Pics of my Kluger steering wheel removal

[Scott_C]

Hi Guys, there was a request to photograph and document my steering wheel removal (Taka!). Here it is.

Edit: The purpose of removing my steering wheel was to add a new switch assembly (indicator stick) that includes the dial for the fog lights. The first part of installing the fog lights is here; Fog Light Install - the base model Kluger has ALL the wiring, fuses and relays already installed for fog lights. You just need the lights, bezels for the bumper, and a switch. (either a switch assembly or a switch for the dash somewhere)

Please note, if you follow what I did below, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Im not responsible for any mishaps or omissions.

My steps are below, but I strongly recommend getting the following two documents off the Toyota tech info site - doc id; RM000000UW801VX (Steering pad removal) and doc id; RM000000WAD015X (Steering column assembly: removal) You wont need to remove the whole steering column, but it shows the procedure for taking off the wheel.

IMPORTANT: First thing to do, is remove the negative cable on the battery and wait 90 seconds. This is to prevent air-bag deployment.

You need a torx socket (T-30), a flat and phillips head screw driver, and a socket wrench with a 16mm socket.

1. First step is to remove these covers;

This can be done by using an electrical screw driver with some tape wrapped around it. (to prevent scratching)

2. Next is to loosen the T-30 torx bolts

They'll come out to a point and stop against a plastic holder (in other words, they just loosen, not come right off)

3. Carefully take out steering wheel pad. It has the air bad connectors and the horn wire connected to it.

The air bag connectors are weird, you have to pop the yellow tabs up with a screwdriver

4. With the 16mm socket, take out the centre nut holding the wheel in place. You also have to unclip the wires up top (think they're the wires for the button controls from memory)

5. Wheel off! Next is to remove the centre piece. If you're careful, this can be done without removing all the wires.

Steering pad to the right

6. Unhook the wiring connector shown to the right, this will clip into the new switch assembly. (this is the wiring for your lights)

At the same time, unclip the wiper assembly to the left, this will also go straight onto your new switch assembly.

7. Nothing left but the switch assembly. Taking that off was really tricky and took about 20 minutes. You need a pair of pliers, and need to grab a metal ring up the top, when you squeeze the ring, it loosens sufficiently to pull the switch assembly off. This was the hardest part of the whole exercise, the assembly wouldnt budge, i thought perhaps id missed a clip or something, but eventually it wiggled free.

End result:

One thing that really irked me, my local dealer said it would be $85 to remove the wheel and put the new swtich assembly in. Thats fine, but the guy looked me in the eye and said they need 45 minutes to 'repack the air bag' - an out and out lie. The air bag is inside the steering pad, I never even saw it in my removal.

The whole operation took nearly two hours. This is mainly cause I went very slowly and carefully.

Edited May 2, 2008 by Scott_C

[sinan]

jusr curious you took off the steering wheel and what was the extra switch for. im sorta lost.

[Scott_C]

Hi Sinan, sorry I shouldve explained. I put a new switch assembly in that includes the dial for the fog lights.

I bought aftermarket fogs and plugged them straight into the factory wiring.

[Taka]

Nice work Scott. It took you 2 hours because you are taking nice pictures.

In this shot Scott, I can see the blue cable from the audio control going to the clip, there is one from the right too.

In Grande there is air con control too on the right (I don't know why and if it is useful), but hey it looks good to have all the control in the wheel. I wonder if it is hard to put them in .... :P:

Would that be a plug and play thing I wonder.

Option up an KX-R is very nice Scott... I am sure you are enjoying it.

[Scott_C]

Hey Taka, I must admit, I didnt see any spare connectors sitting there. Perhaps there is a whole seperate module for where those blue wires plug in? This might have an extra connection.

[fish475]

Scott,

Whilst I will never remove my SWheel personally.

An excellent, informative and time consuming post was put together there.

Great effort, and dahh, at least I have an understanding of whats behind the toyota badge now.

Hope the foggies work fine for ya, they look the part.

Edited May 1, 2008 by fish475

[Taka]

Oh I had to make a comment:

Why the heck you have a Torx T-30 screwdriver ??? The only Torx screw I know is for Nokia mobile phones ^_^"

[Scott_C]

Hi Garry, thanks for the kind words.

Taka, I didnt actually have one. I borrowed a Torx T-30 socket from my brother-in-law. I also bought a Torx T-30 screwdriver for $9 - came in handy.

[Taka]

Admire your effort really Scott. In no time you will be doing your own Sat Nav, bluetooth with steering wheel control, smart entry and push start button, moon roof and electric tail gate! I can't wait for those ;)

What is your next project btw, any of the above?? j/k :P

[Scott_C]

Thanks Taka. Next to go in is a Pioneer stereo with bluetooth. Im probably going to get that installed professionally though as i dont have the tools for the job.

Im also going to buy the Toyota tow bar assembly and put it in myself. (decided to go Toyota due to the slimline fit) Ill save money by doing my own install at least.

Still considering the roof rails. The brackets are right there waiting for them. ;)

[boleh]

Scott,

I had in mind to do the same on my KXR. After seeing the sequence of pics, the wiring, clips, now I have 2nd thoughts. I am pretty confident that I can get to the 2nd step with the bolts but after that I am not too sure

This post has to be linked somewhere in this forum so it wont get lost. Many will benefit from this in the future.. This is great stuff

Edited May 1, 2008 by boleh

[selyaT]

Thats fine, but the guy looked me in the eye and said they need 45 minutes to 'repack the air bag' - an out and out lie. The air bag is inside the steering pad, I never even saw it in my removal.

:o :o :o

OMG! I would have gone to town on that @sshole! "Do you think I'm an idiot mate???" I would have said, lol. Can't believe someone would actually say that, you can't just assume the customer is clueless about cars. Wow, shocked.

Good effort with the write-up etc. Moderators may wish to pin it at the top of the Kluger section or something.

[Scott_C]

Thanks Tayles, yeah LOL it was a bit insulting. It makes me wonder how often they spin stories like that.

Boleh - if your in Sydney, you're welcome to come up to the Central Coast and ill do it for you.

You buy the beer though. :D

[aardvark]

The fog lights look fantastic, but my wife would have a FIT if I did that... :)

Thanks for the post Scott. It's convinced me not to bother.

[DHOUS]

Hi Guys, there was a request to photograph and document my steering wheel removal (Taka!). Here it is.

Please note, if you follow what I did below, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Im not responsible for any mishaps or omissions.

My steps are below, but I strongly recommend getting the following two documents off the Toyota tech info site - doc id; RM000000UW801VX (Steering pad removal) and doc id; RM000000WAD015X (Steering column assembly: removal) You wont need to remove the whole steering column, but it shows the procedure for taking off the wheel.

IMPORTANT: First thing to do, is remove the negative cable on the battery and wait 90 seconds. This is to prevent air-bag deployment.

You need a torx socket (T-30), a flat and phillips head screw driver, and a socket wrench with a 16mm socket.

1. First step is to remove these covers;

This can be done by using an electrical screw driver with some tape wrapped around it. (to prevent scratching)

2. Next is to loosen the T-30 torx bolts

They'll come out to a point and stop against a plastic holder (in other words, they just loosen, not come right off)

3. Carefully take out steering wheel pad. It has the air bad connectors and the horn wire connected to it.

The air bag connectors are weird, you have to pop the yellow tabs up with a screwdriver

4. With the 16mm socket, take out the centre nut holding the wheel in place. You also have to unclip the wires up top (think they're the wires for the button controls from memory)

5. Wheel off! Next is to remove the centre piece. If you're careful, this can be done without removing all the wires.

Steering pad to the right

6. Unhook the wiring connector shown to the right, this will clip into the new switch assembly. (this is the wiring for your lights)

At the same time, unclip the wiper assembly to the left, this will also go straight onto your new switch assembly.

7. Nothing left but the switch assembly. Taking that off was really tricky and took about 20 minutes. You need a pair of pliers, and need to grab a metal ring up the top, when you squeeze the ring, it loosens sufficiently to pull the switch assembly off. This was the hardest part of the whole exercise, the assembly wouldnt budge, i thought perhaps id missed a clip or something, but eventually it wiggled free.

End result:

One thing that really irked me, my local dealer said it would be $85 to remove the wheel and put the new swtich assembly in. Thats fine, but the guy looked me in the eye and said they need 45 minutes to 'repack the air bag' - an out and out lie. The air bag is inside the steering pad, I never even saw it in my removal.

The whole operation took nearly two hours. This is mainly cause I went very slowly and carefully.

[slow_sam]

Best post I've seen in a while. Well done Scott.

[DHOUS]

Nice work Scott. It took you 2 hours because you are taking nice pictures.

In this shot Scott, I can see the blue cable from the audio control going to the clip, there is one from the right too.

In Grande there is air con control too on the right (I don't know why and if it is useful), but hey it looks good to have all the control in the wheel. I wonder if it is hard to put them in .... :P:

Would that be a plug and play thing I wonder.

Option up an KX-R is very nice Scott... I am sure you are enjoying it.

[Taka]

What are you trying to say Don? Use the Fast reply button not to quote everything on the screen.

[Northy]

fantastic post, will make this one a sticky :)

[Scott_C]

Ive added some text to the top of the post. Just explaining the purpose of the exercise. (Some already knew I was doing this for the fog light install, some others are seeing this post for the first time)

[SILVABULLIT]

One thing you must do when removing an airbag is always place the airbag on the bench etc with the face(the bit you see on the steering wheel) facing up. In the rare event it may go off it then doesn't become a projectile and hurt someone.

[selyaT]

fantastic post, will make this one a sticky :)

[dazz]

Hi Guys, there was a request to photograph and document my steering wheel removal (Taka!). Here it is.

Edit: The purpose of removing my steering wheel was to add a new switch assembly (indicator stick) that includes the dial for the fog lights. The first part of installing the fog lights is here; Fog Light Install - the base model Kluger has ALL the wiring, fuses and relays already installed for fog lights. You just need the lights, bezels for the bumper, and a switch. (either a switch assembly or a switch for the dash somewhere)

Please note, if you follow what I did below, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Im not responsible for any mishaps or omissions.

My steps are below, but I strongly recommend getting the following two documents off the Toyota tech info site - doc id; RM000000UW801VX (Steering pad removal) and doc id; RM000000WAD015X (Steering column assembly: removal) You wont need to remove the whole steering column, but it shows the procedure for taking off the wheel.

IMPORTANT: First thing to do, is remove the negative cable on the battery and wait 90 seconds. This is to prevent air-bag deployment.

You need a torx socket (T-30), a flat and phillips head screw driver, and a socket wrench with a 16mm socket.

1. First step is to remove these covers;

This can be done by using an electrical screw driver with some tape wrapped around it. (to prevent scratching)

2. Next is to loosen the T-30 torx bolts

They'll come out to a point and stop against a plastic holder (in other words, they just loosen, not come right off)

3. Carefully take out steering wheel pad. It has the air bad connectors and the horn wire connected to it.

The air bag connectors are weird, you have to pop the yellow tabs up with a screwdriver

4. With the 16mm socket, take out the centre nut holding the wheel in place. You also have to unclip the wires up top (think they're the wires for the button controls from memory)

5. Wheel off! Next is to remove the centre piece. If you're careful, this can be done without removing all the wires.

Steering pad to the right

6. Unhook the wiring connector shown to the right, this will clip into the new switch assembly. (this is the wiring for your lights)

At the same time, unclip the wiper assembly to the left, this will also go straight onto your new switch assembly.

7. Nothing left but the switch assembly. Taking that off was really tricky and took about 20 minutes. You need a pair of pliers, and need to grab a metal ring up the top, when you squeeze the ring, it loosens sufficiently to pull the switch assembly off. This was the hardest part of the whole exercise, the assembly wouldnt budge, i thought perhaps id missed a clip or something, but eventually it wiggled free.

End result:

One thing that really irked me, my local dealer said it would be $85 to remove the wheel and put the new swtich assembly in. Thats fine, but the guy looked me in the eye and said they need 45 minutes to 'repack the air bag' - an out and out lie. The air bag is inside the steering pad, I never even saw it in my removal.

The whole operation took nearly two hours. This is mainly cause I went very slowly and carefully.

[dazz]

Thinking of doing the same on my kx-r with fog lights. I am having trouble locating the 2 information sheets listed in the post thru the toyota tech site. If possible could you post them on the forum for me.

cheers

[hazmat000]

Hi guys,

Nice job Scott. Im going t do the same thing. You have provided lots of great info. I am looking at a set of yellow fogs. Just want to comfirm that camry 07,08,09 lights will fit. I will also do the Toyota indicator switch aswell.

You also mention roof rails. I got a qoute of around $1500 from toyota. That dont include the cross bars. I went the RinoRack option. They have channels that fit where the blacks strips are on the roof. Fitted was about $500 odd.

Cheers......