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Retrofitting Heated Steering Wheel

bobloblawGTI

Autocross Champion
Location
DC
Car(s)
19 GTI SE 6MT
1. When I go to remove the airbag, I was watch the DAP DYI removal video and he uses the key to unlock the steering wheel with the battery disconnected to turn it so that he can access the clips. For those of you with KESSY, did you wait to disconnect the battery so that you could turn the wheel or were you able to muscle the wheel around somehow?
I just muscled it around after disconnecting the battery.
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
My car does not have working KESSY yet so I just used the antiquitated method of unlocking the column with my key.

I did not know there was a climatronic panel with heated steering wheel button. Granted I have the MK8 wheel that has a button for heated steering. I've also got the touch climatronic panel so I don't know that it would make any sense for me to go to an older panel just to add an additional button to give me a third way to turn on the heated wheel.

But I'm certainly not going to let lack of need. Stop me from doing something. If I could find a non-climatonic panel that had the heated steering wheel but that would be ideal. Obviously I can still turn it on from the steering wheel, but I don't like the lingering faults that the half climatronic retrofit has left me with.

And I'm hesitant to get into the measuring values to see whether I have the same problem that others in that thread are having where the fresh air valve is not actually opening all the way. Or at least doesn't seem to be. If I can find the non-climatronic panel with the heated steering wheel button I might go back to that until such a time as I do a full climatronic retrofit.

I'm way off topic here, but I'm not seeing any reason why the three zone set up from the Tiguan won't fit into the agolf. They share all of the two zone set up part numbers from my limited, but unnecessary research. And when I got my touch panel it was actually coded for three zone.
 

Kushdaiin

Go Kart Champion
Location
Connecticut
Car(s)
MK7 R, MK7 GSW SEL
That's exactly what my heated SW cruise buttons looked like (prior to going to the Mk8 wheel). After using it for a year and some....still no idea what it did. (Mk8 touch-pad SW doesn't have anything like that.)
I will point out, though, that unless you have adaptive cruise control (ACC), your cruise control won't work. Even though they look pretty much the same, that ACC button (between the + and - buttons) means that the set only works with ACC. From what I recall, the volume buttons continue to work, as do the buttons over on the RH side of the SW.
I do have ACC on my GSW, so it'll be interesting to see. I have a feeling to get the fully effect, I'd need to flash for travel assist . . . which I might possibly consider.
I just muscled it around after disconnecting the battery.
Ah!, Okay, I was just wondering if the steering column might lock up but it seems I'm stuck with the old twisty key ignition locks. I haven't had a tradition key in a while . . .lol.

My car does not have working KESSY yet so I just used the antiquitated method of unlocking the column with my key.

I did not know there was a climatronic panel with heated steering wheel button. Granted I have the MK8 wheel that has a button for heated steering. I've also got the touch climatronic panel so I don't know that it would make any sense for me to go to an older panel just to add an additional button to give me a third way to turn on the heated wheel.

But I'm certainly not going to let lack of need. Stop me from doing something. If I could find a non-climatonic panel that had the heated steering wheel but that would be ideal. Obviously I can still turn it on from the steering wheel, but I don't like the lingering faults that the half climatronic retrofit has left me with.

And I'm hesitant to get into the measuring values to see whether I have the same problem that others in that thread are having where the fresh air valve is not actually opening all the way. Or at least doesn't seem to be. If I can find the non-climatronic panel with the heated steering wheel button I might go back to that until such a time as I do a full climatronic retrofit.

I'm way off topic here, but I'm not seeing any reason why the three zone set up from the Tiguan won't fit into the agolf. They share all of the two zone set up part numbers from my limited, but unnecessary research. And when I got my touch panel it was actually coded for three zone.
My wife had a 2019 SEL-P Tiguan with a heated steering wheel, and that is the only reason that I know that that panel exists. I bought another panel from Europe but with 'REST' button instead of an 'OFF' button with the hopes of enabling that feature in her Tiguan after we had a loaner Atlas with it. It was super handy as our dogs go everywhere with us, even during the winter. Now we have an Atlas, so I do have that panel laying around. I've just got to figure out the coding to enable the REST feature. Might need some sage advice from the gurus at Ross-Tech, unless anyone here has any ideas. I do know it will involve more than coding the HVAC module.

It would be neat to find a touch panel that has all of those features but seemingly rare that you would find a manual touch panel with a heated steering wheel button. Seems like VW would package the heated steering with only with the Climatronic module unless they had a separate Winter package in the RoW that didn't involve automatic climate control.

I was driving my R tonight, and I stupidly planted the seed of maybe looking for a MK8R steering wheel. I don't know if I can handle the design language difference though. Unfortunately though, once I've planted that seed of an idea, they always seem to fully mature into fucking redwoods.
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
To my knowledge there are no non-climatronic touch panels. I like the way the touch panel looks but I'm not convinced it actually looks better than the standard climatronic panel.

I'm also not sure a non-climatronic panel with heated steering wheel button exists. I've never been able to find one. But I do know that early MK7s were offered with Edith steering wheel and non-climatronic. Somebody with that spec posted here in these forums in 2014, EU vehicle of course.

From what I remember, the steering wheel heat turned on with their seat heat, which makes sense. I assume it's still just the one actual button behind that heated seat button, so in theory one could just switch out the capsule. But then again, I would expect VW doesn't sell the capsule alone.

I've seen that rest button, what exactly Is that feature?
 

Nuje

Go Kart Champion
Location
Island near Vancouver
Car(s)
2015 Sportwagen TDI
I stupidly planted the seed of maybe looking for a MK8R steering wheel. I don't know if I can handle the design language difference though. Unfortunately though, once I've planted that seed of an idea, they always seem to fully mature into fucking redwoods.
I gotta say...when I first saw the new VW logo, I thought it looked like a bit too much of a throwback....like, a little too Third Reich-ish (?).
Nonetheless, after getting bullied ;) by @Cuzoe into getting the Mk8 wheel....I can't believe how antiquated all of those Superman-logo-shaped steering wheels look. Maybe they were too ubiquitous in all of those late-2010s VWs, but every time I see my Mk8 wheel, I smile inside. :)
 

Kushdaiin

Go Kart Champion
Location
Connecticut
Car(s)
MK7 R, MK7 GSW SEL
@Cuzoe the feature works after you shut the car off. Once off, you press the button and it will turn on the coolant recirculation pump to allow the thermal inertia of the hot coolant and engine to be used to heat the cabin through the heater core.
 

Kushdaiin

Go Kart Champion
Location
Connecticut
Car(s)
MK7 R, MK7 GSW SEL
I gotta say...when I first saw the new VW logo, I thought it looked like a bit too much of a throwback....like, a little too Third Reich-ish (?).
Nonetheless, after getting bullied ;) by @Cuzoe into getting the Mk8 wheel....I can't believe how antiquated all of those Superman-logo-shaped steering wheels look. Maybe they were too ubiquitous in all of those late-2010s VWs, but every time I see my Mk8 wheel, I smile inside. :)
I can certainly see that. For me, VW has always had a way of making me doubt their new designs. They slowly grow on me until the design I was used to looks like yesterday’s news. They always seem to be slightly ahead on the industry design curve of other manufacturers.

I’m certain that I will work toward getting that wheel, just at the moment I have other things mods id like to do because of you and @Cuzoe. Like the aux parking heater.
 

Nuje

Go Kart Champion
Location
Island near Vancouver
Car(s)
2015 Sportwagen TDI
For me, VW has always had a way of making me doubt their new designs.
For me, I really liked the look of the Mk4 cars, particularly the Golf, but then the Mk5....never really clicked with me. And then the Mk6, particularly the Golf....just did not like at all. As soon as I saw the Mk7, though, I was like, "Ok - time to upgrade the Mk4." :D
And then the facelift is / was even better on first glance to me. Would love to do a front-end retrofit of the Mk7.5 to my car.

Mk8...don't hate it. And actually, looks pretty good in the two niche models we get here in NAR (GTI, R). Given that I'm not into that niche, though....it's gonna be a "no" for me.
 

bobloblawGTI

Autocross Champion
Location
DC
Car(s)
19 GTI SE 6MT
You have KESSY; so the wheel didn't lock up on you after some amount of turning it? Just figured the steering wheel lock would trigger.
Yeah I thought it might also, but with the battery disconnected it turned freely. Maybe the lock is electronic? Now that I think about it I’m surprised it didn’t also haha
 
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