Those who have had/currently have a heated steering wheel know exactly why I'm asking this question.

According to the current build sheet, you have to at least pony up for the Lariat Ultimate to get a heated steering wheel, which is slightly (totally?) ridiculous in today's age. Anyone know of a way to retrofit with the correct parts from Ford? I'd even run it through an upfitter switch, it's that great of an option.

 

15 years ago, heated steering wheels were incredibly rare and something you'd only find on the highest end European cars. Our old 1999 Audi A8 quattro had one - it heated to a luke-warm temp in conjunction with the driver's heated seat being on.

I'm not sure why you think "in today's age" it is ridiculous to have to pay for the Lariat Ultimate or higher to get this feature. Previously, a heated steering wheel was only available on the Platinum. Ford has made it much more available for this generation.

GM also only makes it available on top trim levels.

RAM allows it on lower trims. But that is it for HD pickups.

As for retrofitting, I'd say it would be a very long road. You would require a new steering wheel with the heating wire in it, and a different connector to the clock spring. Next, you would require a new clock spring. Next, you would require a new SCCM (steering column control module). You would need a VIN number of a truck that came with this feature but was otherwise similar to yours. You would need the SCCM reprogrammed, and the truck reprogrammed to that VIN. You would also need to be able to update the Sync 3 system to include the heated steering wheel touchscreen button / switch. The only way to turn the wheel on and off is via the touchscreen. I'm not sure if Sync 3 could be updated to include that button or not. The heated wheel cycles the heat...it comes on quickly and gets almost hot to the touch, then it automatically turns off for a few minutes, before cycling back on, then back off, etc. That technology is presumably stored in the Sync 3 climate system. Continuous heating would burn the leather and your hands. Additionally, the heated wheel is connected to the remote start system. You would need that programmed in. Also, all trucks with heated wheels also come with power tilt and telescope steering wheels. Reprogramming to a VIN with a heated wheel would also tell the truck it had the power tilt / telescope / memory steering wheel. When the electronics found that module did not exist, it might generate fault codes and display erroneous messages.

I imagine the cost of a new heated steering wheel, even without the airbag (which can be reused) would be well over a thousand dollars. Then the SCCM module would be additional money, and dealership programming is usually $100/hr. So, you'd be in pretty deep if it could even be done.

 

Or you could do this for about $23. Only pulls 63 watts...plug it into you dash outlet! Sorry....couldn't resist!

 

HaHa!!! ^^^THIS!^^^

 

I kind of agree it would be a massive project as steering wheel has 12 buttons on it and pretty sure restitching the leather on a wheel would be extremely hard.

You could just add a cover to the wheel to hide a heater under but at best I would see it ending up like a red green fix.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to post, sir, and I understand what you're saying. However, while this wasn't really the point of my post in the first place, I don't really think a heated steering wheel is an unreasonable expectation without having to buy the farm. Based on the cost of these trucks (all MFRs), I do think it's ridiculous that a heated steering wheel requires at least a $4,200 upcharge above a base Lariat (cannot believe I just typed "base Lariat"), not to mention the already $6k upcharge for the "base Lariat" over the XLT. It's not some new newfangled technology like that seven camera doohicky. But now I'm presumably stuck with a sun roof and possibly other things I don't want, just to get an option I feel should be available at a lower point (just like heated seats, which you can get in an XLT).

Am I the only guy who feels that way? Maybe. Am I OK with that? Perfectly.

But I guess I really admire Ford marketing. It's pretty brilliant.


Thanks again for the breakdown. I was hoping it wouldn't be as involved.

I would swap out the steering wheel with one that already had the heating element and certainly wouldn't try out my stitching skills. Fellas do steering wheel swaps all the time.

 

Unfortunately, it is pretty involved as you can see. I have some experience with this; my 2012 Super Duty XLT did not come with Sync and the steering wheel volume controls. I ended up buying a new steering wheel with the correct controls and ran into most of these troubles: new clock spring, new SCCM, and lots of programming time in addition to buying the Sync module. If you have a really helpful dealer, the process goes much better.

As for trim levels and pricing...a lot of folks see the very high sticker prices and expect that a lot of luxury features should be included at the cost. But in reality, the high cost is for the capability. Ford makes a lot of money on high trim level trucks. They carefully stagger options availability and trim levels to encourage the customer to "spend up" on packages or trim levels with features they don't care about in order to get one thing they want. It happened to me - I wanted the LED headlights - and it appears you are seeing the same thing.

But you have to realize you cannot get a heated steering wheel even today on most vehicles...and if you can, you will almost certainly be buying a higher trim level.

 

Bringing this back from a coma, if not from the dead.


Upon further research and using the 2015+ F-150s as a guide, it seems this DIY/retrofit is perfectly feasible. From a Super Duty perspective, it seems the only thing in the way currently is the inability to write to the IPC in FORScan. Once that feature is available, it appears that in addition to verifying the part numbers for the Super Duty applications, following the below tutorial should yield a successful heated steering wheel retrofit for trim levels below Lariat Ultimate.


At $500 give or take, it's not terribly cheap and possibly not worthwhile (YMMV). But for those interested, it might just fit the bill.


https://www.f150forum.com/f118/add-h...5/#post5184650


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

 

Great job kry226! That is a good find. I read through it and don't see why it wouldn't work on the Super Duty. $500 seems pretty reasonable.

 

Thank you, sir. I've pretty much decided that if I choose Ford for my next truck, there'll be a 99% chance it'll be an XLT Premium. A heated steering wheel, coupled with the 8" cluster would top off an otherwise perfect truck for me.


I think I've got the gauge cluster figured out too.

 

If you end up taking this on please post the results. This would be an awesome addition. I think $500 is reasonable for a heated wheel. Thanks for posting this.

 

Will do, sir, and thanks!

 

I put on one of these on my wifes car.........she loves it.

Heated Steering Wheel Cover - Surusi.com

 

While definitely a viable option sir, that would cause my OCD to wig out in Biblical proportions.

 

hey guys i just successfully added it. i only have a small issue with a bit of the forscan programming but it works. i used all ford parts and total cost was $670 but was because i used a raptor steering wheel, with a regular lariat or king ranch steering wheel it could be done for under $500.
edit:figured out my issue i had to delete the profile for my truck on forscan.
here is my thread and my google doc i will eventual turn my google doc into write up.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-retrofit.html