$4K to replace a steering wheel? That is absolutely ridiculous. It’s obscene even considering the Land Rover tax.

 

The steering wheel part alone is ~$2,400 before the other components they replaced and the labor.

 

Do I think $2400 for the steering wheel is mildly absurd, frankly yes. Then again, let's look at my previous Defender, 1997. The replacement USED steering wheel with the small foamy part in the middle runs on the average $580-$650, depending on condition. It only steers the car! No fancy buttons, didn't even honk the horn! It was heated, provided you parked it so the sun would warm it up. Had no effect on the radio, didn't bring up any menus control the cruise control, order pizza via voice. Nope, steered. Heaven help you if the foam cushion went bad from parking the car so the steering wheel heated up a bit in the sun and it promptly disintegrated from UV. They practically gave you a free steering wheel for the price of that part alone.

Look, most modern cars totally rape you on parts. They can do that as the aftermarket is pretty bleak for sourcing replacement out of the factory's umbrella. When you can find one, you feel a big victory that it was $10 cheaper. Holy moly, the e'ffing oil is $18 a quart! Land Rover makes you feel you are buying out the back door of a crack house if you don't buy it from them.

 

It’s definitely absurd. Remember, we’re just talking about the leather wrapped wheel itself, and that $2,400 part doesn’t include the buttons, trim, or airbag.

 

One thing I realized yesterday -- the replacement doesn't have the nicer extended leather that my car has; it's the stock leather now. It looks fine, matches nicely, works great, and didn't cost me anything, so on balance, I can't complain, but I liked the other material. I looked online, and it appears that this is the only replacement available from LR. Again, I can't complain at all; if it were on my dime I'd never pay ~$4K to get it replaced, but getting the heating element back is really nice, especially in this area already with the first freeze settling in.

 

Same here we just got our first frost yesterday morning. I wouldn't want to be without the heated wheel but I agree 4k is bonkers. When I traded in my Defender with the heated wheel for the Passport/Trailsport I had one fitted as it was only standard on the Elite trim in 2022 unless you're across the lake in Canada and then it's standard on the Trailsport trim too. I believe it cost me $800 or so extra to add that on when I took delivery but it's worth every penny!

 

Do your heated seats, heated steering wheel, and heated windshield turn on with the remote start when it’s cold? I haven’t been able to figure that out, and it’s hard to believe they would overlook something so basic. Maybe it doesn’t get cold enough in the South to trigger it, but my 2017 Wrangler had that functionality and it worked without issue.

 

Right, that was definitely one of the reasons I didn't mind getting rid of it as the cold climate functionality when remote starting was very poorly implemented.

 

Nope, just the heater turns on. Could care less about the heated seats & steering wheel if the cabin is warm, but the heated windshield should 100% turn on with the remote start.

 

So I picked up my car last Friday after my new steering wheel was installed and now it works properly, but I'm almost positive that they put on the wrong steering wheel. It is supposed to be VIN-matched - my car has a leather steering wheel, but my new one has leather that isn't as smooth, nor does it feel as nice. I have a feeling that they might have used the Resist steering wheel instead of a leather one. The part number on my invoice has the correct part number for the leather wheel, but it doesn't look or feel the same. The Defenders in the showroom both had the leather steering wheel and they looked and felt like my old one. The parts & service department was closed on Saturday for inventory, so hopefully I'll get an answer today about my steering wheel. There is also the possibility that they changed the leather for the steering wheel. Manufacturers change things up all the time, so this wouldn't be out of the norm.

If it is the wrong one and they are willing to swap it out, I'll probably do it. If not, it isn't a big deal. I can live with it. While it doesn't feel as nice as my old one, it still feels high-quality. After all, the Resist material is supposed to be quite durable, and I'd rather have something that will look nice for a long time than something that isn't as durable. The leather steering wheel on mine was starting to look bad in some places, and I make sure it is always clean, but it was looking a bit more worn than it should have been.