Steering wheel cracking/splitting

[Djseto]

Less than 330 miles on my FL5 and I noticed that my steering wheel leather is cracking/splitting between the 6-7 o’clock position. Goes to dealer tomorrow. Hopefully it’s an easy warranty claim and I don’t have to fight them over it.

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[RP2000R]

Crappy either way but I have had that happen from rubbing the the wheel getting in and out of the car with jeans or clothes with buttons, Velcro etc.

 

[DeathB4Dishonr]

Less than 330 miles on my FL5 and I noticed that my steering wheel leather is cracking/splitting between the 6-7 o’clock position. Goes to dealer tomorrow. Hopefully it’s an easy warranty claim and I don’t have to fight them over it.

Same spot. Marks are from my knife catching the steering wheel when getting out of the car. The marks were much worse when it first happened. I also had another spot on the top right of the wheel around the 3-4 o'clock position. Those weren't as bad as the 6-7 position and after a while the 3-4 position scratches have pretty much vanished.

Probably not the answer you want. Do you have anything clipped in your pocket? May be the cause of the marks on your steering wheel. Mine is in otherwise great shape and I have 9500+ miles on my car.

Now that you're aware that may be the cause, try to pay attention to see if your right hip is catching the steering wheel when you get out/in of the car. After I noticed the marks on my steering wheel I quickly was able to narrow it down to that.

 

[TypeRD]

Yep. The steering wheel material feels great, but is easy to scratch. I have some scratches / chatter marks on my wheel too. I don’t know exactly how / when it happened, but I’m pretty positive it was my fault. I bought a spare wheel from someone on this forum and am going to send my original wheel to Sweidit to be redone in nappa leather…like this (but without the red center stripe).
https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/sweidit-steering-wheel-interior-pieces-review-with-pics.83445/

 

[Djseto]

Hmm... nothing in my pocket. Ill pay extra attention getting in and out but i don't feel like my body touches the wheel on ingress or egress. Given the low mileage, I guess we'll see what my dealer says tomorrow.

 

[Icehawk]

You've rubbed against it as others have stated. I've chewed up steering wheels a bit before by not paying enough attention.

 

[RP2000R]

I have had that happen from rubbing the the wheel getting in and out of the car with jeans or clothes with buttons, Velcro etc.

 

[RP2000R]

I am 5’9/165lbs and got in my new R yesterday for the first time and actually hit the wheel in that same area took me by surpise. I moved the wheel up and in a bit to avoid it. The high bolsters make ya do weird things getting in and out.

 

[mbaapk]

Looks like ring marks from letting tge wheel slide through hand when turning.

 

[Djseto]

Got in and out today coming back from the gym and yes, it does in fact rub against my pants but I don’t see how a pair of jeans or sweatpants can cause they wear so quickly ?

 

[TypeRD]

The steering wheel material is simply not durable. I’ve not had this problem with past Hondas/Acuras. Our MDX’s steering wheel feels similar, but it isn’t nearly as fragile. It’s probably the same engineered leather material, but a higher grade.

 

[scuderia_miso]

This exact thing happened to me too and I am/was very upset with myself. I was wearing sweatpants with zip up pockets, which were not zipped up and must have snagged the zipper on the lower left hand side of the wheel while getting into the car. I can't see it normally but I can feel it and it bugs the crap out of me.

To make myself feel less bad, I bought the optional Alcantara wheel, which is something I was considering anyway.

 

[TypeRD]

@scuderia_miso Yeah, that’s like the same issue on my wheel. I can’t see the problem, but I can feel it when I turn the wheel and my hand rubs against the scratched area. I like the Alcantara wheel, but keeping it clean may be a problem I don’t want to deal with. That’s why I’m going the route of getting my spare wheel rewrapped in nappa by Sweidit. I think that’s the best option if one want durability, quality, practicality AND want to keep an OEM or OEM+ esthetic. Otherwise there are nice custom carbon fiber and leather aftermarket wheels available that I also considered.

 

[Clark_Kent]

This exact thing happened to me too and I am/was very upset with myself. I was wearing sweatpants with zip up pockets, which were not zipped up and must have snagged the zipper on the lower left hand side of the wheel while getting into the car. I can't see it normally but I can feel it and it bugs the crap out of me.

To make myself feel less bad, I bought the optional Alcantara wheel, which is something I was considering anyway.

The Alcantara steering wheel presents a new set of challenges with respect to wear. It's six in one hand, half a dozen in the other.

 

[scuderia_miso]

Yeah I agree that it will be tough to keep the Alcantara wheel clean but having more grip on the wheel for track use is something I was looking for. It's not a necessity but should help.

I've heard varying results on longevity with regular cleaning so I was willing to try my luck with Alcantara. I can always get it re-wrapped if it doesn't last very long.

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