Steering wheel upgrade

[Bradders89]

Hi all,

 

Thinking about changing the steering wheel on my Superb SEL to a flat bottom wheel as my current one is starting to show signs of wear and tear and I like the look of the flat design.

 

Interested to know people opinions and experiences.

 

Has anyone changed this themselves and if so is it easy to do?

 

Also where have people bought one from? 

 

I have found the one below.

[Gammyleg]

Never done it but looks like a smart upgrade.

[sklar]

The first mod I did was changing to the Alcantara steering wheel. I got it in a week from the local dealer who ordered it from CZ. The airbag unclips from the back of the wheel and you need a 12mm 'triple-square' for the main wheel bolt.  Have a look on youtube for VW Golf 7 steering wheel change - there's plenty on there.

[sklar]

Here it is in situ once I got a pic of it today.

[Bradders89]

On 26/02/2023 at 09:52, sklar said:

The first mod I did was changing to the Alcantara steering wheel. I got it in a week from the local dealer who ordered it from CZ. The airbag unclips from the back of the wheel and you need a 12mm 'triple-square' for the main wheel bolt.  Have a look on youtube for VW Golf 7 steering wheel change - there's plenty on there.

 Yeah that's what's I am looking to do. Had a look online for a steering wheel, but not many places. You say you ordered yours from main dealer. Are you UK based? If so how much did you fork out? Cheers

11 hours ago, sklar said:

Here it is in situ once I got a pic of it today.

 That looks sweet, where did you get that from?

[sklar]

Its the part number you referenced above 565064241A GCW

 

https://skodapartsdirect.co.uk/product/skoda-superb-estate-2016-present-three-spoke-sport-steeling-wheel-in-alcantara-trim/

 

Skoda Parts Direct is Fish Brothers Skoda Swindon, which is pretty local to me so I picked up at the displayed price.  Perhaps your local dealer can source from CZ at the same price.  Obviously no VAT/duties issues when getting from UK dealer.

 

The wheel without paddles is 565064241 GCW, probably a few quid cheaper.

[numskull]

Does the wheel need to be coded?

[JR RS]

1 hour ago, numskull said:

Does the wheel need to be coded?

 

Provided u get the same before and after "specs" then no.

i.e. if u went from round with paddles to flat-bottomed with paddles

Or

If u went from round heated to flat-bottomed heated.

 

However, if u went from round non-heated to flat-bottomed heated, then u'll need to change the steering clock-spring and do coding.

 

 

[numskull]

Cheers JR 👍🏻

[Frankenfurter]

I did mine, used a wheel from a wrecked Kodiaq Sportline and just re used the original airbag. Works perfectly! There is a 1cm gap at the back/top of the wheel where the airbag cover doesn’t match up but you can’t see it. Except when you look down from the top which is never.

[Gammyleg]

Much prefer the leatherette look to the furry Alcantara.

[JR RS]

8 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

Much prefer the leatherette look to the furry Alcantara.

 

+1 for the perforated leather.

It is a little bit more nicer to look at, plus it matches the perforated leather seats.

 

 

Edited 3 March, 2023 by JR RS

[MartiniB]

9 hours ago, JR RS said:

+1 for the perforated leather

+1

 

 

 

[k.young]

I need one of those flat bottem flappy paddle wheels in my car!!!!!

[SomethingSuperbly]

On 01/03/2023 at 20:28, JR RS said:

 

Provided u get the same before and after "specs" then no.

i.e. if u went from round with paddles to flat-bottomed with paddles

Or

If u went from round heated to flat-bottomed heated.

 

However, if u went from round non-heated to flat-bottomed heated, then u'll need to change the steering clock-spring and do coding.

 

 

 

Are there any other requirements like having heated seats?

 

I've been on the search for a round heated steering wheel (would have been nice with paddles but I think the heating element is probably more useful) and read somewhere that by having and pressing the button for heated seats would also active the heated steering wheel or at least bring up a prompt on the infortainment.

 

I know it needs a new steering clock spring for the heating element.

 

This is probably something I'd like to get done.

[BurtMacklin]

Can someone help me choose a flat-bottom steering wheel for my Superb MK3? I'm specifically looking for a perforated leather flat-bottom steering wheel without heating. I'm considering two options: one with paddle shifters or one without. Additionally, I only need the steering wheel itself without the airbag, and I prefer black stitching.

I've noticed that there are various options available in the market, and the price range is quite surprising. For instance, option 565064241BCXA, which meets my requirements but lacks paddle shifters, costs around 290 EUR at my local dealer. However, when I look at the same option with paddle shifters, such as 565419091ECXA, it is priced at 625 EUR. Is it possible that the addition of paddle shifters could double the price, or am I looking at the wrong part codes? Furthermore, I've observed that the alcantara version with paddle shifters, 565064241AGCW, is priced at only 380 EUR. Can anyone confirm if the part codes I'm examining are correct, and if there are any other versions available in between these options?

[MartiniB]

@BurtMacklin

add to choice list also option replace just leather

 

i have got perfect result for €110

On 08/04/2024 at 19:39, MartiniB said:

got new perforated leather on steering wheel

 

 

done by AutoMix.lv  

 

 

 

[JR RS]

2 hours ago, BurtMacklin said:

Can someone help me choose a flat-bottom steering wheel for my Superb MK3? I'm specifically looking for a perforated leather flat-bottom steering wheel without heating. I'm considering two options: one with paddle shifters or one without. Additionally, I only need the steering wheel itself without the airbag, and I prefer black stitching.

I've noticed that there are various options available in the market, and the price range is quite surprising. For instance, option 565064241BCXA, which meets my requirements but lacks paddle shifters, costs around 290 EUR at my local dealer. However, when I look at the same option with paddle shifters, such as 565419091ECXA, it is priced at 625 EUR. Is it possible that the addition of paddle shifters could double the price, or am I looking at the wrong part codes? Furthermore, I've observed that the alcantara version with paddle shifters, 565064241AGCW, is priced at only 380 EUR. Can anyone confirm if the part codes I'm examining are correct, and if there are any other versions available in between these options?

 

I upgraded my round steering wheel for a flat-bottomed version.

 

Old Wheel: 3VO 419 091 S CWE

New Wheel: 565 419 091 E BGW

 

The airbag from my old wheel was compatible with the flat-bottomed wheel.

Mine is MY17, paddle-shift version, no heating.

 

 

 

[BurtMacklin]

1 hour ago, JR RS said:

 

I upgraded my round steering wheel for a flat-bottomed version.

 

Old Wheel: 3VO 419 091 S CWE

New Wheel: 565 419 091 E BGW

 

The airbag from my old wheel was compatible with the flat-bottomed wheel.

Mine is MY17, paddle-shift version, no heating.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing the part numbers. It's interesting to note that the wheel with the code 565 419 091 E BGW is priced at 713 EUR at my local dealer, making it the most expensive option. However, it's unclear how it differs from the 565 419 091 E CXA, which is priced at 625 EUR. Perhaps the best choice would be to go with the cheapest version, 565 064 241 B CXA.

[JR RS]

14 hours ago, BurtMacklin said:

 

Thank you for sharing the part numbers. It's interesting to note that the wheel with the code 565 419 091 E BGW is priced at 713 EUR at my local dealer, making it the most expensive option. However, it's unclear how it differs from the 565 419 091 E CXA, which is priced at 625 EUR. Perhaps the best choice would be to go with the cheapest version, 565 064 241 B CXA.

 

I bought mine secondhand, so I paid nowhere near that.

 

I understand ur confusion with all the different part numbers.

 

I would warn u though to b mindful of the airbag.

I believe the airbag design is different for steering wheels from MY18.

Hence u might find two different part numbers for a steering wheel that has the same features, but it will b a different airbag variant.

[rcblur69]

I would second @JR RS here. I changed my MY18 sportline wheel for the above mentioned alcantara alternative.

The complication here is that a June 2018 onwards build has a slightly different wheel and deeper airbag. So I sourced an older airbag to go with the alcantara wheel. I also had to swap the buttons as they were different.

 

I ordered through my local Skoda dealer and to be fair to them, their lead parts/service guy prompted me that the alcantara wheel wasn’t listed as compatible, which made me go away and figure it all out with help from people here. Once I explained the difference to him, he was cool and the wheel turned up pretty quickly.

 

The service guy also noted that my MY18 sportline wheel was listed at £700+ from them, which backs up what you are finding @BurtMacklin. He couldn’t explain why it would be so much more expensive though, so that part is still a mystery.

 

Everyone has their own opinion on wheel materials, which is fine. I’m really happy with the alcantara though. To me it feels really luxurious, it matches the fabrics on the sportline interior better, it feels much warmer in winter and it’s been on 6 months now and still looks mint.

[BurtMacklin]

9 hours ago, rcblur69 said:

I would second @JR RS here. I changed my MY18 sportline wheel for the above mentioned alcantara alternative.

The complication here is that a June 2018 onwards build has a slightly different wheel and deeper airbag. So I sourced an older airbag to go with the alcantara wheel. I also had to swap the buttons as they were different.

 

I ordered through my local Skoda dealer and to be fair to them, their lead parts/service guy prompted me that the alcantara wheel wasn’t listed as compatible, which made me go away and figure it all out with help from people here. Once I explained the difference to him, he was cool and the wheel turned up pretty quickly.

 

The service guy also noted that my MY18 sportline wheel was listed at £700+ from them, which backs up what you are finding @BurtMacklin. He couldn’t explain why it would be so much more expensive though, so that part is still a mystery.

 

Everyone has their own opinion on wheel materials, which is fine. I’m really happy with the alcantara though. To me it feels really luxurious, it matches the fabrics on the sportline interior better, it feels much warmer in winter and it’s been on 6 months now and still looks mint.

Thank you for sharing your experience. That was really helpful! If I understand correctly from your post, you had a 2018 Superb, which came with new multimedia, and so the steering wheel was apparently a little different from the cars manufactured before 2018. Since you sourced the alcantara steering wheel from the older model before 2018, you needed an older airbag and controls. I'm also curious about how to determine if the steering wheel I'm looking for is compatible with the stock airbag. Would the dealer have that information? In my case, the Superb is a 2017 model, but it has new multimedia from the factory, so I assume the steering wheel will be MY18. I just need to find out if the steering wheel I've chosen (565064241BCXA without paddle shifters) will work with my airbag. I wouldn't want to change it, especially considering the new one from the dealer is over 1k EUR.

[rcblur69]

If you see the image below, this is a pre June 2018 airbag. Notice how the crease on the sides doesn’t continue around the top, so the top of the bag has a smooth appearance.

 

 

Now if you look at the bag that my car came with below, you should see that crease continues all the way around the front of the bag to make kind of a triangle shape.

 

 

If your bag looks like the one at the top, it’s shallower and I believe should fit any wheel, although you’ll have a slight gap. If yours looks like the bottom one then it’s deeper and will only fit the new wheels (no idea what the part numbers are). 
 

It may be worth consulting with your dealer as, like I said, mine was able to tell me if the wheel was listed as compatible. 

[BurtMacklin]

6 hours ago, rcblur69 said:

If you see the image below, this is a pre June 2018 airbag. Notice how the crease on the sides doesn’t continue around the top, so the top of the bag has a smooth appearance.

 

 

Now if you look at the bag that my car came with below, you should see that crease continues all the way around the front of the bag to make kind of a triangle shape.

 

 

If your bag looks like the one at the top, it’s shallower and I believe should fit any wheel, although you’ll have a slight gap. If yours looks like the bottom one then it’s deeper and will only fit the new wheels (no idea what the part numbers are). 
 

It may be worth consulting with your dealer as, like I said, mine was able to tell me if the wheel was listed as compatible. 

 

@rcblur69 thanks! that is really helpful. It seems that the local dealer is rather unhelpful. All they can do is provide you with a part number based on your car's VIN number and replace it according to the service manual. They don't offer any additional assistance, at least not in my country. From the information you provided, it appears that my airbag is option 1 with a smooth appearance. You mentioned that it's shallower and should fit with any wheel, but I'm concerned about a slight gap. Could you clarify what you meant by that? I would expect that if it's shallower, it should fit snugly into the steering wheel without any gaps.

[rcblur69]

Sure, see below image.

 

 

This is a later ‘deeper’ airbag. If you look at yours the rear will be quite a lot shallower.

 

Obviously, the pictured airbag wouldn’t fit into a wheel with a shallower space like the older wheels have. This is why I needed an older style airbag for my wheel.

 

When you look at your wheel and compare to this image, you should get an idea of the size of the gap if you fit the old bag to a newer wheel. I believe someone in another thread estimated it at 1 cm.

 

Of course, this might all be academic if the wheel you are looking to purchase is the older style, then it would fit perfectly.