Steering wheel vinyl coming off

Do all levels have that cover? If not, could you get a steering wheel from a level without that stuff, or are there other differences. If they agreed to something like that maybe it becomes tacit admission that the cover is problematic.

Never good for a company to be defensive and adversarial with customers, especially when it's a blatant quality control issue.

 

This is what they will send you. The "Big Foot" free steering wheel cover.

 

Classy.

Nice new avatar.

 

What dealership was this that originally denied you

 

Hey All.. new to the forum but have a question here regarding the peeling steering wheels. My touring four is only 28 months new.. at 12 o’clock.. 2.5 inches long and straight across horizontally- yup.. a peeling steering wheel surface. What to do? Any success stories regarding Toyota covering this obvious defect on their otherwise quality product? Suggestions BEFORE I approach my service guy or contact Toyota Care?

 

Vinyl can crack when exposed to direct sunlight too long. Get a genuine leather steering wheel cover and that shouldn’t happen again.

 

Lots of stories about the Gen4 (regular Prius) steering wheels peeling. Some owners have had the wheel replaced, under warranty. I just put a cover on mine.

The question is... what changed? What kind of material is Toyota now using, that is so prone to peeling? I live in an area that can get very hot, and my 2016 Prius steering wheel is the first one that has ever peeled. (My windows are tinted, and I always put a heatshield sun reflector in the windshield. But the wheel still got a bubble in it.)

 

Looking at the US brochure, from level 3 up they have the Softex steering wheel. That incidentally is the threshold for 3 door touch to lock/unlock. Ugh...

 

Interesting thread - I was already concerned about this because my wife is on an immunosuppressant regimen, and as such we're both using hand sanitizer all the time, including when we get into the car. I was wondering if this might affect the lifetime of the material. I'll report if I notice any issues, but I just might get a cover instead.

 

I’m now VERY interested in this. I have a leased 2017 Prius Prime Advanced and the wheel started bubbling then peeling at the 12 o’clock position a couple months ago. I brought it in for its last free service today at 25k miles and mentioned the wheel delaminating and that a new bubble has appeared on the left side at 9 o’clock.

They replied right away with a) I’ve never seen this before, b) it must be caused by lotion or grease on your hands (neither of which I use), and c) it’s probably not covered by the warranty. It sounds similar to others and the above almost like they have a script they’re trained to follow?

I’ll hear back later this afternoon. I’ve only has this problem before in an ‘01 Classic Prius when it was around 15 years old and approaching 200k and then it was the rubber wheel itself starting to deteriorate.

If they say “not covered” for this obvious defect I will complain higher up. I’ll post updates.

 

Update: Downtown Toyota in Oakland said “not covered”. Next step will be to open a case with Toyota.

 

If they could only spell covered correctly .

Have you tried other Bay Area dealers to see if they concur?

Good luck and happy holidays .

 

We had a leather steering wheel in our 98 4runner that we got rid of last year. The steering wheel started peeling when I met my wife in 2006.

We just let it be for another 11 years and lives with it.

Unless there is a compelling reason to, I’d let it be or buy a steering wheel cover.

 

According to this thread (summarizing the US 4th gen levels):

Visual Tables of Gen4 Package Combinations | PriusChat

every level from 3 and up have the softex steering wheel.

Searching through the Canadian 2016 Brochure, I see no mention of Softex steering wheel, just seats. Maybe we dodged a bullet.

 

Huh, good to know. Regular Tech level does not have it, just the advanced? What have you got again?

Addendum:

Looks like Techonology level (with or without Advanced package) gets "synthetic leather" steering wheel. Just checked Toyota Canada site: