Does anyone know if anyone has been able to replace a 2nd gen steering wheel with one out of a 3rd gen? The OEM parts site shows the 3rd gen Prius and the 4th Gen Prius C/V steering wheels to interchange. The clock spring connector on a 2nd gen Prius is a 10 and 4 pin cable. The connector on the 3rd gen is alike. I've watched videos of steering wheel removals on both 2nd and 3rd gens, and the clock spring sticks out past the column trim the same amount, and so does the splined shaft and threaded shaft for the nut. The nut is exactly the same too. The airbag connector is the same, so obviously I would use a 3rd gen airbag. It all seems doable, I'm just curious if anyone has actually tried it so I'm not wasting money. My steering wheel is falling apart, and finding a decent 2nd gen wheel is impossible anymore. I can get one new, if I wanted to spend $600, of course.
If you make it fit physically, a gen 3 steering wheel from a non-Touch-Tracer trim will probably work. (It will be up to you then to figure out what the buttons on the gen 3 wheel actually make your car do, and maybe permute the wires or paint new icons on them until they do what you think they should.) If it comes from a gen 3 trim with the Touch Tracer feature, you're probably not going to get all the buttons to work. Some of them should, though.
If it were me, I'd get a good leather cover; the kind you must (tediously) lace up. Those will cover/wrap the entire surface plus they feel incredibly nice too.
The electrical connections of at least the audio controls on the steering wheel seem to be the same. Would probably lose the defrost buttons, not deal breaker. But how on earth would you be able to tell if the steering wheel has touch trace or not? Might go with fotomoto's suggestion and get a cover.
I asked this a year ago . Purdy quiet all Toyoda steer wheels will drop on even a tundra trucks and as far back as 85 supra will from on same but secures. plugs as you say .. it will not recognize things will tell you options are missing etc I don't think it's clock spring it's how the buttons work with the two systems I rode for 3 months w gen3 wheel in my 2. kinda like a fitting e3 wheel . Couldn't get the Gen 3 pinouts of wheel connector etc so fek it. I could probably adapt real e3 and mount Toyoda wings / buttons. Grant can help too
Oh goodness I might have made a video I'll have to look everything kind of worked but when you did things like turn on ac couldn't scroll functions set AC etc the volume could change not stations . It's something to do with communication crutch field may explain it better and Grant Corp has made button adapters that cover gen2 but along time ago
Look at the switch pads that come with it. (If you get the switch pads with it.) If the side with the TRIP and DISP buttons also has a little microcontroller with extra wires running to all the button pads, it's the Touch Tracer version. If it's nothing but simple buttons and resistors, it's the vanilla version. If you get a wheel with the Touch Tracer switches, you can just get the vanilla switch pads to swap in, if that's the only issue.
Didn't know anything bout tracers but my generation 3 pad almost identical to gen2 assemblies I've pictures . Reasonably loaded minus heated seats and lanes assist type things not present 8 don't think circuit boards in play in. Mine. The MFD was always displaying items were not present the radio preset or the aux etc says it's not connected press again it might do the function teas entertaining to say the least.
