Help! I need some information about the heated steering wheel. Mine heats up and turns off in three minutes. Before it turns off it gets really hot. I have taken it in to the dealer and they say it is operating fine. The manual indicates it should remain on and automatically shut off in 30 minutes. What do you think?

 

Same on mine. I think it has to do something how hot your temperature set in the car.
Or actually I am not sure, but if it is warm outside, I tried it in the summer, and you turn it on it won't get hot/warm at all.

Maybe it goes by outside temperature?

I love mine though, keeps me warm.

 

Mine cycles on and off in 3-5 minute increments. It gets pretty hot and then cools off before kicking in again. On the 2nd cycle and higher, it doesn't seem to get as hot (but maybe that's because my hands are really cold on the first cycle???)

 

i wish that once you turned it on, it would STAY ON! mine goes off after about 5 min, and wont come back on for a while. going to have a friend look at the wiring and see if there is a way to keep it always on. although that sucker gets pretty damn hot!

 

I am having some similar symptoms as you guys have already mentioned. It seems as if it has a mind of it's own. I think Nissan might have built some logic into the device to compensate for getting too warm etc... Nonetheless, my hands are never too cold. Off topic, but I wish the rear defrost was a little stronger.

 

I have a 2 week old 2003, and I have the exact same thing. I'm pretty sure it's a built-in logic, so that the wheel does not overheat. It'll heat up pretty well (sometimes feels too hot even), and then shuts off (although the button light stays on) and then after a couple of minutes, starts up again.

If we're all getting this behavior, it's definitely not a problem (please fill me in if you hear otherwise).

 

Mine does the on for 5 min off for a while thing. I posted this before and people said it is timed like a rear defroster to prevent overheating.

The power light still stays on though when there is no heat coming from it. In order to get it to go back on, I've gotta switch it off then on again.

 

Just a thought, but since this seems to be recurring, could it be that they designed it to be hot during initial startup and driving, but taper off a few minutes later when presumably the interior would have been sufficiently heated not to need the wheel that warmed (if at all)?

Kind of like a house thermostat...from a cold start it will blow warm/hot air like crazy, but once the ambient temp reaches a certain level, it is no longer needed (except for once in a while).

The wheel may work in the same theory, just not based on ambient temp...more like an assumption of how long most people would need to drive to get the car warmed on the inside...

 

I would think the same thing. There's definitely some sort of logic that they used, and I like it. At first it goes crazy, which warms up your hands pretty well, and then it just keeps pulsing the heat, and at this point your hands are already warm, so no biggie. No complaints about the design on my part!

 

Mine works the same way. I think what the manual is referring to is that the light on the button will stay on for 30 minutes. I don't think it means that the wheel will be heated for that period of time. I like the way it works.

 

This seems to be the 'norm' with the heated wheel. I don't know why, but that's what it does.

Here's a mod to invent, then sell to me. I want a heated shifter wired to my wheel heater. I drive with one hand on the wheel and the other cold hand on the shifter.

 

I think it is integrated with the electronic climate control. When the interior gets warm, the steering wheel temps drop off . . .

 

My steeering wheel heater seems to work fine.. Its the crappy Rear Def that Blows ! .. Slowest one of any car I have ever owned...

 

I had the same problem with my Max before I sold it. The dealer showed me a TSB on the heated stearing wheel, and basically is said that it had to be below 50 degrees outside and it will warm up between 75-95 degrees and then shut off or be on for 30 mins...which ever comes first, which seems to be always the temp, not the time. Tell your dealer to look up the TSB it describes the whole process.

Scott

 

that's the way it is suppose to work, it gets hot, then it cools off. Same goes for seat warmers. if it stays hot for a long time, it would mess up the leather.

 

Right on! It sux. Every other car I have owned has been much better. Even my domestic Buick Regal GS.

 

Mine does the same thing too, but it only takes that first cycle to make it comfortable for me!

 

I actually used it last night. That damn thing got freakin hot real quick... I turned it off myself... Ouch Ouch...

 

can i install it myself????
man....im fine when its cold,cuz i have cloth interior, but man...that steering wheel gets cold~!!! i live in cali though....hehe...i dunno...maybe its waking up at 430 to swim in 68 degree water....thats prob one of the reasons y i feel so cold.....well anyways...i want this feature....not heated seats...just steering wheel