cc16177

I just bought a 2011 E550 with a "regular" leather steering wheel but i'd much prefer a wood one. I looked online and got pricing but I wanted to check here first.

I don't know if people consider there to be pros and cons to the steering wheel types so maybe people prefer leather, who knows.

I'm trying to get a wood steering wheel so if anyone has one for sale or wants to trade, let me know.

pamiboy

Post some pictures to make it interesting, will you?

cc16177

I won't be taking delivery until Tuesday but i'll post some after I get the car

I just know I want to change to wood already so I thought i'd ask.

SLpat

Have you talked to your dealer about replacing? Do you have an idea of the cost?

I have a leather wrapped steering wheel on my E550 but I do like the way the wood one looks.

SLpat

Have you talked to your dealer about replacing? Do you have an idea of the cost?


I have a leather wrapped steering wheel on my E550 but I do like the way the wood one looks.

LovemyE

The wood steering wheel gets hot as hell if left in the sun....I mean hot!

cc16177

All I know is they're selling for $750-1000 on eBay just for the wheel alone. I'd assume 2 hours to replace at a dealer so $1500 or so at the most...

cc16177

Good point. That may be a good enough reason alone not to do it... didn't think of that.

I just moved to FL i'm still adjusting to the "Sun concerns" lol

LovemyE

Yeah, I have the wood steering wheel, which I love the look. But, I was surprised how hot it gets in direct sunlight for an extended period of time, almost not touchable.

Johnny Rad

Good luck with your trade. Check fleabay, too.

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Thanks for the feedback on how hot the wood wheels can get.

While I'd love to have a heated wheel in winter, the required non-sport wheel is a deal breaker for me.

All in all, my leather sport wheel is probably here to stay.

KEY08

I have never had a wood wheel in any of my MBs, but they are beautiful looking. I must say that the steering wheel is one of my favorite things in these cars. MB must spend a lot of time on getting this right. No other car's steering wheel feels so good.

pamiboy

Agree with the above posts. MB just got it right with the steering wheel. The best is the wood wheel with sport styling, but somehow it is very rare to find and takes way too long to custom build.

imaphaetonguy

I did my first ever steering swap this year. Super easy DIY job. Less than 45 minutes.

Lots of help on how to do it on this forum.


https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post6323138

JSch

I love the wood steering on my 350 - one of the things a learned from having a Jaguar XK, which was my first car with a wood steering.

Since my car is parked in the garage at home and under roof at work, I don't know about the wood getting hot. Based on this I would throw a towel or something over the steering in summer - not only to prevent your hands from burning, but protecting the wood as well!

ph350

just search on ebay and something will come up. If you want to have the three spoke sport wheel, and yours is the older four spoke, then price out and airbag along with it. Your interior will be drastically different and it will be worth every penny.

thefisch

I was just thinking of your thread when I read the first post. How hot does your new wood wheel get in the FL sun?

I'm happy with my leather wheel and with the windshield tint it never gets near hot.

imaphaetonguy

People are wrong about the Sun issue.

The wheel gets hot, but its due to the 120 degree inside temp. of a closed, hot car.

Putting a towel on the wheel makes no difference either way. Its the ambient air in the car that heats the wheel.

However, no biggie. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

CarolinaBluetec

Had one on my W211 and have one on my SLK320. They are nice, but not enough nicer to bother with a swap out of the leather wheel.

cc16177

Meh. It looks like I could do it for $1,000 and when you spend 3 days a week in your car it changes "what's worth it" lol

Cavu

Another vote on how hot the wood wheel gets in our E550. I'm not sure whether it's direct sunlight or the inside temp of the car, but I'd guess it's the sunlight. Either way, the wood wheel gets hot as hell and I mean HELL, you know where the devil is...


The leather one in my C63 is never like that.

ph350

The top of the wheel that is in direct sunlight is noticeably hotter due to the IR heat from the windshield. Tinting helps, I have my front windshield tinted, but sooner or later the windows get hot and that in turn will heat up the car. So if you cover the wheel with something, it will help in the first hour, but if you left the car all day, the wheel will still get hot.

YYZ-E55

In addition to getting superheated in summer (and ice cold in winter, if applicable), the wood wheel also gets trashed if you wear a ring.

threeMBs

One more vote against wood wheel in "severe" climates - both long hot summers (FL, TX, AZ. etc.) or too long and too cold winters (you know where you are). My car has sport wood steering wheel, and while it looks and feels good (but IMO not as good as AMG all leather one) I always hate it when car is parked more than an hour outside 7-8 months a year.

DJ Hellfire

I have the wood wheel in my Lexus ES350. I prefer the leather. It feels nicer on the hands.

Mrmendoza

What color leather?