So... Here we are again...

'23 130 First Edition.
Driving around on a cold New England day. Heated steering wheel engaged. (No, eco mode was not on)

Suddenly, feeling a little too hot...

Next thing I know a small hole (think like using a magnifying glass to burn a hole through something) starts to appear on the top fron of the steering wheel... Shortly after - smoke!

I have an appointment at Sudbury Land Rover in the coming weeks... This will be the 3rd or 4th time I am bringing it in for random, unexpected stuff in just 2 years of ownership.

I expect to have a loaner for quite some time. Will keep you posted. Anyone else hear of this?

 

Yep there have been a few of us who have experienced the same thing. It happened on my '21 D90. They had to replace the entire steering wheel. Good news is it's a quick replacement once they have the steering wheel in shop.

 

Happened on my 2020 X ! Replaced and good now.

 

After explaining the situation twice, it seems the dealership still documented it as if I caused the damage to the steering wheel. When they tried explaining this to me over the phone, I had to correct them again, clarifying that the hole in my steering wheel was caused by the heated steering wheel being on. The inspector who examined it simply noted that there was “damage” to the steering wheel, which caused the short. However, I made it clear to them that the description on the invoice needs to be revised. It should accurately reflect the dangerous situation that occurred, where the heated steering wheel burned through and I sustained an injury while driving with my family. This is a serious safety issue, and Land Rover needs to be properly informed of the actual incident.

 

I just sent you a private message with what I would do in this matter.

My steering wheel did the same thing.

The same thing happened to me on my 2020 X. It did slightly singe my hand. Like you, I was unhappy, and in my case, I was also somewhat amused at this occurring on the first winter of my new car. My dealer flat out told me that JLR knows they had a supplier issue on these wheels when mine burned my hand, and that they had seen a number of them in for the same thing. So I would deduce they wouldn't tell me that if it weren't true, and if it has been happening to these wheels like that, JLR knows about it. ('d also also surprised it would still be going on with a car 3 model years later... but that's another matter entirely)

 

My 2020 Defender 110 is at the dealership for a smoking steering wheel. It happened while my wife was driving it with similar results others have experienced...too hot and smoking. Just got the dealer video and they say they cannot duplicate the problem saying only that sometimes the wheels do get "a little hot".

Has anyone else experienced this reply from their dealer? My stance will be one that paints a picture of us driving down the road as the wheel catches fire causing a wreck resulting in death and injuries. What company would send a known issue like this back on the road??

Brock

 

Wouldn't the leather be melted or at least have a burn mark? Unfortunately there are many JLR dealers that have incompetent service departments. What dealer are you taking it to? Have you considered taking it to a different dealer?

 

What the dealers tryto claim here is that some sort of physical damage, like a puncture, or whatever - pierced the wheel and thus caused a short or whatever and then the thing overheats. In my case, it was on the rear of the wheel - so I quickly was able to talk them out of their “the 2x4 you put in the cargo area must have hit hte steering wheel” talk track they attempted to go around.

I think if the burn mark is on the front, facing you, they may try to say it was physical damage.

But again -- as above - my dealer service manager told me there is a known issue with a batch of the steering wheels and mine was one of them (2020 model year).

 

No burn marks that I could discern. I wasn't driving the car when it happened, my wife was. She came home after the incident and told me that the wheel got overly hot, then started to smell something burning and noticed smoke wisping up from it. Turned heat off and haven't used wheel heat since. Upon hearing the news, the first thing I did was search this forum for answers.

I told them that I had learned that bad heated steering wheels were an issue but they acted like it was an unheard of anomaly. No fault codes were generated and they have apparently turned the heat on and have not seen a problem. I would maintain that testing a stationary vehicle is one thing and a vehicle bouncing down the road quite another.

I won't name the dealer just yet as they say they are still investigating and will give them the benefit of the doubt....for now.

Brock

 

Both the service rep I first spoke with to make the appointment and the service manager said that the issue was news to them but I was quick to let them know that I had done some research here that indicated otherwise.