Finally did the heated steering wheel conversion, including new clock-spring and that damn relay behind the fuse block.

I found a heated sport wheel at the junkyard a while back and finally got around to doing the retrofit. I didn't have the correct clock-spring so that had to be replaced as well. Both of those installs were relatively straightforward. The thing that literally took blood, sweat and tears was installing the relay. Removing the glovebox and removing the fuse block took HOURS. There are screws in truly masochistic locations. Finally got it done, but my glovebox doesn't close properly now. Grrr.

Anyway, new steering wheel is in. I had the X3 M steering wheel in before and I'm truly heartbroken to see it go. The X5 sport steering wheel feels so thin compared to the X3, it's a little hard to get used to, but the heater works like a champ. Of course I'll be on the lookout for the holy grail: an X3 M heated wheel. One day…

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• '81 e21 323i (sold)
• '06 e53 X5 3.0i 6MT