rarenaro

Hi --

Looked in the manual and don't find annything to confirm or deny.....but, does the internal ambient temperature have anything to do with whether of not the feature works? I turned mine on (for test only as its 90 degress in NYC today) and the light came on but thee wheel did not change temperature at all. I had the AC up in the car so I could make it cool - so I could tell the difference. I also turned the AC down - same thing, no temp change. What gives? Also, I do have a wood steering wheel - so I'm aware thhat only the leather portion supposed to get warm.

jdhoang

I had a problem with my heated steering not working. It took a while for the dealer to replace the steering wheel (another story). When I tried to test it after getting car back, the light would turn on briefly and then turn off. I called the dealer and they told me it does not work when the outside temperature is above a certain temperature (don't remember). I guess I have to wait until winter to test it again.

rarenaro

Very strange. I doesn''t mention annything in the manual (i'm ppretty sure) about outside temperature. I doesn't make a lot of sense. I may have my dealer check it out. I wonder if other can comment.

ATS

My heated seats work in the heat.. Sometimes I turn the heated seats on the lowest setting so that I can get a relaxing heat thing happening on my back.. Man it gets hot no matter how hot it is inside my car...

Davel

I had the same concern. I purchased my E June of 03 and was testing everything out and could not tell if the heated wheel was really working. Apparently they have some sensor that prevents the steering wheel from heating in warm temps. It wasn't until around November (east coast) that I was able to test it. It works great! The steering wheel was completly warm before I backed the car out of the garage and down the drive way.

pfphipps

Yes, there is a temperature sensor that will not allow it to heat above a certain outside temperature. All of the description was in "w211 e-learning" site that I cannot access any more. Unfortunately, I did not copy it.

This is the only problem I have had in almost 10,000 miles on the car. Mine works perfectly in warm to slightly cold weather--it just will not work when it is cold. In cold weather, it will turn on and then turn off within a few seconds. I took it in twice to fix the problem but the weather turned warm before I could get it back in again so I am waiting until the fall. I think they have replaced everything except the wheel itself so far.

By the way, for jdhoang, at least on my car, the red light will stay on in warm weather but the wheel will not heat. I just went to the car and confirmed this. It does not go off. It would sound like yours is not fixed yet.

DavidNJ

Heated Steering Wheel (HSW)
• Heating wires in wheel
• Switched on / off using switch
• Red LED indicates function
• Functions for 24 minutes
- 7 minutes high
- 17 minutes low
• Uses a DC/DC converter

Function Prerequisites
• No under or over voltage detected
• Circuit 15R or 15 ON
• Steering wheel heater switch recognized
• Interior temperature less than 86º F w/no faults present

Function Sequence
• N73 activates CAN bus
• S59/1 signal transmitted
• N70 determines interior temp
• N99 evaluates inputs
• Power applied to wheel