No heated steering wheel? (Leaf and Bolt have it)

[McRat]

2012 leaf has a heated steering wheel, even some 2011 leafs had it as part of a cold weather package but all 2012 or newer got it standard.

I used it today when it was in the 60s F and raining (I don't know the temperature of the rain but there was a 20 degree delta just a few miles away where it was sunny vs where it was raining). It was nice to warm my hands after walking through the rain and grabbing a cold door handle.

Heated steering wheels are standard on pickups with high trim levels dating back over a decade. Even in the snow I've never bothered with it. Why? Same reason I don't need them to ship with umbrellas. Umbrella holders are nice, but I don't need a car that comes with an umbrella for the car. Glove boxes are like umbrella holders.

It's a solution for a problem that should never exist.

In cold weather, it is often impossible to park your car inside heated buildings all the time, especially while driving. Most of the time you must physically leave the vehicle and expose your body to the elements. So... How do you keep your hands warm when you must leave the car? And what about your poor passengers? Don't you have hand warmers for them?

The only I thing I can figure, is if you ever must get out of the vehicle unexpectedly you are screwed hard. If you think the wheel in a heated a car is painful, wait until you must put chains on, or try to help at an accident in freezing rain, or need to leave the vehicle and walk for any reason.

Can I please have another Dislike? TIA. But gotta admit your theory that ICE cars heat up faster at idle than an EV is silly.

Even Nissan is confused as to why folk want heated steering wheels. Look above, the button isn't even on the wheel where it should be.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

My question here:

I'm willing to bet that the average age in here is well over 25....

WTH did any of you do before heated steering wheels and remote pre-conditioning of your car were available?

You'd think we, as a species, would be on the brink of extinction if not for the introduction of these 2 life saving technologies.

Move over, "wheel" and "fire"!!!!!

 

[Krugerrand]

Let's see...20 Fahrenheit = -6.66 Celsius. OH MY GODS! THE HORROR! BARELY COLDER THAN FREEZING!

Call me back when it gets down to -25F.

We traumatized an Ontarian meteorologist here in SK when she called -15C "bitterly cold." That's a nice winter day here.

Oh stop. I've done -40C in Northern Ontario before and -35C in Calgary. *yawn*. Nobody with a brain drives their car without gloves when it's that cold IF they can even get it to turn over and start - and yes even with a block heater cars struggle to start in those temps and struggle to get warm enough to blow tepid air.

It gets to -25C in Southern Ontario lots of times. I'd actually prefer -25C out west vs -25C in Ontario because there tends to be less moisture in the air out west.

If you must have a heated steering wheel and don't want to do aftermarket product than buy a different car. Simple. Non-issue. No drama required. No stressing needed. Of course feel free to drop Tesla an email telling them you bought a Leaf instead because it came with a heated steering wheel and that is a must feature for you. If they get enough notifications of that nature, I'm sure they'll seriously consider adding it just like they did with cup holders.

 

[Bad Horse]

My question here:

I'm willing to bet that the average age in here is well over 25....

WTH did any of you do before heated steering wheels and remote pre-conditioning of your car were available?

You'd think we, as a species, would be on the brink of extinction if not for the introduction of these 2 life saving technologies.

Move over, "wheel" and "fire"!!!!!

I'm way too close to 25 (28, will be 29 on about 2 months) to be going all "back in my day" but I digress. I have been shadowing this convo for a long time and it's these particular issues that always make me shake my head in a combination of laughter and indignation over the things people want/need in their car.

I'm still rocking, and just got done doing some small repairs myself to my late high school car, a 2006 pontiac g6, and the utter lack of having even 1/10 of the future creature comforts the Model 3 has makes me filled with excitement. I understand completely I am coming from a pauper of a vehicle compared to most people here, but for crying out loud people, how hard is it to wear gloves, or gasp, be able to preheat the car for like 5-10 minutes. I don't think my hands, which are practically qualify for having Raynaud's disease will mind for long being a smidge cold when my ass is heated in great warmth by the heated seats. Also, I would still be wearing gloves regardless of having heating steering wheel or no. My hands would still get cold just touching the door handle to open the damn car.

 

[McRat]

I would have a greater need for a heated briefcase handle. Unlike my cars/trucks, there is no other heat source or wind protection for my hands when I walk with my briefcase.

How do I fix this? There are gloves the pocket of my jacket and in my cars. I use these to keep my briefcase from snapping my frostbitten fingers off.

Would I pay $50 dollars extra for a heated briefcase handle? Only if I was the type to brag to my friends about silly gadgets I own. HEY!!! Did you hear about my Heated Steering Wheel!!!??? Seriously, how about my long range threat thermal imaging system and 5 mode massage seats with integrated AC and heating and 20 way adjustment with stereo speakers in the headrest, or my power privacy curtain?

Heated steering is there, but unused. Pointless. The car is nice and warm when we get in. Remote start will heat the cabin by design unlike cheaper cars. But just the options on the car cost more than a Model 3LR.

Nissan should spend their money on trying to make a better car, not adding costume jewelry items.

 

[voip-ninja]

The problem with "one of those" is that it doesn't have cooling for the HV battery pack.

I like my hands warm and my batteries to not to degrade 6+% a year, every year.

My 2012 is at 68% SOH, which would be horrible if I didn't get it so cheap as a used car. I feel sorry for the person that paid MSRP when it was new.

So you acknowledge that every vehicle has its plusses and minuses and that no matter what vehicle you choose, at this price range it will be a compromise.

The amount of angst over this, especially from people that live in F*ng California or Seattle, WA is mind boggling. Yes, the M3 doesn't appear to have this desirable feature, yes, other cars in this segment have it. The horror! There are a hundred potential reasons why it's not available, ranging from "the part is not ready yet" to "we want to differentiate the Model S".

I'm irritated that the car does not have a set of actual controls to look at while piloting it.... literally every other car made for the last 75 years has these as standard but the Model 3 does not. If I decide I can't cope then there is a simple solution and it is not whinging and opining about the unfairness of the universe. The solution is to get something else. Joys of a market based system and all that rot.

 

[derekmw]

I know for me, when I had my Leaf, having heated seats and steering wheel was great since if you're not plugged in and want to be warm driving (without sacrificing a lot of range using the heat), heated seats and heated steering wheel make all the difference between being miserable driving without the heat on vs feeling comfortable.

The Leaf really drained my battery when I used the heat. So in order to save on range, I would only use heated steering wheel and heated seats.

This may not be an issue with the M3 since you have a much longer range vs the Leaf. However, I can see someone still wanting these features if they're driving long distance on the M3 and every mile/range counts. It would be preferable to use the heated steering wheel and heated seats vs using the heat and potentially having to add 1 or 2 more stops to charge.

That being said, my MS doesn't have a heated steering wheel, but I have so much range that I just pre-heat the cabin even if it's not plugged in (or cool it down) since I never worry about range anymore. If I was on a road trip though, I probably wouldn't do that to avoid reducing my range.

 

[Krugerrand]

I would have a greater need for a heated briefcase handle. Unlike my cars/trucks, there is no other heat source or wind protection for my hands when I walk with my briefcase.

How do I fix this? There are gloves the pocket of my jacket and in my cars. I use these to keep my briefcase from snapping my frostbitten fingers off.

Would I pay $50 dollars extra for a heated briefcase handle? Only if I was the type to brag to my friends about silly gadgets I own. HEY!!! Did you hear about my Heated Steering Wheel!!!??? Seriously, how about my long range threat thermal imaging system and 5 mode massage seats with integrated AC and heating and 20 way adjustment with stereo speakers in the headrest, or my power privacy curtain?

Heated steering is there, but unused. Pointless. The car is nice and warm when we get in. Remote start will heat the cabin by design unlike cheaper cars. But just the options on the car cost more than a Model 3LR.

Nissan should spend their money on trying to make a better car, not adding costume jewelry items.

Dude! I have air conditioning in my van; when I roll down my window. But I'd totally be jealous of your heated briefcase handle.

 

[Big-T]

Actually, while that's funny, a heated steering wheel would actually be helpful in a lot of cases -- most often in cheaper cars that will be frequently parked outdoors. You don't need a heated steering wheel in a Mercedes, as they likely never sit outdoors. But in the run of the mill crap cars that live outdoors, it would be nice if heated steering wheels were an option.

I spent the first 10 or so years of my driving age life with the car always parked outdoors, and the most serious issue I had with frozen body parts was my fingers. My old solution to this was to keep switching with one hand on the wheel, the other in front of the heat duct. Switch back and forth repeatedly. I could and did live without heated seats, but a heated steering wheel would have been awesome.

Needed in my Tesla now that I have a garage it stays in every night? Not at all.

I grew up in Nebraska and all my cars were always parked outside so I know what you mean about cold winters. My solution was a pair of leather gloves. Still my solution now, as I've never had a car with a heated steering wheel.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

another thing no one is considering:



since the HVAC vent runs the length of the dashboard, what if it's been tested and re-tested, and Tesla decided there was no need to heat the steering wheel, because this is the only car you will find that literally has an HVAC directly behind the wheel?

The wheel can be heated or cooled right there from the vent, saving Tesla the time and money and manufacturing complexity of the upgraded steering wheel and related components.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

 

[McRat]

I think a major problem I'm hearing in this thread when comparing to the Leaf is range anxiety. This is not as much of an issue with a 200+ mile EV in the winter. Cook marshmallows with your heater if you want. You will still make it to work and back.

 

[internalaudit]

Good point about the vents. In the cold winter, we need to defog the windshield occasionally because the moisture from our breaths condenses on the windows.

Are people able to get by without turning the windshield demister on in really cold winter climates?

I think Tesla knows no one will be cancelling their reservations because of the lack of a heated steering wheel, I sure won't (unless a nice competing BEV comes my way in early 2019) but I won't be putting in an order until it is made available because even the poorest factory installed implementation would still be better than wearing proper leather driving gloves.

I like the tactile feel of my bare hands on the wheel and on my ICE and I can probably grip the wheel better, I take off my gloves as soon as the interior cabin is heated and the air vents are pointed towards the steering wheel. I don't like the air blowing like that on my hand and face but I have no choice in two of our older vehicles with no heated steering wheels.

The only time I noticed better grip is when I put my mechanic gloves and can turn the faucet tap on in the garage but I don't think that kind of grip is necessary when it comes to driving.

NB/1867 OMP RACING PIT CREW MECHANIC GLOVES 100% NYLON (PACK OF 10) SIZES M-XXL | eBay


I welcome people who don't need one and live in Canada or overseas to jump ahead of me in the queue. There's no need to tell me to cancel my reservation because I know my trigger points (ESA details is the biggest one).

 

[dhanson865]

But gotta admit your theory that ICE cars heat up faster at idle than an EV is silly.

You sure like to put words in peoples mouth. I said no such thing.

 

[McRat]

You sure like to put words in peoples mouth. I said no such thing.

I post that heated steering wheels are more important for ICE cars because their heaters are slower than EVs. ICE engines heat very slowly at idle. It's not like this a personal opinion, it's a fact. And steering heaters far pre-date EVs.

You "post" disagree to that.

Disagree has a single meaning. Opposite of agree. You're wrong. The fact is that ICE engines heat up the cabin under load far quicker than idle, and sometimes struggle to heat a cabin at idle, especially diesels which burn very little fuel at idle.

I can't put words in your mouth.

They won't fit.

Your foot is blocking them.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I'm way too close to 25 (28, will be 29 on about 2 months) to be going all "back in my day" but I digress. I have been shadowing this convo for a long time and it's these particular issues that always make me shake my head in a combination of laughter and indignation over the things people want/need in their car.

I'm still rocking, and just got done doing some small repairs myself to my late high school car, a 2006 pontiac g6, and the utter lack of having even 1/10 of the future creature comforts the Model 3 has makes me filled with excitement. I understand completely I am coming from a pauper of a vehicle compared to most people here, but for crying out loud people, how hard is it to wear gloves, or gasp, be able to preheat the car for like 5-10 minutes. I don't think my hands, which are practically qualify for having Raynaud's disease will mind for long being a smidge cold when my ass is heated in great warmth by the heated seats. Also, I would still be wearing gloves regardless of having heating steering wheel or no. My hands would still get cold just touching the door handle to open the damn car.

The suggestion to just drive with gloves is what I've been doing for many years in winter. However, as I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, the problem with gloves when I got the Model S — mine lacks the heated steering wheel — is that I couldn't work the touch screen with gloves on! Someone here at TMC suggested touch screen gloves so I got these: Metog Winter men and women outdoor sports warm fleece gloves touch gloves. Remember that most of the Model 3 systems will be controlled through the touch screen, with some help from the steering wheel buttons (which can be more difficult to use with gloves on IME).

Touch screen gloves are fine for cool weather but the ones I have aren't really warm enough for cold weather below about -5ºC (23ºF), never mind really cold weather of -20ºC (-4ºF) or lower.

For those new to EVs, be aware that, unlike ICE cars, the heat comes from the battery not waste heat from an engine. Preheating helps, although it affects range unless one is plugged-in while doing so. Not much of an issue with a large battery car such as the Model 3 for routine local driving but it can matter when stretching the range on long trips.

 

[Bad Horse]

The suggestion to just drive with gloves is what I've been doing for many years in winter. However, as I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, the problem with gloves when I got the Model S — mine lacks the heated steering wheel — is that I couldn't work the touch screen with gloves on! Someone here at TMC suggested touch screen gloves so I got these: Metog Winter men and women outdoor sports warm fleece gloves touch gloves. Remember that most of the Model 3 systems will be controlled through the touch screen, with some help from the steering wheel buttons (which can be more difficult to use with gloves on IME).

Touch screen gloves are fine for cool weather but the ones I have aren't really warm enough for cold weather below about -5ºC (23ºF), never mind really cold weather of -20ºC (-4ºF) or lower.

For those new to EVs, be aware that, unlike ICE cars, the heat comes from the battery not waste heat from an engine. Preheating helps, although it affects range unless one is plugged-in while doing so. Not much of an issue with a large battery car such as the Model 3 for routine local driving.

Sounds like the bigger problem then is no heated touchscreen. Should start a 7 page thread about that. Or god forbid, take the glove off for 10 seconds.

 

[gregincal]

Sounds like the bigger problem then is no heated touchscreen. Should start a 7 page thread about that. Or god forbid, take the glove off for 10 seconds.

Hm, can't see that taking a glove off at 65 mph in order to adjust the temperature is really safe.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Sounds like the bigger problem then is no heated touchscreen. Should start a 7 page thread about that. Or god forbid, take the glove off for 10 seconds.

I don't think that you understand. You can't work the touchscreen with gloves on (unless they have special pads on them). Nothing to do with how cold the screen feels. Putting gloves on and off while driving and trying to use the touchscreen controls is something of a safety issue (but I did it before I got the touchscreen gloves).

 

[gregincal]

OK, here's the thread summary:

- It's awful that the Model S doesn't have a heated steering wheel.

- What a stupid feature to complain about. Talk about picky.

- You don't know what you're talking about, it's an important feature.

- Well, deal with it, you aren't getting one anyway.


Repeat for 140 posts.