I have the cold weather package that includes the heated steering wheel. With the onset of cooler weather I started to use it, but I'm not sure it's working properly.

Here's my scenario. Press the on button, the wheel heats up very quickly. And gets HOT, almost too hot to hold. It will stay this hot for a few minutes, they begin to cool off. After a few more minutes, the wheel will be just barely warm, but the light on the switch will still be lit. Pressing the button OFF then ON does not yield another hot cycle. Waiting a while (20 min?) then pressing ON will deliver a hot cycle.

Does this sound like a normal operation? It's not exactly what I expected. I was expecting a constant warming, not a temp spike and cool off.

I recall that the manual states the wheel will not warm up if the temp is above 65 degrees, but I don't think that would come into play here.

 

I experimented with my heated steering wheel in order to make sure it was working properly. It never got too hot to comfortably hold. Also, it works the same way the heated wheel did in my '05. It heats up then levels off at a slightly cooler setting. Later on, it heats up again then levels off. If yours is getting too hot to hold, take it in to the dealer.

 

This is EXACTLY how the heated steering wheel worked the entire five years I owned my '04 SL, and exactly how it is working on my '09. It is as if the intent was to have an initial MAJOR warmup to get rid of the frozen feeling, then it simply keep the wheel from getting really cold again. I personally would have designed this thing slightly differently, but Nissan never asked me. But it gives me what my gnarly ancient hands absolutely MUST have (a wheel that is not icy cold), and I will never own a car without a heated steering wheel again.

 

Hmm i've never had the too hot to touch feeling but the steering wheel does get pretty hot and cools down to the point where you might not notice its on but when i touch the center of the wheel its cold.

 

i wish the steering wheel would just stay on cause when it auto shuts off it feels like its not even on

 

OK, that pretty well confirms for me that it's not a unique condition, and is probably working as intended.

Thanks all.

 

Hi,

I am not experience with that but i think may be there is some other problem.Contact any experience engineer for solve the problem he will give you the better solution option.



Regards,
Olivia

 

I think you should wait until the real cold hits us. By then, the performance of your heated steering wheel may fall in line with others. I suspect that high cabin temperatures are fooling the temperature sensors in the steering wheel.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure who it was at Nissan that decided the steering wheel should be allowed to cool to 68 degrees but I wish they had made the cutoff 10 degrees warmer (or better yet, variable). I doubt the temperature sensor is accessible, but it would be great to have a workaround that allowed the wheel to stay warmer than the cabin because just about everyone's hands are considerably cooler than their core body temperature.

 

I live south of Hotlanta GA, and bought my '04 SL in June of that year. Because of the minimum temp cutoff being at least five or (as ratdoc just said) ten degrees too low, it was October before I was able to confirm that my heated steering wheel even worked.

 

Hey a little off topic but how do you even turn on the side mirror defrost?

 

First off the heated steering wheel is working as designed. Its suppose to be a quick heat up to take the cold off the steering wheel when you touch it. Once it reaches 86 degrees not 68 it will then turn the heating element down. Once it deeps below a certain temp again it will heat up again. This will allow the steering wheel to remain warm longer. The steering wheel is not meant to have continued heating. Just to take the cold out of having a frozen steering wheel. If you keep the switch on long enough it will turn itself off completely ( Meaning the indicator light will be off). If you want more heat than yes press again and it will do it all over.

Second, as for the rear mirrors defroster when you turn on the rear defroster it will heat the mirrors.

 

[quote=BMWHIGH1;7272302]First off the heated steering wheel is working as designed. Its suppose to be a quick heat up to take the cold off the steering wheel when you touch it. Once it reaches 86 degrees not 68 it will then turn the heating element down. Once it deeps below a certain temp again it will heat up again. This will allow the steering wheel to remain warm longer. The steering wheel is not meant to have continued heating. Just to take the cold out of having a frozen steering wheel. If you keep the switch on long enough it will turn itself off completely ( Meaning the indicator light will be off). If you want more heat than yes press again and it will do it all over.

Not quite. The heating element isn't activated when the surface temperature of the wheel is above 68 degrees. If the wheel is below that temperature, the heater will bring the temperature up to around 86 and then cycle, which results in a much lower steering wheel surface temperature which Nissan claims is "above 68 degrees". However, since 68 degrees is cooler than most people's hands, this does not feel warm (although the wheel won't be as cold as it would without the system). The heater stays on (nominally) until the switch is pressed again or the car is turned off - there is no auto-off feature. Manually turning the switch off and then back on will restart the heater only if the surface temperature of the wheel is under 68 degrees, which it won't be if you were just using the heater. So, no, pressing again doesn't get you any more heat.

 

The surface of my steering wheel heats to about 110 degrees (guessing) and stays there for a while before cooling off. If I move my hands to a different position on the wheel, it feels really hot - a bit uncomfortable and almost too hot. Like picking up a cup of tea that feels too hot a first, but then is just able to be touched.

That's why I asked if this is normal behavior.

And the heated steering wheel function DOES auto-off after a set period of time, just like the rear window defrost. I confirmed it this morning on my drive to work. If you wait a while after it auto-offs, I do experience a renewed heating cycle.

 

That's interesting about the auto-off. Maybe I need to go for longer rides now that it's cold out. As for the initial heat, I agree with you that it feels hotter than 86. I'll see if I can measure the surface temperature later today. If the sensor isn't near the heating element, 86 at the sensor might mean 110 somewhere else on the wheel.

 

Yes, this wheel definitely gets hotter than 86, which probably means the sensor may not be in the surface of the steering wheel. The initial heatup can be quite uncomfortable for a minute or so, then eases back. Unless the weather is cold, the heat of my hands and the warmed air inside the car keeps the wheel warm enough that the heat soon cycles off and seldom cycles back on, even though the light on the switch is lit. If the weather is cold, the heat eventually cycles back on again.

The heated wheel on both my latest two Maximas behaved exactly as that of TBA (post-starting thread), and the same as what is being described by other posters in this thread. We may not like exactly how it operates, but, as BMWHIGH1 said, this system is not designed to produce constant heat, but to eliminat the frigidity of the wheel at startup, and then come back with heat again later if the wheel temp drops too far down. As ratdoc (and others?) said, I would have preferred the system not let the temp drop back quite so far.

 

I just wear gloves...

 

And you can always throw on a couple of sweaters instead of using the heater all winter...

 

The heated wheel is nice. Maybe I won't have to wear the OJ's for the whole drive home.

 

i thought i would never own a car without a heated wheel again too...but then, nissan & my dealer screwed me.....

this is my first winter (no heated wheel max) and i have fond memories of the max - i even spot a 6th-7th gen every now and then and stare at their hands rubbing/rolling over the wheel....while i 'freeze' with envy!!

TBA: just move ure hand from the wheel to your gear shifter and you will know the heated wheel is working!!

 

Yes, a toasty steering wheel will be nice when it snows and my wife boots me out of the garage. Something about having a warm car for the kids. Pfft.

 

Here in Texas, I have had to use mine I think twice out of my 16 months of owning the car. Haven't had the need for really, even when it gets too cold down here. But, I like the feature that it is there.

Will use it on my road trip up north, going all the way to Canada!

 

Taking I-35?

 

When you're nearer age 100 than age 50 (like me), and have gnarly old fingers with no circulation (like me), you will use the heated steering wheel nearly 200 days of the year (like me). And I live SOUTH of Atlanta.

 

I love my heated steering wheel as well but if I had designed this thing I would have had the option of an automatic sensor that turns on the heater at start up if the cabin temp is below a certain temperature.

 

Never thought I would say this living in AZ but the heated wheel is nice lately when I park outside. The temps are in the high 30s/low 40s when I leave for work and the heated wheel is perfect! Though the cool off period does suck a bit.

 

I am still to map out my route. So, not familiar with I-35. Besides, it will be my first time driving to Canada. I wanted to do it in one day, but want to enjoy the scenery along the route on my trip, so, I will do 3 days to get to Canada. My main concern is keeping up with the weather changes, so, I don't get stock in a storm somewhere. But if you have any ideas about the trip, let me know.

 

All I can say is I am happy you have that feature and it serves you very well.

 

I was reading online that the new M next year is finally suppose to get a heated steering wheel like the Max; must be the first time Infiniti has copied something from a Nissan!!! this new Maxima is kick ***!!!!

 

This has been an available feature on the Max since the start of the upscaling of the Max in 02. Then it was only one of the few cars to offer this, I think I have used it in total of 10 times, and from time to time I test it to see if its still working.......lol.

 

funny mine does the SAME exact thing on my '04!!

 

I am in the Chicago area and checked my heated steering wheel today using a Raytek laser temp prob. The temp of the wheel was 55 degrees I turned on the heated wheel and in 1 minute it was up to 85 degrees after 3 minutes it was up to 108 degrees in some areas and 96 degrees in other areas on the wheel. Hope this helps. It was 30 degrees outside and the car had been sitting for about 45 minutes when I checked the wheel.

 

Good to know. I sometimes find after a few minutes it gets a little too hot. Wish we could adjust it like the seats.
But I have always been a person that appeals to the cold nature of things.

 

That sounds like what my heated wheel does. I knew from the first time I drove a car with a heated steering wheel (04 SL) that I would never again own a car without one. I would have preferred a switch with 'OFF, LOW and HI' settings, but I will take what we have and LOVE it.

 

Agreed. I would have liked to have seen the switch on the steering wheel too, but I imagine they had a reason for putting it on the dash.

 

When I purchased the Max and realized it had a heated steering wheel I thought, there is a feature I'll never use. Boy was I wrong. It's been soooo nice! By the way, it was -22F here in MN this morning. If it weren't for heated seats I'd find a way to wrap myself around the steering wheel. Good thing I do have heated seats cause the Max takes way too long to warm up the cabin.

 

I lOVE the heated steering wheel, I like it even more than the heated seats. When starting my car on all these cold New England days it is great. I am surprised how few cars offer this as an option.

 

definitely am missing that heated steering wheel right now, every time I grip the wheel after the car has been sitting, it is freezing!!!

 

btw, is anyone also experiencing slow startups with the heated seats?
the 5th gen seats started up real fast so you don't have to wait for the engine heat.
but the 6th gen seats are very very slow to heat up.
how's the 7th gen seats?

was there a lawsuit or something about heavy people setting off fires from heated seats that cause weaker new heat settings?

thx

 

Heating speed is definately slower than my Jeep. Jeep heats quickly and gets much warmer than the Maxima. I think it's generally OK, but my wife complains that the passenger seat don't get warm enough and thinks there is something wrong with the heater. Of course she's also used to driving the Jeep.