Replacing steering wheel roundel

X5Jay · #1 03-23-2007, 09:03 AM

I bought a set of silver/black CF roundels from EAS - I'll put them on and post pics after my spring cleaning in a couple of weeks.

Quick question - do I remove the old steering wheel roundel before installing the new one or do I stick the new one on top? If I'm supposed to remove it, I suppose I'll just pry it off - perhaps with a bit of hair drier heat? Any danger mucking around with the airbag like that?

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Zulu95 · #2 03-23-2007, 09:41 AM

I would worry about how it might impact you should the AB deploy in an accident. Is it safe? Then there is the whole "could I set off the AB?" issue as well.

X5Jay · #3 03-23-2007, 11:02 AM

Well, there's the stock roundel there now and I don't think it's much different from the one I bought, so I'm not that concerned about it causing more of a problem in an accident than the original one would. The question about "could I set off the airbag" is another story. I've had the airbag out several times while changing the steering wheel out, but I've never tried to pry off the roundel. I'm guessing others have done this before though, so I'm looking for some wisdom here. Thanks for your input Zulu!

LeMansX5 · #4 03-23-2007, 11:07 AM

I had read this before(may have to search). Not easy to remove. The best solution is to have stick-on roundel for steering.

sapanp9 · #5 03-23-2007, 02:31 PM

i just replaced mine with the black roundel all you need to do i take a small flat head screw driver and pry of the old one it is held by four or five i dont remember tabs and it comes off and the new one i got had a adhesive back on it but it wasnt a problem. it is a easy mod

PAPI · #6 03-23-2007, 04:36 PM

Pics please !!!!!!!

06SapphireX5 · #7 03-25-2007, 10:37 AM

All I picture is a roundel flying at highspeed towards your face if that airbag ever goes off. There was a reason they used "tabs" instead of adhesive to hold that on in the first place, bad idea imo. Hears hoping you never activate that airbag.

Beemer4life · #8 03-25-2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAPI

Pics please !!!!!!!

TheGodfather · #9 01-26-2010, 05:29 PM

My steering wheel roundel is badly damaged. Covering it with an aftermarket roundel is not an option.

Does anyone have experience with prying off the airbag roundel?

I need to pry off the old one and stick a new (probably aftermarket) one in its place.

To my knowledge I cannot replace it with an oe one unless I purchase a new airbag.

X5Dawg · #10 01-26-2010, 05:53 PM

The OE roundel is made of metal and has three tabs that fit into slots in the cover of the air bag. The aftermarket roundel that I received is also medal, but has adhesive on the back instead of the tabs. This roundel was slightly smaller than the OE one and did not look good just stuck on top, so I removed the OE one and then stuck it to the airbag cover. The issue is that the area under the roundel is not flat - there are 5-6 ridges that are raised that supported the center of the roundel that don't make the best of contact with the adhesive. I ended up adding my own 3M tape to the back of the aftermarket roundel to make sure it stuck better - this was the high strength stuff that you can use to stick things to a brick wall.

As far as those of your worried about it flying off if the airbag were to deploy - what about that GPS unit stuck to your windshield if your were rear-ended?? What about that stuff in the back of the X that could become airborne projectiles if you were to hit something at high speed?? What about that seatbelt holding you in if you were to roll the vehicle over and not be able to get out??

Sorry, not too worried about that little emblem on the steering wheel...

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