steering wheel covers

[Jordache919]

i went to the dealer the other day and they kept telling me that 4th gen camrys never came with a leather steering whell but i see them around all the time. what im interested in though is one that i could buy thats not auto zone quality. one that looks stock..maybe ill do it myself. also...they said camrys never came with a 3 spoke steering wheel. but i have seen them on some 5th gens. can you put them on a 4th gen. anything related to steering wheels please reply thanks.

[Tom 2000]

You have some options:

1) If you don't want to spend an arm and a leg, try here.

http://www.wheelskins.com

The leather is very good quality. However, it doesn't cover the spokes. I bought from them and am pretty happy for what I paid for.

2) You can goto the salvage yard to see if you can find some gen4 Camrys with leather steering wheel. You may get lucky and find one in decent shape. You may not. Lexus ES300 steering wheels should work also.

3) eBay - Again, luck plays a key role.

4) Go here http://www.american-stitches.com/ams...ages/main.html

Very good quality and availability, but still pricey

5) Find an auto upholstery shop in your area and ask them. Prices will vary.

[camryelaine]

Originally Posted by Tom 2000

You have some options:

1) If you don't want to spend an arm and a leg, try here.

http://www.wheelskins.com

The leather is very good quality. However, it doesn't cover the spokes. I bought from them and am pretty happy for what I paid for.

Is the sewing hard and can you post some pictures on how it look when done?

I thought about get a steering wheel cover from wheelskin for sometime now but never take action because the instruction wants you to bypass the spokes, which I think is going to look funny.

[Mike Gerber]

I know the 98 Camry XLE's came with a leather wrapped steering wheel. I think it was only an XLE item. You may check for that at your dealer. You will still need an upholstery shop to sew it on.

Mike

[xet]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

I know the 98 Camry XLE's came with a leather wrapped steering wheel. I think it was only an XLE item. You may check for that at your dealer. You will still need an upholstery shop to sew it on.

Mike

yes my 98 xle has leather wrapped steering wheel, so maybe checking junkyards for xle styles would work

[Eye8Pussies]

^ yup, that would work

and for the wheelskins- it takes about an hour or so if you take off the steering wheel, which is whatI did. I'm not sure how one would do it properly if the steering wheel was still on the car though. that would be one of the most frustrating ordeals ever then

[Jordache919]

yeah i put a crappy one on my old maxima because the original leather had ripped apart and it was a pain! it would be nice to cover the spokes also. i just wish the dealerships here in south texas werent so stupid and lazy

[camrycoupe95]

I put a 2 tone red/black Wheelskin on a Miata I owned. It didn't completely cover the spokes but to the untrained eye it looked like it came with the car. Was a snap to install and looked nice.

I plan to put one on the Camry soon since my plastic steering wheel is starting to chip.

[camryelaine]

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

^ yup, that would work

and for the wheelskins- it takes about an hour or so if you take off the steering wheel, which is whatI did. I'm not sure how one would do it properly if the steering wheel was still on the car though. that would be one of the most frustrating ordeals ever then

you're kidding right , there has to be an easier way than to take the whole steering wheel apart to put the wheelskin on. I mean, isn't it designed to be "easy install".

[Eye8Pussies]

well, as said, you don't have to, but then it'd just be a bitch to do (in my opinion)

[RodMillenFan]

What color steering wheel cover do you need? I have a black leather Gen4 steering wheel in used but pretty good condition. I don't know, though, how common black was for that generation (in fact, it might be an ES300 wheel).

I'm not a big fan of the wheelskin product just because it doesn't cover the spoke... the leather quality looks to be good, though.

I've posted recently that I recovered my wheel, using some leather I found on eBay. The results were pretty good (for a first-time leather stitcher, that is). It covers the spokes well and to the untrained eye you wouldn't know it wasn't OEM. But it was a lot of work, I will say that. If you had an auto upholstery place (where the people actually know what they're doing) it will look even better.

You might also consider contacting TAP Auto Recycling (used Toyota parts), but they can get pricey too.

[camryelaine]

Originally Posted by RodMillenFan

What color steering wheel cover do you need? I have a black leather Gen4 steering wheel in used but pretty good condition. I don't know, though, how common black was for that generation (in fact, it might be an ES300 wheel).

I'm not a big fan of the wheelskin product just because it doesn't cover the spoke... the leather quality looks to be good, though.

I've posted recently that I recovered my wheel, using some leather I found on eBay. The results were pretty good (for a first-time leather stitcher, that is). It covers the spokes well and to the untrained eye you wouldn't know it wasn't OEM. But it was a lot of work, I will say that. If you had an auto upholstery place (where the people actually know what they're doing) it will look even better.

You might also consider contacting TAP Auto Recycling (used Toyota parts), but they can get pricey too.

I don't know whether you are referring to me or thread starter on the used steering wheel part.

Anyway, I hesitated to get a wheelskin is also because it doesn't cover the spookes.

I read your thread on the self made steering wheel cover and I think that's a pretty damn good you did, not to mention you're first timer on that area. The steering wheel looks like OEM.

Unfortunately, my LE Camry doesn't come with any leather steering wheel cover, other wise I'll try your method.

[RodMillenFan]

Originally Posted by camryelaine

Unfortunately, my LE Camry doesn't come with any leather steering wheel cover, other wise I'll try your method.

If you had the time and wanted to put the effort in, you could probably still put a leather cover on your wheel. The diameter of the rim, where you hold onto it, would probably feel a bit beefy when you're done, just because you'd be building onto the existing wheel... but that's no different than a wheelskin. Hard part, of course, is that you have no existing leather cover to use as a template to cut your new cover (that's what I did). You'd have to literally build it from scratch-- not an easy job.

Your best bet is probably to look on eBay, though you'll find FAR more aftermarket wheels than stock wheels there. One key bit of advice for eBay (in case it isn't already obvious) is to check not just for "Camry", but also "Camery", "Camrey", "Camray", etc. I have favorite searches under 'my eBay' which use all those as keywords... a lot of people misspell!!

[Jordache919]

the american stitches place seems promising. they seem to do a good job judging by the pics. just to bad you have to remove your steering wheel and send it in. im not to sure but i hear its kinda difficult to drive with no steering wheel. lol