Hi everyone, My husband has an '03 Toyota Matrix and one of the things we discovered on a trip to Palm Springs during the hot summer (95-105 degrees) was the steering wheel never got burning hot even while sitting in direct sunlight all day. The steering wheel appears to be made out of leather or similar synthetic. I asked him if the salesperson ever mentioned it to him and he said no. I've looked to see if Toyota's website mentions this and nada. My question is if the Prius steering wheel is the same. I've only had my car for 1 month and know the texture of the steering wheel isn't the same but I was just curious. Only my second fill up and went 412 miles (pip blinking) averaging 48 mpg!
I haven't made a scientific study of it, but come to think of it, I haven't noticed my Prius steering wheel get searing hot. But other cars I've had in the 105 F summer heat here in the valley do...
It gets hot (since it's black) but not searing hot that it'll burn me if I touched it. Maybe your Matrix has a leather-wrapped steering wheel (XR and XRS models)
Why is this thread in the Knowledge Base Articles Discussion forum? I thought this area was intended to discuss articles posted by PriusChat members on Prius quirks, fixes, modifications, etc.
The leather wrapped steering wheel will not "store" heat like a wood, plastic or metal steering wheel. It acts like skin oddly enough, because it is, and is able to "regulate" it's temp. Well regulate is the wrong word, it just doesn't heat up and stay hot like other materials. I noticed it with the Jag first summer I had it. The VW, Buick, Caprice Classic (especially), and GMC would heat up to where you wouldn't want to touch it. The Jag stayed warm, never hot. The Prius isn't leather so maybe Toyota came up with a chemical that mimics the leathers thermal quality and used it in the steering wheel composition.
The worst material in the summer for a steering wheel in my experience is fake wood. You need to use a towel to hold the wheel if your car has been sitting in the sun (or cover it with a towel before you leave, or use a sun shield if the sun is coming from the front). Some of the smooth synthetics are bad too, but not unmanageable. The stock Prius wheel is one of the better materials, it's gets very warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. Even after sitting for hours in direct Las Vegas summertime sun it's never been so hot that it was uncomfortable to touch, or forced me to wait while running the A/C, waiting for the steering wheel cooled off.
in the Prius shop they list a front windshield sun shade - heat shield for $30 this has to help. I can only dream of burning my hands on the steering wheel in WI
The worst I've had was the Caprice. "73 4dr, white, red int, steering wheel covered in red plastic/rubber something. It was stock. Got so hot you'd have to steer with 1 finger, thank the Eng Gods for power steering. Later in life it became sticky and disgusting. I tried to clean it but it'd just come back in a couple days. Best thing was a towel covering it up while at work.
I haven't noticed it too hot here, though in hot weather I always put up a sun shade which helps a lot. Worst car I ever saw was a friend's car that had a black vinyl interior. You could get burns right through jeans on that seat.
