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Acura MDX Leather Steering Wheel Installation

		click for a larger image
Here is the stock steering wheel after it has been removed.

Here is a side-by-side comparison. I like the black leather look better, and you can see that the wheel is slightly thicker than the original.

Re-install the cruise control module on the new steering wheel. Do not tighten it all the way yet. Instead fit the airbag onto the new wheel and get the cruise module aligned properly. Then tighten the screws and then you can remove the airbag again. This is also a good chance to make sure you got the right wheel and your airbag still fits! Reassemble all the steering wheel casing parts, but not the rubber airbag support. This is the part that requires some modifications.

The rubber airbag support has two tabs that I pointed out earlier. Since the MDX does not have the corresponding holes in the steering wheel, these tabs are in the way. Get a pair of pliers and bend them a little so they don't protrude as much. The tabs do not need to be completely flattened, if you just bend them halfway (about 45 degrees, see next picture) they should give you enough clearance to fit the MDX wheel. Simply put the rubber support back into position to see if it fits properly.

The second modification is the screws that attach this support. The Accord screws are (I think) M6-12 and have little washers on them. The MDX holes only accept M5 screws so I went to Home Depot and picked up some M5-10 screws to attach the airbag support. Put the new steering wheel back onto the steering column. Replace the locking bolt and tighten it down (it will push the steering wheel all the way down for you). Replace the cruise control wire harness, then replace the airbag, taking care not to tangle or damage the wires. Get under the steering wheel and re-attach the wire harnesses and put them back into their clips. Re-attach the battery terminals and start the car and make sure everything is working correctly. If everything seems to be working, replace the Torx screws and replace all the plastic covers on your steering wheel and you're done!

All steering wheels seem to have slightly different alignments on their "teeth." Once installed the MDX wheel is slightly tilted to the right (similar to the picture, but not quite that much). The tilt is minor and should easily be fixed by a steering alignment. I'm very happy with this install, especially since I got the wheel free. It definitely feels much better and even though my airbag is not black, it still looks decent. The airbag is not a perfect fit (it seems to bulge out a few millimeters) but is good enough and shouldn't cause any problems. I have only two worries at this time. 1) my hands are a bit sweaty and I wonder if that will affect the quality of the leather over time and 2) I broke my airbag (remember that rotating collar?) and my SRS light is on now. If you do get an SRS light, you can try to reset the SRS light, in case it's just a simple error. But for me, I had to go to the dealer where they told my it was broken. Total install time was only 90 minutes, but this includes about 30 minutes of time wasted getting tools and such.

Preparation \| Installation



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