Daromo

I'm replacing my 2020 GLS 450 with a 2024 GLS 580. I've had an order in for a couple of months. My dealer tells me there's a production delay due to lack of wood/leather steering wheels which I want. Anyone else hear anything about that?

lthlc63

I’d tell them to install a basic wheel. Refund the cost of the wood wheel and order a replacement with an aftermarket company. That’s just me. Silly thing to be delayed for.

MDMercedesGuy

Not specifically the wood wheel, but there are a lot of things which can cause delays. My 2024 order was pushed back due to having Pinnacle trim, and then pushed back due to the 22" multispoke wheels.

Daromo

I've got a wood/leather wheel on my 2020 that I offered up as a substitute but they say it's not possible to do that since electronics have changed. Do you mean an after-market Mercedes wheel or another? I agree it may not be worth the delay.

EWL5

MY24 steering wheels have a capacitive touch function that older ones don't have.

Daromo

My dealer told me it was the wheel but you're right, it's probably a lot of things. They're only offering 22" multispoke wheels so if that's a problem I'm really pissed off. In 2019 I wrote about the agonizing build order/wait period and I'm seeing that nothing has changed. I'm also looking at the BMW X7 and they say they can build my exact order and deliver it in 6 weeks. Sounds tempting but maybe too good to be true. Are we still talking about chip shortages and supply chain problems 4 years later?

Daromo

Just called the dealer to see if that's possible. He says yes, but after-markets cost 3 to 4 times the original price. And it's probably not just the wheel that's holding things up, as @MDMercedesGuy suggested. I see that the build order/waiting period has not changed much for the better since I ordered my first GLS in 2019.