swapping steering wheel with a e39

[j0nblayz]

Decided to swap out the sport wheel in my wife's '03 e53 with my 4 spoke heated wheel from my '03 e39. Im assuming its not gonna be a straight swap since the x5 most likely wont have the pre-wiring for heated steering. You guys think i can also swap the slip ring from my e39 and the e53? also you think the relay from my e39 will fit the e53??

[j0nblayz]

looks like e53 and e39 uses the same slipring part, also the relay is a universal fit, sot everything should be straight fit. Gonna doing the swap soon, so i'll keep you guys posted.

[X5 Meister]

There is an excellent write-up for retrofitting a heated steering wheel on the main X5world page.