Will the Heated Steering Wheel Work in my Car?
 

Hey guys,

I want to buy a heated sport steering wheel for my 2004 X5, as of right now i have a 4 spoke, non sport, non heated steering wheel.

I called Morristown BMW and they said that i might need a different slip ring for the heated function to work, but are not positive. Has anyone done the conversion?

I thought about doing this myself and came across the following when researching the practicality of doing so:

Heated steering wheel retrofit project

This is not an X5 steering wheel retrofit but it looks as if the slip ring needs to be replaced.

saw that, but I also saw another thread on here that said something about a resistor and not the slip ring.

hmmm

Just get the m steering wheel with paddleshift. You can always rub your hands together like Mr. Miagi and warm the wheel up yourself. Lol, seriously, you will probably need a new collar ring which will power the heat option. You can always install the new wheel first and if it doesn't work just get the ring

Here's one of the best retrofits ever written:

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/pdf/e5...20retrofit.pdf

For both the paddle shifter and heated wheel you need a new slip ring, due to the need for additional wires being needed.

Just keep in mind you can't have both. The paddleshift retrofit uses the wiring that is otherwise used for the heating function.

i called morristown bmw again and talked to parts department, they said that the part number for the slip ring for the non and heated steering wheel are the same, weird

Did you read the write-up? It would have saved you a call.

:iagree: I replaced the non-heated 4 spoke wheel in my 2001 X5 to a heated sport wheel following these instructions and these parts and it works perfectly. So if it works in my 01 I don't see any reason why it will not work in yours.

Also, before I even started I called and spoke with 3 dealerships both parts and service departments and they told me that it was not possible but I went for it anyway! Just goes to show you that sometimes the enthusiasts know more than the dealers.