Retrofitting a HEATED Steering Wheel (Anyone try this yet?)

[arijaycomet]

Okay so I've spent the last hour researching, searching forums, scouting eBay, and even emailing Suncoast. Suncoast says that if your Taycan didn't come with heat, it cannot be added. This conflicts with my prior 997/991 experiences, the 997 being plug and play no coding needed. But the Taycan is newer and a different beast so....

Side note: my vehicle is a 2021 Taycan 4 CT wagon with premium package (so heated/vented seats), standard boring gray interior, and no sport chrono. So it has the skinny "basic bitch" steering wheel right now. All I would love to add is heat, because I'm in Ohio and winter is upon us. I'm 2nd owner, first owner was southerner, and I don't fault them for not spec'ing the heated wheel. But....

Long story short:
Has anyone added a HEATED steering wheel to a Taycan that was not ordered/built with one? And if so, did it work, and what did you have to do?

There are a few GT steering wheels out there that I've found that have heat, but lack the SC knob; in other words, perfect for me as if my car had the heated GT wheel add-on. I'm not ready to bite the bullet at around a grand just yet-- but i'd feel a lot better about that if i knew it'd work. Not sure a heated wheel is worth an OG Hamilton note hahaha.... but .... tempting.

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[WindsurfUS1111]

Would love to hear an answer as well about changing a Taycan steering wheel.

I have a RWD Taycan with standard “skinny” heated steering. Feels cheap. Would love to retrofit to a thicker wheel. It’s one of the most important parts of the car. That’s what you hold during your driving experience.

 

[arijaycomet]

@WindsurfUS1111 -- we should chat! From what Suncoast told me and other data I've found, I am 97% sure that you could upgrade to a thicker heated GT wheel (like THIS ONE) without any issues, if you already have heated. As for me, the answer is less clear.

If you wanted a buyer for your wheel, I'd be game (so long as it is black or grey in color; as either of those would match fine to my grey interior). I was hopeful to spend less than $1000 on my wheel, but it could be a nice way for you/me to split those costs. Basically if we both were $500-600 in the hole, and I got your "skinny" heated, and you got a GT/heated -- it could be a match made in heaven LOL

 

[mutanthands]

Save a fortune and get some electric hand-warmer gloves for $20

 

[lcarron]

Save a fortune and get some electric hand-warmer gloves for $20

Or buy some nice driver gloves.

 

[Jayyvr890]

Kufatec used to have a re-retrofit kit for the heated steering wheel with OEM parts. Not cheap tho, about 3000 euros if I recall

 

[WindsurfUS1111]

@WindsurfUS1111 -- we should chat! From what Suncoast told me and other data I've found, I am 97% sure that you could upgrade to a thicker heated GT wheel (like THIS ONE) without any issues, if you already have heated. As for me, the answer is less clear.

If you wanted a buyer for your wheel, I'd be game (so long as it is black or grey in color; as either of those would match fine to my grey interior). I was hopeful to spend less than $1000 on my wheel, but it could be a nice way for you/me to split those costs. Basically if we both were $500-600 in the hole, and I got your "skinny" heated, and you got a GT/heated -- it could be a match made in heaven LOL

thanks. Item description doesn’t indicate fitting a Taycan. It’s also black. My interior is grey. I want a thick steering heated wheel.

BTW - the heated wheel works great

let me try to find one - sounds like mine would work well for you. Next is finding out how much installation costs

 

[arijaycomet]

let me try to find one - sounds like mine would work well for you. Next is finding out how much installation costs

Well that works great since we BOTH have grey interior; basically if you find yourself a heated GT (read: thicker) steering wheel and want to part with yours, keep me in mind at the top of that list

 

[Chas1]

Okay so I've spent the last hour researching, searching forums, scouting eBay, and even emailing Suncoast. Suncoast says that if your Taycan didn't come with heat, it cannot be added. This conflicts with my prior 997/991 experiences, the 997 being plug and play no coding needed. But the Taycan is newer and a different beast so....

Side note: my vehicle is a 2021 Taycan 4 CT wagon with premium package (so heated/vented seats), standard boring gray interior, and no sport chrono. So it has the skinny "basic bitch" steering wheel right now. All I would love to add is heat, because I'm in Ohio and winter is upon us. I'm 2nd owner, first owner was southerner, and I don't fault them for not spec'ing the heated wheel. But....

Long story short:
Has anyone added a HEATED steering wheel to a Taycan that was not ordered/built with one? And if so, did it work, and what did you have to do?

There are a few GT steering wheels out there that I've found that have heat, but lack the SC knob; in other words, perfect for me as if my car had the heated GT wheel add-on. I'm not ready to bite the bullet at around a grand just yet-- but i'd feel a lot better about that if i knew it'd work. Not sure a heated wheel is worth an OG Hamilton note hahaha.... but .... tempting.

I’m in the same boat high spec rwd ex-demo car and dealer forgot to spec heated steering wheel. But tend to use pre heat before leaving but would be nice to have. I prefer a skinny steering wheel as I think these have a better feel. How do I know which I have???

 

[arijaycomet]

I’m in the same boat high spec rwd ex-demo car and dealer forgot to spec heated steering wheel. But tend to use pre heat before leaving but would be nice to have. I prefer a skinny steering wheel as I think these have a better feel. How do I know which I have???

Assume "which one I have" you're asking if you have the thicker GT steering wheel or not? If so, then you'd want to consult your build sheet (or window sticker). If you don't have that, contacting Porsche and they should be able to provide it for you. It would list all the items and the "GT" steering wheel would be listed, if present.

 

[RAHRCR]

From what I understand, this would require both a hardware and software update (from other Porsche forums). If this is true, I would not recommend purchasing hardware without a plan to get the software configured to recognize the new wheel. PS, having experienced both the thinner and thicker steering wheel, I prefer the thicker GT wheel…which is also smaller in diameter.

 

[Chas1]

From what I understand, this would require both a hardware and software update (from other Porsche forums). If this is true, I would not recommend purchasing hardware without a plan to get the software configured to recognize the new wheel. PS, having experienced both the thinner and thicker steering wheel, I prefer the thicker GT wheel…which is also smaller in diameter.

Whats the difference in diameter between standard wheel and GT one?

 

[RAHRCR]

Whats the difference in diameter between standard wheel and GT one?

I would estimate that it’s about 1inch. It’s noticeable from a driver’s pov.

 

[tophamn]

Did you go for the heated wheel, @arijaycomet?

I successfully did this retro-upgrade on a 970 Panamera, though admittedly the newer tech in the Taycan may make it more difficult. The main thing to know is if the car didn't come with a heated steering wheel then the clock spring (spiral wiring from the column into the wheel, also known as a "squib") likely needs to be upgraded to add the required wires - you'll only know when you've removed the airbag as there's a separate 2-pin connector just off centre at about the 8-o'clock position. Be warned: if you change the clock spring you'll get errors which need a PIWIS tool to reset the steering angle sensor. The donor wheel should also come from a car which had the heating feature working - so the electronic module in the wheel has it enabled, otherwise you'll need to go through the pain of getting a programming code.

Caveat: my experience was in a 2016 Panamera and I've no idea if the same can be done in a Taycan.

 

[arijaycomet]

Did you go for the heated wheel, @arijaycomet?

Never got around to it; and subsequently have sold the car. Sorry that I'm unable to offer any feedback, experience, or similar here. Best of luck!

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