Steering Wheel Faded/Worn? Options? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Nov 16, 2020
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Location
Houston, TX
So the wood on the steering wheel is perfect but the leather is worn/peeling and just plain looks ugly. I was going to have my interior painting guy check it out to see if he can sand and paint it. Is this even possible? My car is an 08 and aside from this is in beautiful condition inside and out. I just need to fix this or get the wheel replaced (which is my last option since they aren't cheap)

So, what can I do to fix this? Please give me ideas. Also, if my only option is to replace the steering wheel, please send me links to good options. Again, I want to avoid replacing the wheel if possible.
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I have a 4th gen 4runner wheel in mine. It looks great with my dark grey interior.
 
The guys who (effectively) 'paint' leather seats to hide the wear could probably make that look a lot better. These paints are also sold on eBay.
 
there's leather stitch yourself kits on ebay. they're made in Taiwan. the kits seems to mostly be full circumference leather which means you lose your wood grain.

when I had looked this up 6 months ago, there were leather kits that covered the factory leather locations, but I can't find any right now. also, it might be difficult to install. the full circumference kits keep tension pretty well on the leather and sort of keep it in place while you stitch. I don't know how that would work for the two piece kits.

other option is just to buy one of these taiwan made refurbished wheels, which is what I did. definitely offer a lower amount than they list on ebay. quality is good, the leather has less sponge behind it than the factory leather, so the leather sections will feel a little thinner. you can talk to any of these vendors and customize the color of the wood grain (the wheel they start with) and the leather color, taupe is the gray that comes in the GXs. there's the more red wood grain for 07+ and the yellower wood grain is for all other years (minus the sport color scheme)

I think I regret not finding the Prado sport wheel option before I bought my replacement wheel that had the leather redone. talking to one of the Prado sport wheel vendors and having them customize the leather and wood would have been the perfect fix.

I tried to call around and get a local upholstery shop redo the leather. the prices for just installing an ebay leather kit was astronomical. they wouldn't even entertain making something from scratch. might have had better luck in southern california.
 
I have a similar issue with mine, faded but not peeling. I was planning on getting it resprayed by a mobile auto upholstery repair.

If you are feeling brave here is a how to on re-covering it yourself:
 

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