer-Hazards/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; So just think in the future the stuff will probably work less than it does now.

 

[Roadburner440]

I already do pre-conditioning with the Volt. You guys at least can do the climate timer/turn on the climate from the Leaf app. I have to remote start the Volt, or remote start it from my smart phone (the Volt actually starts the whole car, turns on the parking lamps, so it is starting vs what the Leaf is doing to my understanding). So for me the climate timer is going to be very nice. I personally like that when I come out everyday my windows are fully defrosted on the Volt. It has been one of the greatest things about having a plug in besides having to only buy gas every few months (another problem that doesn't exist with the Leaf).

So you have a 2011 with and one without the CWP? That is pretty cool. We almost were going to get a second Volt, but decided would rather get a Leaf instead. Seems getting more than one is rather popular.

EDIT: Nevermind. Couldn't see your sig. See you upgraded to the MY12.

 

[Atebit]

I had similar experiences with the yo-yo heated steering wheel temperature. But the thing that bugs me about my particular car is if I don't have the steering wheel heater turned on when I turn off the car, as I get out of the car and run my hands around the circumference of the wheel, I can feel this great bit of static electric field building up within (or maybe on the skin of) the steering wheel. Depending on what I touch next sometimes I get a pretty decent shock.

I don't know if this is caused by the material covering the outside of the steering wheel, or if when the car is off, somehow moving my hands around the wheel is creating an electric field within some of the heated steering wheel components and sometimes it bites me.

Anyone else notice this?

 

[lpickup]

No, I get shocked all the time when I get out of the car, but never by using the wheel.

 

[Ingineer]

That graph describes exactly how I feel about it I guess Ingineer doesn't have a heated steering wheel, or he'd have modded it by now...

Yeah, I have a 2011 w/o cold weather. If someone wants to buy me a heated wheel, I'll be happy to work on fixing the controls. =)

-Phil

 

[yeswaydude]

I've now had my LEAF for 2 weeks, and I've just started noticing the same thing myself. It feels like I'm getting little pinches on the palm of my hand as I slide it across the top of the steering wheel while exiting the car.

I plan to ask the service department about it when I go in for my first little check-up . . .

 

[lenny]

That graph describes exactly how I feel about it I guess Ingineer doesn't have a heated steering wheel, or he'd have modded it by now...

Yeah, I have a 2011 w/o cold weather. If someone wants to buy me a heated wheel, I'll be happy to work on fixing the controls. =)

I wonder if it can be added to a pre-2012, and how much Nissan sells the heated steering wheel (with cruise control and audio controls) for. If they're asking so much for the EVSE, it'll probably be a few thousand for that steering wheel.

Maybe we can start a pool here

 

[Ingineer]

That graph describes exactly how I feel about it I guess Ingineer doesn't have a heated steering wheel, or he'd have modded it by now...

Yeah, I have a 2011 w/o cold weather. If someone wants to buy me a heated wheel, I'll be happy to work on fixing the controls. =)

I wonder if it can be added to a pre-2012, and how much Nissan sells the heated steering wheel (with cruise control and audio controls) for. If they're asking so much for the EVSE, it'll probably be a few thousand for that steering wheel.

Maybe we can start a pool here

Yes, it could be added. IIRC it was $600-700 when I checked.

-Phil

 

[TonyWilliams]

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=151121#p151121" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Elbows wrote:
I got the factory (seat heater )switches from here for $16 each + shipping:

http://www.factorynissanparts.com/partl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... atalogid=0


Last edited by surfingslovak on Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:11 am, edited 1 time in total:

Great site. They seem to have virtually all the components imaginable. About the only thing that's missing are battery modules.

1. Battery charger: $1,364.24
2. Battery heater elements: $147.68
3. Startup sound: $40.44
4. EGI wiring harness w/quick charge: $618.89
5. Front compartment wiring harness w/quick charge: $1,212.00
6. Quick charge port: $714.25
7. Heated steering wheel: $914.71