Steering Wheel Help - BMW Forum

fasaavedra4 · 07-22-2009, 01:40 PM

Hi again,

I have on my 03' 325i the plain steering wheel, i would like to know if it could be replaced with one from a 01' 328i. You can see at :

bmw e46 OEM steering wheel with airbag

If yes, my radio still be able to be managed from the steering wheel buttoms ?

please all opinions are welcome.

Thanks.

rashid · 07-22-2009, 02:31 PM

First, you may check if the same S/Wheel is available for the higher level of E46-2003. If yes, then you’ve got the answer ..

fasaavedra4 · 07-22-2009, 03:03 PM

thanks for you answer, but I undersood nothing. My knowledge about BMW parts fitment is basically 0. All i know is the steering i would like to purchase is from a BMW e46 328i and my car is a E46 325i with the simple S/wheel.

Anyways, thanks for the answer, i hope someone else can give me a simpler answer , a yes or a Not.

fasaavedra4 · 07-22-2009, 11:35 PM

no advice so far??

please, help me out here....i have until tomorrow to pay the guy for the S/W ....

Awaiting to hear answers.

witeshark · 07-22-2009, 11:48 PM

Can you confirm that the control connections will match? I think that may be the main issue.

BimmerE39 · 07-23-2009, 12:03 AM

Could you do me a favor and post a picture of your current steering wheel and the one you would like to swap into your car? I'm pretty sure I know which wheels you are talking about, but I want to make sure before I say anything about their compatibility.

fasaavedra4 · 07-23-2009, 12:28 AM

Sure BimmerE39, and thanks for your attention.

The one on the left is the 328i steering wheel i would like to have installed and replaced the one i currently have ( the one on the right )

So, what do you think.

Thanks again for you help

BimmerE39 · 07-23-2009, 12:49 AM

One thing I was going to say before was that the air bags are probably incompatible, but looking at the auction listing I see the wheel is coming with the air bag as well.

I would imagine that the slip ring would also be compatible between the two as well.

I'm going to do some additional research on these two wheels tomorrow (technically later today) as I'm feeling kind of tired right now. I would imagine that they would be compatible but I definitely want to make sure that they are.

fasaavedra4 · 07-23-2009, 07:06 AM

ok, i do appreciate you help and advice. i will be waiting for your asnwer.

fasaavedra4 · 07-23-2009, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fasaavedra4

ok, i do appreciate you help and advice. i will be waiting for your asnwer.

BimmerE39, i call this morning to Vista BMW here in Fort Lauderdale, i spoke with the Parts associate, i asked him about it, he said to me, that it should fit, but i must make sure the wiring will match the new steering wheel so airbags can work properly.

BimmerE39 · 07-23-2009, 11:13 AM

Right, that's my only concern. I know that your car will have the 2 stage air bag system and so will the other wheel. The wiring for the airbags should be plug and play.

I'm trying to find the information for the compatibility of the feature of the steering wheel itself like the radio controls and cruise control. Once again, I imagine that they would still be compatible as the E46 controls are all the same and I doubt BMW would have engineered different harnesses for different steering wheels that fit in the same chassis generation (in your case the E46). (That would be stupid/expensive)

I know for my car (a 2000 528i) I can swap an E46 M3 steering wheel onto my car with no compatibility issues.

I'm still digging for some info on the wheels compatibility, it's just every other source that I know of is showing how to swap the wheel and does not discuss the compatibility of the wheel or it's harness. Wiring diagrams in this case would be helpful, but those are hard to come by.