I had a chance to get to know the "wood" steering wheel a couple of weeks back at the Jay Honda/Acura show when donniesnyder showed up with his RL. As soon as my thumbs instinctively found their resting places at the 10 and 2 positions, I knew I had to buy it. VERY comfortable. Now my steering wheel feels incomplete. So thanks, donniesnyder! I'm buying it as a late birthday present for myself.

So, two questions:

1. Have any of you had success getting your dealer's parts department to pricematch with dealers selling on eBay? I'd rather buy from my dealer out of convenience and some (misplaced? ) sense of loyalty, but when I called and asked whether they price match, they didn't even budge on price and appeared befuddled that I would even ask. I would have bought for more than I can pay on eBay if they'd come down even a little. I guess I was surprised that they'd rather lose a sale to eBay than to negotiate a little.

In any case, I will likely be buying on eBay in the next week if I don't resolve the situation with my dealer....and my dealer has never given me any trouble about installing parts not purchased there.

2. My interior is taupe. I would buy the "medium gray" steering wheel rather than the parchment one, correct? I don' t see why they don't call the steering wheel colors the same as the available interior colors, but that's just me.

 

As I posted on another thread, the "wood" steering wheel in not wood, but "wood-look", which is Acuraspeak for plastic. I had a real wood steering wheel on my '03 CTS. There is a big difference IMHO. The CTS' was beefy and smooth all the way round; the Acura wheel is skinny and has indentations on the back of the plastic wood. While I love the look to the wheel it is way over priced for what you get. The only reason I bought thru the dealer was for the warranty.

 

Geez....now the pressure is REALLY on to get mine before my next service call (40% MID and counting...)

1) My Service Advisor recommended I buy it from Ebay, as they could not match those prices, and would charge me $125 to install. I though that was reasonable.

2) Taupe is not the color name on the global LEGEND....it is grey. So yes, medium grey it is.

I have found the taupe (grey) wheel and floor mats a bit more difficult to find, but keep checking. The best price I find on the wheel is typically $375 + shipping. If you find anything lower (and correct color) I would jump on it. And since I also have Taupe interior, I may race you to checkout.

I had to appease myself ebay shopping last week to hold off on the wheel and buy an ACURA wall clock (with thermometer and humidity meter!) for the garage.

Thanks to you and Rob144, it looks like I cannot put it off any longer!

American Express thanks you both!

 

I agree with your logic in buying at the dealer. However, I can get a year of warranty if I buy from a dealer even if it's not the dealer I purchased the car at.

It would be nice to have a maplewood steering wheel to match the wood on the dash, but the powers that be at Acura probably decided that it would be prohibitively expensive, and a safety issue in an accident? Was the wood steering wheel on the CTS a very expensive option?

 

If he got the wheel installed for time of delivery, it would have been covered for 4/50K, if you get it after the fact, you get the 1 year.

 

Actually there is nothing there for wood steering to be broken.

Plastic (wood)+leather and frame.
I save a bundle. I bought mine at ebay and have the dealer installed, no question asked by the dealer.

I did the same thing to my A spec underbody kit.

 

I bought it from ebay, my dealer charged about 3x more. But it won't hurt to ask if they can match. Install was around $105 iirc.

 

I bought mine off eBay and installed it myself. It took about an hour and was not difficult at all. Installation instuctions are HERE. Just line up all the tools before you start (I had to borrow an 11mm socket from a neighbor). I would recommend gettiong or borrowing a steering wheel puller (I also bought mine off eBay for $10 shipped). It makes removal of the old wheel easy (although it unseats with a loud "SNAP" which upon hearing, thought something had broken).

LL

 

+1 on grey being the correct color for the taupe interior.

The wheel, in combination with the wood knob really transforms the interior and gives the car a different feel. I can't imagine going back.

I've driven other cars with wood steering wheels, and have found this one offers just the right ratio of "wood" to leather (though I think it isn't real leather, either). I drove an RX300 with a real wood wheel, and it was just too fat and didn't offer enough leather. By the time I was done driving, my palms were sore.

I got my wheel from ebay and had it installed by the dealer ($166, so you folks are getting a deal - even if I did get a free loaner). You do have to take the car for a test drive afterward to make sure that the wheel is properly centered. It took a second try for them to get it straight (by adjusting the toe, rather than removing and reinstalling the wheel).

Rob144

 

Hey bob, Im glad you liked my wheel. Like i told you at the meet i did buy mine off ebay and installed it myself in about an hour. I still have the instructions if you need them. you will need a steering wheel puller to do it though. I payed much less online for mine then the dealer was asking and bought the shift knob as well. I liked the classy look it gave and it feels very luxurious to the touch. On the the factory shift knob and wheel i wasnt happy with the way the stiching felt on my hands especially the shift knob. I drive alot in manual mode and rest my hand on the knob anyways, and found the stitching rough on the hands, just coarse maybe. As far as warranty goes i think you'd be covered. I have so many accessories on mine anyways i think the dealer doesnt even know whats going on anyways. lol. cant wait to see some pics bob!!!

 

The wheel was standard. However, it did have the sport package whether that made a difference or not. At $39,000+ it was a very nice car, but way overpriced at the time. I bought it in December 2002. It was the local dealer's demo model and was not to be sold, but being a good customer the owner of the dealership let me have it after calling Cadillac headquarters. For a few weeks I was the only owner, other than GM execs, of a CTS in the US.

 

I am also interested in the wood shifter and steering wheel, also in taupe (or "grey"- and thanks - that answered one of my questions!), and have been bugging my boss, er, wife, about it...

I wonder if we could buy in bulk!? Cheaper by the half dozen perhaps???

 

Hmmm. Mayhap if there were enough interest, we could get Tim from Hondacuraworld to do a group buy for us? I haven't made my purchase yet, but that is purely because of scheduling.

 

I'll stop my whining and get it for a Taupe.

 

As mentioned in prior threads Acura should have made it standard equipment. It really improves the inside quite a bit and feels more sporty in spirited driving. The installation is also quite easy. Took me about 30-60 mins iirc. I think someone posted up a step by step on here too.

 

Glad you finally got wood.
couldn't resist.

 

Here's the thread when I installed mine. I bought it off of Ebay and did the install myself. Took about an hour. Hope this helps?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3201

 

I read your thread previously. Do you really need a steering wheel puller? If not, how did you pull the wheel off?

 

Yep a puller is needed. About $10-15 at most autoparts stores.

 

Thanks for the good advice, folks. I just pulled the trigger on

a) Wood-look steering wheel.
b) Wood shift knob
c) Lip spoiler--I finally came off the fence about this mod. The first two are from Acura of Escondido as when shipping was taken into account, they offered the best deal. I've bought many parts from them. The last was from a dealer who had an '06 leftover spoiler in celestial silver.

I plan to try to install the steering wheel myself next weekend and will find a steering wheel puller locally. The shift knob is a no-brainer to install myself, and I'm already looking for that 3M double-sided sticky tape for the spoiler.

Next weekend promises to be fun!

 

I bought a steering wheel puller off eBay for $10 shipped. You'll need it. When I put it on and pulled the wheel, it unseated with a loud "SNAP." I though for sure something had broken. Nothing did.

LL

 

I just looked around locally, and AutoZone lends steering wheel pullers for free. You put down a deposit, then you get it back when you bring the tool back. Sounds like the best deal since I've got a half dozen within easy driving distance of my house.

I don't usually touch installs on my car, but you guys are giving me confidence that I can do it. Hey, maybe I'll be changing my own oil next! (B16 service at the dealer, where I am posting from now, is $270. )

 

I just changed the oil for the first time. It's fairly simple, although the car is so low to the ground, it's difficult to reach under there. The filter and drain plug are in close proximity to each other so you can drain them both simultaneously. The filter is directly behind the front passenger wheel.

 

By the way, the engine takes 4.5 quarts with filter change. Kind of a pain getting that half of a quart but you definitely don't want to over-fill it. I wonder if a Jiff-Lube type of place just puts 5 quarts in? I would be they do. Not good for the engine to overfill.

 

I actually didn't realize I needed the steering wheel puller until I had taken the airbag and the main bolt off. Then I realized, man...this is in pretty tight. Then I gave it a good tug and luckily it came out. If you have one available, then that might be the safe bet. Anyway, it's been like 7 months since my install and no issues. Btw, everytime I get in my RL..... I'm so glad I changed out the original to the wood steering and shift knob. I still "LOVE IT"!!!

Good luck with your install. Post pictures when you are done.

 

The Volvo I had before my RL took 6 quarts. Not good underfilling either!

LL

 

Overfilling can blow the rear main seal. Big dollars to get that replaced. Probably better to be a little low than high.

 

I did the steering wheel installation myself. It took less than 30 minutes. The only problem is the steering wheel alignment. Every single steering wheel is different, therefore after installing another one it never stays symmetric. the front wheels needs to be realigned.

 

Waaaaaah! My weekend project time was unexpectedly cut because the ebay seller sent the wrong color steering wheel. So I have an ebony steering wheel when I asked for medium gray, which was the color of the item being sold.

So I have to wait until Monday to hear from the seller, won't get the steering wheel until next weekend, and have to pay to ship the steering wheel back. Waaaaaaah!

At least I have the spoiler, and I've already installed the wood shifter (about a 30 second install ). I expect the spoiler to be about a ten-minute install.

 

how much was your wheel?

 

If it's OEM Acura and you follow the install directions (not just double sided tape - although a nubmer of folks here have had success using just the 3M tape), it will take longer than ten minutes as it entails, among other steps, drilling a couple of holes and installing new deck lid support struts.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

LL

 

I bought the wheel for $400 + $8 shipping. Others sold the wheel for less, but used the typical eBay scam of overcharging for shipping....example was a wheel sold for $385 but shipping via ground was $26, so total cost was $411, and it wasn't even coming from the West Coast.

lland, I used the 3M tape install. I am NOT handy with a drill so chose the easier install. The install actually took 20 minutes. That was because I had to cut the 1" wide tape in half to accomodate the rear portion of the spoiler. That took 15 of the 20 minutes. It took less than 5 minutes to open the box, mark where the spoiler belongs, and to stick the spoiler on. It shifted slightly, about 1/8 inch, when I pressed in the center to begin sticking it. This is a disadvantage of not drilling the holes using the template. It's not even noticeable from a distance, only if you stare at it head on from a few inches away. I'll live with it for now.

 

When I installed my deck spoiler, I marked both ends even and had an assistant helped me to hold the other end to make sure it is in center of the rear deck.

 

I paid total $395.74 from Kendal Acura (Ebay).
$385.25 + $10.49 shipping charge

 

I should've waited for my helper, she was asleep (and, thankfully, so was the baby) as I installed the thing at midnight. You got a good price, that wasn't available when I bought recently.

 

Just got an 07 RL and I am considering adding the wood steering wheel. Does anyone have some pictures of what it looks like installed. Thanks!

 

Here is the pic. of the installed wood steering wheel from our member (Touge)

See post #55
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...3&page=3&pp=25

 

Look through this thread for before & after pics of the wheel in taupe. I highly recommend it!

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3245

Rob144