Heated steering wheel?

I was just wondering what other people's experiences were with the heated steering wheel? Mine seems to come on for about 2-3 minutes then stay off for about 5 minutes. Also 1/4 of the wheel (lower left quadrant) barely heats up.

I can't find any thing in the manual about it.

Cheers!

I find myself moving my hands around the wheel to different places to keep my hands warm, but I don't think it ever turns off.

Hmm, thx for the reply. Hopefully a few others will chime in. A friend that has a Murano says that his cycles on and off but that it's on for 20 mins or so.

I find it warms up for about 8-10 minutes (possibly longer), then shuts off for a bit, and then turns on again. I read somewhere on here at some point in the last 3 months or so that it has a preset thermostat and so is expected to cycle off and on. I, too, move my hands around. The entire wheel heats for me, and it helps hugely on the cool mornings we've had so far in central NC.

It seems to me that turning on subsequent times after the first is just about the time I start thinking that perhaps I should have a pair of light gloves on after all... and then it starts up and my fingers are fine.

The cycling is normal, the thermostat is maintaining the temperature.

The entire ring portion of the steering wheel should heat. If yours doesn't, you could probably have it fixed under warranty.

So for anybody that is interested I took it into the dealer and here is what they said. Only the top portion of the steering wheel is supposed to heat up so it half of the bottom of mine is heating then that is a bonus. We tested another Leaf that had just arrived on the lot, and the same quarter of that wheel didn't heat up much either.

The wheel is supposed to warm up to 30 degrees Celcius then turn off, and turn back on when it gets down to 20. Mine heats up to 38, even 42 in some places, they are not concerned about this.

Just got the car today. Was checking out the heated steering wheel. Had to do a freeway merge at max power, and the wheel stopped heating. Started wondering if the two events were connected. Ended up turning off the switch. Later, another drive, steering wheel toasty... had to do a full-power freeway merge, and the wheel stops heating!!

Okay, so it eventually came back on. But for awhile I thought I had some weird problem or that max accel was somehow like Scotty diverting all power to the warp engines.

Mine does get quite warm, so when it turns off it's very noticeable.

it wouldnt be unusual to turn off certain devices during max power situations much like in an ICE where the a/c compressor is cut off during hard accelleration

maybe the Leaf cuts the heater during high drain accell ? or the a/c ?

Pretty smart thing for Nissan to do.

From what the dealer says, the switching off is related only to the temp of the wheel, not the amount of power it is using. If you look at the power usage screen, when the heated seats and wheel is on, there is very little power draw.

ontariomonkey said:

From what the dealer says, the switching off is related only to the temp of the wheel, not the amount of power it is using. If you look at the power usage screen, when the heated seats and wheel is on, there is very little power draw.

Click to expand...

That's what I figured -- why bother with the 50 watts or so (if that)? Just cognitive resonance, I guess, and maybe combined with a bit of eco-guilt from punching the throttle and commanding 80kW. I know many ICE vehicles crank out more than that but when you put it in electrical terms it's awesome. There are AM radio stations that reach large sections of the country with 50kW transmitters.

Part of it too is the huge span between on and off. I havent measured it but during the initial warmup it is significantly warmer than body temp; if I had to guess I'd say upwards of 110F. So when it cuts off and waits for 68F it's rather disappointing and you begin longing for the warmth to return. Especially if you're running HVAC at 60F or off!

ontariomonkey said:

So for anybody that is interested I took it into the dealer and here is what they said. Only the top portion of the steering wheel is supposed to heat up so it half of the bottom of mine is heating then that is a bonus. We tested another Leaf that had just arrived on the lot, and the same quarter of that wheel didn't heat up much either.

The wheel is supposed to warm up to 30 degrees Celcius then turn off, and turn back on when it gets down to 20. Mine heats up to 38, even 42 in some places, they are not concerned about this.

Click to expand...

I think your being given the bums rush, or they just don't know what they're talking about. My whole wheel heats up. I've never left it on long enough to see it cycle. About 1 minute is all I need.

Does anyone know how to change or bypass the thermostat setting for the steering wheel heater? Mine doesn't seem to stay on long enough for my preference on days when I want to use it.

It's likely integral with the wheel and both inaccessible and nonadjustable...

lenny said:

Does anyone know how to change or bypass the thermostat setting for the steering wheel heater? Mine doesn't seem to stay on long enough for my preference on days when I want to use it.

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The problem with the heated steering wheel is the huge swing in temperature. It heats rapidly to a warm temp; stays there a little while, and then turns off. The wheel then cools down through about 30 degrees or more and only when it FINALLY drifts down somewhere below room temp does it bother to turn on again. Rinse, repeat.

There's a brief period where it's wonderful, a short period where it's at least beneficial, then a maddeningly long period where you begin to wonder if it's broken as you listen to a few songs, make some phone calls, ..... oh wait, it's on again!


my impression:

Haha. Nice graph. That was exactly how I felt when I would cycle on and off the air heater to save range before I installed seat heaters. Hot cold hot cold. Now I never use the air heater except to defog the windows in 5 second intervals as needed. The cold weather package is awesome even if the wheel heater is moody. You guys are lucky

It would be nice if the steering wheel heater stayed on at a more consistent temp, but it's a vast improvement over not having one!!!

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...

lenny said:

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...

Click to expand...

The same thought occurred to me.

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.