Steering Wheel Upgrade
 

My OE four spoke wheel is pretty trashed after 22 years so I'm contemplating an upgrade to a sport style. The easiest would be to find a sport wheel from the 2002-ish E53 (with the two spokes at 6-o'clock), but those seem to be few and far between, especially when looking for one that has been redone in Alcantara, which I would like.

I've read the threads I can find on it, but would like to verify some details with the brain trust as I'm still fuzzy on a few. Thanks in advance all.

From what I've read, it seem that the multi-function sport wheel from the E39/E46 M Sport wheel should work, but I will definitely need the round airbag that goes with that wheel. Very expensive new, so I'll need to find a refurbed wheel that comes with it. Can anyone confirm that this wheel is a plug/play upgrade for the 2002 E53?

What about the "clockspring"? I read a post which said a new one was needed for this wheel to work, and another that said the OE sensor would work. RealOEM lists only one Steering Angle Sensor for the 2002 E53, which also is found on t he E46, E39, and several other X and non-X cars. Based on this I'm inclined to say that a different clockspring isn't needed.

Plug and play. This a refurbished steering wheel originally from E39.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...9rMEFCQkpqRFFn

Thanks Clavurion. Sounds like the way to go. Guy in Lithuania selling nice looking refurbished wheels…what could go wrong! Hopefully he can ship the airbag module with it, since they are really expensive for that wheel. He said he could do a full Alcantara wheel for me.

Are you sure you want alcantara?

With those round airbags you have to make sure it's not from the faulty Takata patch which were renewed under recall. Those have a sticker with marking "BAM PT1 - 1085"

Thanks for the heads up on the recall bags to avoid. I’ll make sure to check before buying. Regarding the alcantara, I have always wanted an alcantara interior, but that may have to wait until I get that Aston Martin I drool over. After some more reading, it seems that Alcantara isn’t good for daily driving on surfaces like steering wheels. Leather it is!

Why are the airbags so expensive?

Surely these should be dirt cheap after mass producing them by the millions?

One would think. New is just over a grand. I need a new right front door airbag and it’s only $245ish from getbmeparts.com so who knows why the sport steering wheel bag is so expensive.

Massive massive price gouging :dunno:

Yep, absurd stuff. Verifying that I"m getting a post-recall airbag too could be a struggle without the VIN that the thing came out of or a pic of the back of the bag to verify the sticker noted by Clavurion. The BMW recall website uses VIN number. I wonder if a dealership would/could cross reference part number?

The only definite way is check the sticker on the backside. This is what the faulty patch looks like. Other than 1085 BAM numbers are OK. There are many sellers which are not aware of this recall or is taking chances that buyer doesn't know.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8zcAA...UF/s-l1600.jpg

I actually like this wheel thank you. I also have the four spoke. I'm ok with it, it fits the car I suppose. It is a little worn and it doesn't have the heating option. Is there a heated option for that e39 wheel? That would be ideal.

I'm not sure how I feel about the pre LCI sport wheel. I was looking at ordering one, but I don't know. I definitely like the one above better.

Bought a rehabbed e46/e39 wheel from some guy in Lithuania…what could go wrong. Actually, I’ve seen his work noted on other threads as very good, and the pics are nice. I also got an airbag for the wheel from a us seller. Pics and donor vin show a non-recalled airbag. I’ve emailed him to be sure.

The wheel has been redone in Napa leather (perforated where the hands grip) and Alcantara on the center and 6 o’clock spoke. So I’ll finally have an Alcantara interior in a car! Guess I won’t have to buy that Aston Martin I was eyeballing.

If you are at all interested in a used airbag, there is one at my local pick and pull. It's out of an "02 X5. The wheel itself is in surprisingly good condition, as well. I could verify it is not the recall bag and grab it for you? $40 to buy it and I can ship to you? PM me if you are interested.

Thanks Timmyc, I really appreciate it. I ordered an eBay unit that “checked out”, in as much as it can over the internet. I’ll ping you if it isn’t the right one or is a recalled bag when it shows up.

I’d be interested in airbag! Let me know if it’s not the recall one.

Any pictures of the steering wheel and a link to the seller?

I’m in a process of doing same retrofit for my manual ‘03. My stock four spoke wheel is finally going as far as the leather. So I figured instead of replacing with same thing, might as well spruce it up and go with sport wheel.

Wheel finally came in today my wife tells me. I’m traveling, but will update this thread with pics and my sense of the quality of work when I get home next week.

I unpacked the "new" E39/46 M Sport steering wheel and installed it this am. I need to revisit it as it is about 15 deg. off center, but that should be easy(er), now that I know what I'm doing. Very much plug and play, as mentioned by Clavurion, and really only one question mark remaining. Thanks for the advice and leads.

Nothing too cosmic: the airbag plug fits the plug in the steering column, but is a different profile and therefore doesn't lock into the female end. No codes though on my test drive, so I'm happy the ebay bag I picked up is working. I'll do some more research on the subject and see if there is another harness for inside the steering column that BMW used for the M sport wheels. I didn't pull the column clamshell cover pieces to investigate yet as I figured I'd research on Real OEM first. It could be that the appropriate female end is pre-wired in the column, just waiting to be plugged in. Its all working fine, so I'm happy to do some research first.

The Ebay seller is "Markoparts" and the wheel was packed extremely well: a zillion layers of plastic wrap, then bubble wrapped inside the box.
https://i.postimg.cc/2806Z9yL/Steering-Wheel1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/FRbFsDwR/Steering-Wheel10.jpg
The craftsmanship is really very nice. All the stitching and seams are very tight, very nice leather and the small lower portion is done in Alacantara with no glue bubbles, etc.
https://i.postimg.cc/SsbNhwT3/Steering-Wheel2.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/mkwrV8Sq/Steering-Wheel3.jpg

The old wheel comes off easily after removing the negative battery terminal. Two T30s on the back release the airbag and both the airbag and multifunction harnesses plug into the column at the 12 o'clock position.
https://i.postimg.cc/Z50qFPv7/Steering-Wheel4.jpg

After that the center bolt comes off and the wheel pulls off easily. There are guide pins on the column that fit into holes on the back of the wheel so I popped it onto the column in what seemed like the only way possible. Hopefully though they allow enough movement to reclock the wheel the roughly 15 degrees I need...or I'll need to make some slop in the wheel holes. You can see the yellow and white plugs at the top of the wheel cavity, which plug into the column behind them. The yellow (airbag) plug's shape is different than the plug that was on the OE "comfort" wheel, but plugged in fine. It doesn't lock in however, as the OE wheel's plug did.
https://i.postimg.cc/L4BhH8MT/Steering-Wheel5.jpg
You can make out the different plug size in the pic below after I plugged them in.
https://i.postimg.cc/3NK8y2HZ/Steering-Wheel6.jpg

After plugging the two plugs into the airbag, it pops right into the wheel with some pressure. No screws on this one, but rather it is held in by springs which engage two notched tabs on the airbag. Push the tabs through the springs and they engage the tabs and lock the bag in. I think it comes off with a screwdriver from the back, which will spread the springs and allow the airbag to be pulled out. I'll find out this afternoon when I work on reclocking the wheel. Hopefully I can do it without disconnecting the bag as I don't want to pull my trunk apart again to disconnect the negative terminal.
https://i.postimg.cc/XYhY2ZwV/Steering-Wheel8.jpg

Pic of the back of the post-recall airbag I got from ebay.
https://i.postimg.cc/HsYnj1YC/Steering-Wheel7.jpg

After reading and resetting all the power interruption codes, my airbag light came right back on during my test drive. The foxwell told me that thankfully it was still on, like it has been for 8 months, due to my long term right front door side airbag problem. I've got a new airbag in route from getbmwparts.com to hopefully fix this.

Very pleased with the way it looks, and that all the buttons, horn, etc. work as well and that I don't seem to have awakened (yet) the BMW gremlin that occasionally appears and makes trouble on what should be easy jobs.

That connector problem sounds a bit strange. The models of that era should have the same slip ring. Do you have picture of the different connectors?

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/par...&q=61318379091

Could you de-pin both old and new connectors and swap the shells?

I'm a knucklehead gents...
Plugs are the same, but they have a cover that snaps over them and makes them fit and lock in. The re-covered steering wheel was missing the cover on the plug so I managed to get it off of my OE wheel harness without breaking too much plastic, and on to the "new" harness. Works as advertised now.

I did reclock the wheel this afternoon. What I thought were centering pins to get the wheel clocked correctly, are actually part of the clock spring mechanism and don't interfere with the getting the wheel centered correctly.