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Going crazy looking at steering wheel options... Trying to figure out fit and wiring

44K views 129 replies 11 participants last post by  5zero4 
#1 ·
So after 5zero4 did a RAV4 wheel swap (info here) I've been going crazy looking at all the possible wheel swap options. I started at the clockspring, and it would appear that the same clock spring is used for the xB2 as these vehicles (not complete, missing some models and years, especially after 2010):

Clock Spring #84306-0E010
  • Lexus ES350 2007-2010
  • Lexus GS350 2007-2010
  • Lexus IS250 2006-2010
  • Lexus IS350 2006-2010
  • Lexus RX350 2007-2010
  • Lexus RX330 2004-2006
  • Toyota Highlander 2008-2010
  • Toyota RAV4 2007-2008
  • Toyota Camry 2006-2009
  • Toyota Prius 2006-2009
  • Scion xD 2008-2010
  • Scion xB 2008-2010

Now what really caught my eye was that the IS250/350 wheels use the same clock spring and pinout, and have those sweet *** paddle shifters. The downside is that these wheels will need their own airbag (looks like around $400 used) and I can't find any info on anyone trying the swap, so there's no way to know if the corresponding plug even has the same pins hooked up to anything (so I have somewhere to tap into to wire up the shifting). The upside is that the xB2 airbag sells for almost as much, so after selling my old steering wheel and airbag I can probably do the swap for around $100-150

I did find the IS250/350 center connector pinout:

1 - Ground for paddle
2 - Display button
3 - Ground for audio controls
4 - Output for RH audio controls
5 - Output for LH audio controls
6 - Horn
7 - Paddle upshift
8 - Paddle downshift
9 - Unused
10 - Illumination

Unanswered questions:

  1. Anyone know the pinout for the steering wheel on the xB? Should be the same (minus missing stuff) but I'd like to confirm
  2. Anyone know what the harness on the back side of the clock spring (going into the dash) looks like on our car, or have a pinout/diagram or picture?
  3. What happens if I just gamble $80-100 on the wheel and plug it in without an airbag to test? Will I permanently damage something or trip some sensor running it without an airbag for a few minutes?

The best possible outcome is that our cars are already wired for this by using some common harness. More realistically I'll bet that it will fit, but the actual wires #1, 7, and 8 are simply missing and I'll have to add those to the harness. Of course there's a chance nothing will work at all.

Ok, I'll quit rambling now. I'll update the post as I do more research.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Update:

It looks like it may be possible to wire in the IS250/350 shifters along to the existing wheel and clock spring, provided there's a place to tap bolt holes and mount them on the existing steering wheel. Might need some fancy harness work. I saw a thread about someone doing it on a different Lexus wheel on a Lexus forum and got inspired. I'll keep the post updated as I find out more.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Update: it looks like this is totally possible. I need one of the following sets of items:

1. IS250/350 steering wheel and airbag. Downsides: expensive and would have a lexus wheel (non-matching airbag logo might be a red flag if I ever sell it)

2. IS250/350 steering wheel internal wiring harness (example, don't know the part number) and paddle shifters. Would possibly require cutting of the harness to fit the existing xB wheel buttons, and would require cutting the back cover of the steering wheel to mount the paddle shifters. I think I'm likely to go this way, but I have to buy a complete IS250 wheel to even try. I'm planning on taking one for the team and going for it as soon as a reasonably cheap one comes up.

I'm still working on the dashboard side pinout of the clock spring (can't find info on it anywhere), but at worst, I believe I may have to add 2-3 wires to the connector and run them to the shifter.
 
#4 ·
Outstanding questions for option #2:

1. Does the factory xB steering wheel audio control (84247-12070) use the same connection as the IS250/350 buttons do
2. Are there any other unknown differences in the clock spring or airbag wiring? (don't think so, but will have to inspect in person).

Yes, I know I'm talking to myself, just trying to keep this all documented
 
#7 ·
So here's where I am at - haven't had time to actually order anything, but will sometime in the next couple weeks:

* IS250/IS350 steering wheel should physicaly fit and wire up to the clock spring
* IS250/350 airbag cover looks like it will work with the xB airbag - should be able to transfer it over to a new empty cover.
* Paddle shifters will require adding a couple of pins to the column side connector, but stock clock spring should be fine.
* May have to move some of the existing wires on the column side connector, but it looks like the pinout really is the same for the horn, audio buttons, etc.
 
#9 ·
How did you go on gettin the is250 wheel in your box? If it helps, I'm pretty sure the xb airbag will bolt straight up to the lexus airbag cover. They are available on aliexpress for $45 without the lexus emblem. You would need to either get a lexus emblem or grind down the center to swap in your scion emblem.
 
#10 ·
The lure of those extra buttons was too much for me to resist, so I made an offer on a IS250 steering wheel on eBay and they accepted, so it looks like I'll be able to answer some of these questions in a week or so. If all goes well, I will be selling my rav4 leather steering wheel for $50 local pickup, or plus shipping if anyone is interested.
 
#12 ·
This is awesome you're looking into this! I'm excited to see what you can find out!

I was hoping that the 2nd gen tC would fit! The Lexus, while would be an upgrade, it would have the appropriate Lexus badging. Which I personally don't want.

I still want to see if it works, especially with the paddle shifters!!!
 
#15 ·
So I received the IS250 steering wheel. It has few too many scuffs and scrapes for my liking, so I'm going to send it back. I did plug it in to see what works though and confirm that all the audio and phone control buttons work. You would just need to run wires to the sport shifter for the paddles to work. You could also run a wire to the display button on the dash to change the display from the steering wheel. Other than that it bolts up and with a lexus airbag cover you would be in business.

I'm going to look around a few local wrecking yards to see if I can find one in better condition.
 
#18 ·
So I did some research at the wrecking yard today and the lexus emblem is quite a bit bigger than the scion one by about 1/4" on the width and height. I'm pretty confident that the scion IQ emblem is closer in size to the lexus, but I will know for sure by tomorrow.

I returned the original lexus wheel I got and found a smoking deal on another one. $35 shipped!!!! From the photos it looks to be in much better condition. I saw one in really good condition at a local wrecking yard today, but he wanted $200 for it. A bit too much for my liking! I ordered the airbag cover from aliexpress for $40 shipped, but it could take a month to arrive.

I'm just trying to track down the IQ emblem as there aren't many wrecking yards around here that have scions.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I think I'm going to re-badge to Toyota so I'm going to look around at toyota emblem sizing as well. For me the big thing is the airbag cover swap - it looks very close, but I just can't tell for sure if things really line up.

Edit: Looks like there's a Toyota emblem floating out there that fits the iQ wheel; I'll see if I can get a part number or dimensions to use as a cross reference. http://www.iq-forums.com/forums/int...inment/2298-toyota-emblem-steering-wheel.html
 
#21 ·
I got my $35 IS250 steering wheel on friday. lol. It's in much better condition than the one I payed $115 for. It had a section at the top that had worn through the surface of the leather. I sealed the hide up with some paint, textured it, sanded it smooth, then did a few coats of leather dye and it looks pretty good. Not sure how long it will stay like that, but as long as i don't drive gangsta style it should be fine.




While I had it apart, I decided to replace the green PLLC-2 led's in the buttons to red. It was my first time doing SMD's, but after a bit of practice I got the hang of it. I then decided I may as well do my gauge cluster too while I was in the zone.
While I had the gauge cluster apart, I soldered in a wire for the display button on the steering wheel. For those that plan on doing this kind of swap, you want to solder the wire to the right hand side of the display button switch. I just took a guess at it and it all worked out. WIN!



Now I just need to find somewhere to get the harness plug pins so I can add the 3 wires to the steering column harness. Any ideas of the type I should be looking and where I might find them?
 
#24 ·
Now I just need to find somewhere to get the harness plug pins so I can add the 3 wires to the steering column harness. Any ideas of the type I should be looking and where I might find them?
Next time I hit the salvage yard I can grab a couple of the connectors for us; they have a '09 RAV4 and '05 Prius, both of which use the same clock spring as the xB and IS250/IS350. Each connector should have plenty of pins. Might be a few days before I can get back there, so let me know if you find an alternative, otherwise I'll go pick them up.
 
#23 ·
This is awesome, awesome stuff :)

I'm sure you probably already have this measurement, but I grabbed a scion xb1 airbag emblem while at the junkyard today (I love to go there just to poke around with whatever is available) and it measures approximately 57x40, so I think you're on the right track with the iQ emblem.
 
#29 ·
That would be great! I was having a closer look at the airbags. There is a difference in the actual manufacturing technique, but I overlaid them in photoshop and it looks like everything should line up. The only difference is the ears at the top of the xb are spot welded on and the IS250 it is a single cast peice.

The IS250 has 3-01 on the airbag unit and the Xb one has D-00. I thought this might be a problem, but the rav 4 airbag has 3-01 as well and it looks identical to the xb one. I've watched a couple of videos on how to swap a cover and as scary as it looks it's actually pretty straight forward.
 
#31 ·
Sorry, only Scion they had on the lot was a gen1 xB (2006).

I got the connector from a 2005 Prius - google says it uses the same clock spring as the 2nd gen xB (84306-0E010). Here's the connector I pulled (right next to the yellow airbag connector on the back of the clock spring):



I also found another connector under the dash and stripped it, and it had the same pins. Luckily the Prius uses pre-loaded connectors, so there were blank unused pins in all of the empty spots. These do have a catch flap thing so you can add new ones without taking apart the connector - just snap them in. Here's my haul:



Should be plenty to go around and it was super cheap ($2 for admission - they don't ever charge for small parts). PM me your address and I'll drop some of these in the mail for you.
 
#32 ·
Ordered my steering wheel. I'll admit that I paid quite a bit more than you, but I wanted to snag one now. I don't see a lot of them come up on eBay (seems like the same ones get relisted over and over). Will shop around for an airbag cover tonight, though I'm hoping I can find one that won't take a month to ship (but I know it's unlikely).
 
#35 ·
Ordered my airbag cover - opted for the one with the Lexus logo. Honestly I think I'll just leave the logo as-is unless we can find one that fits really, really well. Went for this one - its a bit of a gamble since I can't see the back in the photos, but I'm sure it's like all the others:

Toyota Driver Airbag Cover Lexus IS250 IS300 IS350 SRS Air Bag Covers -in Steering Covers from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I did some reading on the airbag swap and I hate the idea of drilling out rivets on the airbag (the ones around the bottom in particular) but I suppose I need to just man up, work carefully, and get it done.
 
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