Tesla steering wheels

[OVERKILL]

Seems this is becoming a more common topic on twitter:

Different car:

Different car again:

Another car, this guy tried to remedy it with tape:

Relevant thread where many of the pics are from:


It appears this starts to happen at around the 90-100,000 mile mark and just progressively gets worse.

Now, this obviously isn't an issue exclusive to Tesla, I've heard of other vehicles having this issue in the past, though I've never experienced it personally. I tend to own vehicles with leather wrapped wheels (real leather, not "vegan" leather [vinyl]) which may be a contributing factor.

 

[JoelB]

Talk about a huge let down on your expensive car. Every time you get in you have to touch and look at that hideous thing. Makes any car feel junky.

 

[demarpaint]

Obviously low quality, cheap materials. Flame suit on.

 

[dogememe]

Many people would describe Lexus as the pinnacle of automotive quality, yet they had a "sticky dash" issue for like 10 model years in the mid-2000s as far as I know.

My Ford Escape had flaky bits coming off the steering wheel at around 80K miles. A $15 steering wheel cover resolved this.

I don't think these type of things are unique to Tesla. The only problem is you can't get a steering wheel cover at your local parts store that fits the Yoke. But paying the fee to Tesla to go back to a regular wheel would likely resolve that issue anyway haha.

 

[Cujet]

It is tough to find a good tape style wrap for steering wheels. I tried some bicycle handlebar tape with poor results.

 

[IndyIan]

It is tough to find a good tape style wrap for steering wheels. I tried some bicycle handlebar tape with poor results.

Baseball bat tape is nice, but maybe a bit thick for a modern steering wheel?
I think my Focus has stitched kitchen grade linoleum on the wheel...

 

[camrydriver111]

In German cars the fake leather seems to last longer than real leather.

My E46 was almost 20 years old when I got rid of it and the seat bolster was still had no signs of wear.

 

[camrydriver111]

Obviously low quality, cheap materials. Flame suit on.

Tesla brags to investors that they have one of the highest profits/car in the industry.

 

[Pew]

Dang those looked like they came out of a 500k mile 1990 rusted farm pickup that was never cleaned!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Clearly interior quality has not been a priority with Tesla. I'd send the wheel out to be recovered in leather. I couldn't sleep at night knowing my steering wheel degraded like that.

 

[ripcord]

LOL

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tesla+steering+wheel+cover
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tesla+seat+cover

 

[OVERKILL]

In German cars the fake leather seems to last longer than real leather.

My E46 was almost 20 years old when I got rid of it and the seat bolster was still had no signs of wear.

My E39 wheel was fantastic:

 

[nthach]

Many people would describe Lexus as the pinnacle of automotive quality, yet they had a "sticky dash" issue for like 10 model years in the mid-2000s as far as I know.

My Ford Escape had flaky bits coming off the steering wheel at around 80K miles. A $15 steering wheel cover resolved this.

I don't think these type of things are unique to Tesla. The only problem is you can't get a steering wheel cover at your local parts store that fits the Yoke. But paying the fee to Tesla to go back to a regular wheel would likely resolve that issue anyway haha.

My parent’s Sienna got a new dashboard because of that - Toyota was out of parts and goodwilled(honored the recall but booked them in as time allowed) the repair during the pandemic for them. I always seen a mid-2000s gen 2 Sienna/5th gen Camry and the 4th gen Lexus ES/2nd gen IS with a bad dashboard.

For the price Tesla charges, one would want a better interior than their current IKEA-grade one.

 

[nthach]

In German cars the fake leather seems to last longer than real leather.

My E46 was almost 20 years old when I got rid of it and the seat bolster was still had no signs of wear.

If I ever bought a Mercedes, MB-Tex would be what I want for the interior. That stuff is tough.

 

[02SE]

The G-forces during acceleration are so severe, that the material just can't stay on...

 

[demarpaint]

Tesla brags to investors that they have one of the highest profits/car in the industry.

Yep, and low quality parts helps to achieve that goal.

 

[paulo57509]

Maybe the hands holding those steering wheels need to be washed more often?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Our car is an early car; it has a leather wrapped steering wheel. They hadn'd changed to their "vegan leather" yet.

 

[bdcardinal]

The G-forces during acceleration are so severe, that the material just can't stay on...

Does MPI make wheels for T/F? Maybe Tesla should use them for their wheels.

FWIW the steering wheel in my Silverado looks like that. But it is 21 years old and has 281K miles on it. @01rangerxl tried to find one for me when I got the truck but they had put the last one in the country on their parts truck.

 

[Invisible]

Vinyl-wrapped steering wheels (it doesn't get any cheaper than this) and no dash/tablet in front of the driver (Cybertruck) in $100K+ vehicles, yet people are still buying these things as if they're in short supply or something. It doesn't get funnier or more ridiculous than this.