E70 Heated steering retrofit DIY
 

First let me give a big shout out to MilehighM3 who helped me greatly to find the PN to the 12 pin connector and supplied me with two. I am still waiting on USPS to deliver the first one. http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/image...es/mad0259.gif

Anyways If I have missed something let me know and I will correct it accordingly. I am just happy to add to the community as I have benefited greatly from others over the years.

Fantastic! Nice write up too. Now off to find a heated wheel....

i just removed my heated wheel for a performance wheel
But it's a non sport wheel

Congrats, this is a impressive feat Mundo, finding those parts is a needle in a haystack in the world of BMW...they are all standard parts, but finding out which ones is the nightmare!

Interesting that the connector changes to a 12 pin unit if you have the Steering Wheel heating (or LKAS I believe you said?). Very interesting.

That's a sweet write up - I plan on replacing my wheel soon, so doing this will definitely be on the list.

It appears the new clockspring comes with that pigtail for the heated wheel? Just for reference, what year is your E70?

Chris

Yes the clockspring comes with the pigtail. My car is a 4/2011 build
(MY 2012)

Awesome, thanks. If I see any differences on the X6, I'll let you know. My X6 is also a 2012 with a 6/2011 production date.

Chris

Is this on all the time
 

I did not notice a switch in your DIY. Is this always on?

The first photo (above) addresses the controls. You have to get/purchase the steering wheel button/controls that have the steering wheel heater switch.

What is the part number for the switch controls? I can't seem to find them on RealOEM - the schematics show the parts identified for everything except for the switches.

Also, I assume this retrofit is for the 35i, right? Any idea what is involved for the 50i, since I understand the harnesses and control boxes in the steering column are different?

Thanks for this!

What is the last 7 of your vin?
I did the retrofit on a 35i but the 50 should be identical for what you are doing.
The question about the steering column harness being different is a non issue assuming you have a heated steering wheel with the heater control module.

Btw I see you are in Miami?

Hi Everyone,

I just completed this retrofit and it works great - a HUGE thanks to Mundo74 for doing the legwork on connectors, pins and wiring - I would have never attempted this without your information and guidance. :thumbup:

I created a quick video of the process - it's fairly complete, thought I would post it there.

FYI, I have a spare heated sport wheel for sale that fits X5/X6 with paddle shifters - PM me for a great deal.



Chris

Love the video. This should ease any angst someone may have in doing this. Curios to know why you Went the rear fuse box route instead of the power socket in the armrest.

I went the rear fuse box route as I had concerns that the power outlet would allow the heated wheel to stay on for ~20 minutes after the car shuts down. In the winter I didn't want to push my luck with battery drain.

Chris

For somebody working on similar, I would tap off the power that runs the windows. It will shut off when you open the door.


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I see. My e70 kills the armrest power socket as soon as the ignition is off. Maybe the x6 retains the power for a bit. Anyways as long as you got it working its all good.

Once it gets really cold give us an update on the performance. I was a little underwhelmed on a winter trip on the heater performance. Maybe it's my steering wheel.

I have not been able to fully test the wheel yet because our weather is still relatively mild, my understand with prior cars with heated wheels is it works really nicely when the car has been sitting outside (say, driving home from work) all day and the heat kills the 'bite' of the cold.

We will see! Thanks again for posting and researching all of this Mundo.

Chris

great video, I am going to do this retrofit in the future.

I have been able to source a heated wheel off ebay. It seems to have come from a 2011. It came with the switch and I made sure it came with the controller box. I have ordered the parts needed to complete this install. This was the one thing I really wanted on the car as my E61 has it and I love it, but because of this post, I will be able to retrofit it to the car.

Thanks, guys!!

Will this also work for doing an X5 M?
 

Great info here - will all these instructions and parts apply to a 2011 X5 M as I would like to retrofit my non- heated steering wheel for a heated one.

Yep these instructions would work just fine on your X5M.

I responded to your note about the wheel.

Chris

Hey guys, so I attempted this on my 12 35D bought all the parts brand new from tischer and I can't get the wheel to turn on. I grounded terminal 7 and 12 to the chassis and I ran power to terminal 9 with no results. Is there something I'm missing here?

Heated Steering Wheel retrofit
 

My mechanic is doing the retrofit right now on my 2011 X5M - Can you send me the link to the video? Also, I think I have everything but the 12 Pin connector(s), how many do I need? Lastly, where is the best place to get power from to power this up? Thanks!

Chris F did the video of his x6 but he has taken it down from YouTube. But you can do it without the video. You need one 12 pin connector but also make sure you have the coil spring that mates with the 12 pin. Just be careful with the pinouts as these are also your airbag connections. Just remove the center shift console and splice the wires. I Get the power and ground from the center arm rest 12v socket belive it’s a 20 amp fuse (plenty) and mine have never given issues since I did it years ago.

I just got my 2012 X5 in November, and I said at the time that the only option I really wished it had was the heated steering wheel. Thanks for the excellent tutorial. I’ve already ordered the parts I’ll need to do the retrofit.

Did you ever follow up with researching wiring the heater into the climate control system and the coding to support it?

Thanks again!

Kevin

Sorry to revive an old threat.. but I’ve looked a lot before posting here.. I got an 2012 with all the bells and whistles.. unfortunately I got lane assist without paddles and whithout heated wheel. My primary goal is heated steering.. then paddle shifting and last is lane keeping.. so what steering exactly should i look for to keep the lane assist feature.. and add the heated steering ?


Dr. Moustafa Kassab
Bmw e70 2012

I think you may be out of luck for getting a heated steering wheel with either Lane Departure Warning or Paddle Shifters in your car.

Assuming I'm reading the 2012 X5 Product Guide (attached) correctly, if you've got Lane Departure Warning on your X5, then you must have the M Sport Package installed. The M Sport Package automatically deletes the Heated Steering Wheel option if it came with any other installed option package.

The Product Guide also indicates that adding LDW with any option package automatically deletes Paddle Shifters. Thus, LDW and Paddle Shifters are mutually exclusive options.

So...

M Sport Package means no heated steering wheel, and
Lane Departure Warning means no paddle shifters.

However, from this thread we know that your car does not have to be prewired for a heated steering wheel in order to successfully implement this retrofit alone.

All that said, there is an M Sport steering wheel with paddle shifters and a heater for the E70 and E71: BMW part number 32307846671. However, I'd recommend looking your car over very carefully before assuming that all the features you want are available.

Here's one thread that may help you determine if your car is pre-wired for paddle shifters: https://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=16422

Wow... that’s clears things up.. thx a lot man..


Dr. Moustafa Kassab
Bmw e70 2012

Success!
 

I completed the heated steering wheel retrofit on my 2012 X5 today. First of all, thanks to Mundo74 for the highly detailed instructions. Without those I probably would not have tried it.

I ended up going with the alternate wiring Mundo74 mentioned at the end of his instructions, and I think it may have made the task a bit easier. Here is my supplement to his instructions based on what I did.

1) I removed the center dashboard trim piece to get access to the X10170 connector on the back of the climate control. This connector uses the same socket terminal (61131393724) as the coil spring cartridge connector. I added a socket terminal and (white) wire to pin 12 of that connector.

Attachment 75308
Attachment 75309

2) For +12V, I used the F12 fuse location--the designated fuse for the steering wheel heating element. There was no fuse in that location initially, so I plugged in an add-a-circuit fuse tap with a 10A fuse in the top slot. I ran the (red) wire out the back of the fuse box, friction taped it to an existing harness and fed it into the center dashboard area. There was no need to use a 12V relay for the power connection.

Attachment 75310

3) I friction taped my +12V wire and my heating/AC wire together and fed them through to the steering column. I used a small fish tape to make running the wires very easy. Well worth the $10 investment.

Attachment 75311

4) I trimmed the wires, added terminals and plugged the +12V wire into pin 9 and the heating/AC control wire into pin 12 of the new 12-pin coil spring cartridge connector.

5) I removed the hood release handle and kick panel trim piece, then pulled back the carpet and insulation to get to one of the ground points there. I added a (black) wire with a ring terminal to the ground point, then ran the wire up to pin 7 of the new coil spring cartridge connector.

Attachment 75312

6) I added $248 to the VO in the CAS and FRM modules.

7) I changed the LHZ (steering wheel heating) code in the IHKA module from nicht_aktiv to aktiv. This step is REQUIRED if you run pin 12 to the heating/AC instead of grounding it.

8) While I had the steering wheel off, I put my multimeter across pins 4 and 6 of the X01003 connector on the steering column. Much to my delight, I saw 5VDC between those pins, confirming that my car is wired to support paddle shifters.


Attachment 75313


9) I had to reset the SRS fault code with INPA because I reconnected the battery for testing while the airbag was disconnected, which triggered a fault.

I'm now looking for a good deal on a heated Sport steering wheel with paddle shifters for the next upgrade. I'll also need a new airbag cover, but I will be able to use my existing airbag. This upgrade will be much simpler that the heated steering wheel retrofit.

Thanks again to Mundo74 for doing the initial groundwork for this retrofit.

sterring column
 

Gathering up parts to do this upgrade and at my local salvage yard I can buy the whole steering column along with the heated wheel (less airbag) for a reasonable price . Couple questions:


Is the module located under the airbag on the wheel?


Would I save some steps in swamping the whole column.



Thanks!

The IHKA module is located in the dashboard behind the heater controls. You should not need to replace it for the retrofit.

I didn’t replace the entire steering column when I did my retrofit, but it seems to me that it would be a lot more work to do that. For me, the most time consuming part of the process was running the wires to the fuse box, the climate control panel (instead of just grounding the control wire), and the ground wire. The rest of the process went quickly after getting all three wires to the steering column. You’ll need to do that anyway, regardless of whether you replace the entire steering column.

My recommendation would be to disassemble the salvage yard steering column and just use the parts you’ll need. You should be able to use your original airbag in the new steering wheel.

HI,
I m sure I asking the same questions again but I am not able yet to find solution.
I have BMW x5 E70 Premium with heated steering wheel, i upgraded to Sport Steering Wheel heated and paddle shifter.
The installation went well, everything works fine, the paddle worked, all buttons worked. My only issue is the heated wheel doesnt get warm, it goes on but dont get too warm compared to my old wheel.
Any suggestion

thank you