This past year I had a steering wheel modified for my XK. I went to the dealership to have the new one put on, but they said that the mount on the new one was different than the original wheel.


The top pic is the original wheel and you can see that it has a larger "gold" looking mount, where as the bottom wheel has a smaller mount. The mount does not look that much different, but the dealer said it was different and they could not put it on. Now I am left with trying to get my money back from the place that modified the other wheel. I like the modified wheel a lot but cant figure out what to do? Any thoughts out there???

 

Whether you can get your money back from the place that modified that wheel (Modifier) depends on facts that you didn't tell us.

Who supplied the wheel that was modified, you or the Modifier? If you did, then it's your fault and you lose. If the Modifier supplied it, whether you can get your money back depends on the terms of the contract between you and the Modifier. If you approved it, you lose even though it's not the correct wheel. Otherwise, you have a chance unless the contract states that there are no refunds for custom work.

Did you pay with a credit card? If so, you can file a dispute to get a refund but that's no guarantee that you'll succeed. That depends on the result of the credit card company's investigation. You must follow the dispute rules on your credit card company's website.

Is it worth suing the Modifier to try to get your money back? Probably not if you have to pay a lawyer, but you may be able to do it yourself in Small Claims Court. It gets complicated if the Modifier isn't in NJ.
https://njcourts.gov/selfhelp/small_claims.html

Do you know what year and model that modified steering wheel fits? You didn't post a picture of the front, so I can't tell if it's for an X150 with Adaptive Cruise Control. ACC wheels have two rotary controls on the right side. If you can't get a refund and know what it fits, advertise it for sale on the Forum Marketplace and on Ebay.

Good luck!

 

Hard to tell without seeing how it mounts to the column.

Looks like there is a lubed yellow seal there? Can you pop it off? If so, see if you can pop it onto the new wheel. At that point you may just have to cut out a larger diameter whole to match the old wheel.

However, that would be a very tough and unforgiving cut to make - and who knows whats underneath that black plastic.

 

Your original wheel looks to be a heated one. The greasy "gold rings" form an electrical slip-ring, to transfer current to the heater elements in the wheel. In the column, there are matching"brushes" (called by Jag a "module" - item 5 below C2C7505) that push against those rings, completing the circuit into the loom. Your dealer is reluctant because the spring loaded brushes will rub against the plastic shroud on the back of the wheel. Best case scratching the thing and making an awful scraping sound, worse case perhaps catching and breaking the brushes/shroud. If your are OK living without the heated wheel, it is possible to extract the module from its socket in the column and unplug it from the loom. Not sure if this would throw an error, however.

 

Thanks for the info. You are correct, mine is heated and the modified one is not. I'll have to look into this a bit more or find someone who would want to play around with this and help me out. Thanks again!

James

 

Stuart, Thanks for the info. The modifier Vivid Racing provided the wheel. I'm working with them now. I should have posted this earlier. I think we figured out that it is because of the heated wheel and the modified one is not. Thanks ABZXKR! Pics of the wheel coming soon....

 

Pics of the front of the wheel:
New:



Old:

Thanks again for the help!

 

No Adaptive Cruise on both. This wheel has ACC - 2 controls on right side.

 

I’ve done the same when changing to a carbon fibre sport. Fitment is no issue and you can delete heated wheel from the CCF.

 

Big NO from me. A heated wheel is a favorite thing of mine for those crispy-cool top-down days.

 

Likewise I have the later model wheel on my 4.2 it's actually a re trimmed xf wheel .

 

That's the price you pay for carbon fibre...also I live in a temperate zone.

 

Oh, come on, I've been in Florida in Dec/Jan. It gets pretty chilly early morning and in the evening.

 

More facts are needed to determine who is responsible, you or Vivid. Although Vivid provided the wheel, how did they know which wheel to use? What was your conversation with them?

No need to answer that question, as you're working with them now to remedy the situation. I hope you can come to a mutually acceptable conclusion.

 

Was this a custom fabrication? How long did it take to receive from the time you placed the order?

 

Yes, custom fabrication. I ordered it in April, but due to covid and a screw-up on their part I didnt get it for about 4 months. No big deal, I just wanted it to work.

So "Jahummer" yours had the same larger "gold" ring , and you switched to the smaller mount and just took out the module? Is that correct? Any other thing to do to make it fit??? If so, I may try to bring it back to the dealer and see what they say.

 

There were no issues with getting it fitted and I did it myself. I also used SDD to change the heated wheel to not fitted.

 

My XJR is the first car I've owned with a heated wheel and I love it. Any chance of adding heat to an XKR that didn't come with it originally? Also, the educated questions and answers in the thread are top notch. Great community...

 

That question was previously asked and, unfortunately, went unanswered.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ssible-155096/

 

the heating element is embedded in the steering wheel so if that wasn't part of the customization, no you can't. You'd also need the heater module but without the embedded heating element...