The silver paint around my steering wheel has begun to craze and split all the way around, almost like the paint and or rubber began to expand/contract. I tried to pick a section clean so it was just black and damaged that too.



Will mini replace this part even though it’s the whole airbag assembly? Or is there a decent way to re-paint it myself.



Thanks guys, I hope someone can help!

Gary

 

Owners have had other items in need of repaint and had it done be MINI under warantee. Ask 'em.

Godspeed.

 

Unfortunetly my dealer said it wasnt a warrenty item since it was most likely owner damage. Of course mine was the only one they've seen that the paint was chipping and wrinkling off.

 

Yes, I'd definitely be exploring the warranty route. Try not to mess with the ring too much, though...the service tech will want to evaluate and document the failure and any attempts you may make to "fix it" may make it hard for them to do this.

 

Is that ring attached on the steering wheel cover from the inside out?
If so, I would just remove the steering wheel cover off the wheel, remove
the ring, and sand/paint the ring to my preference.

When removing the airbag from the wheel, make sure you unplug your
battery, step on the brake pedal for 30sec to discharge the circuit before
you start unscrewing the steering wheel cover. The airbag *could* deploy
if there is enough charge left in the circuit and you accidentally trigger it
when you unplug the airbag from the steering wheel.

 

had mine replaced a the dealer under warranty only six months into ownership. talk to your dealer again! they should do it!

 

Hey Kenchan,

While this is a nice suggestion, we shouldn't have to go messing with our airbag cover and risk triggering the airbag itself in order to repair/repaint/replace a $0.10 cent piece of plastic that MINI should replace as a warranty repair.

My $.02.

BB

 

I think the dealer will take care of it under warranty without a hassle. If they give you any trouble, though, ask to meet with the zone guy.

 

Thanks guys, I will start with the dealer and when they screw me I will let you know how the re-paint went

Gary

 

:smile: It's up to you. I would not go back to the dealer just for the ring, unless
I had other problems or have a scheduled maintenance planned.

That's just me.

taking off a steering wheel is really a no big deal.

 

I complained about this in a post awhile back, too. Mine has several tiny holes in it. My dealer tech told me that he's seen some that are smashed to pieces and to just be careful. I consider this a design flaw. Why would they put this pitiful piece of plastic in such a vulnerable place? With mine, it wouldn't even be a matter of painting over it. It would have to be filled in first. I've considered Sculpey clay. It even comes in the same color as the ring.

 

WRONG! Attempts at removing the plastic steering wheel cover could result in an accidental deployment of the airbag!!!!

The center ring is integrated into the airbag as a single unit. Unfortunately it can not be replaced (This applies to the 2 spoke steering wheels). Only thing that can be done is to try to repaint or cover the nicks around the ring, that's the most you can do.

Other venue to explore is to pursue a full steering hweel replacement under warranty, but for a chipped silver ring that is ckind of a hard sell, IMO.

 

WRONG! <=


Anyway, don't tamper with the steering wheel unless you know what you're doing. Which usually means, unplug it before you start prying at anything
that could possibly deploy it whether it be a MINI steering wheel or any steering wheel with an airbag. As far as Im concerned, I didn't say anything
that would constitue someone claiming that I was "WRONG!" cooper4us, go back and re-read my posts... I was asking how the ring was attached to the steering wheel.

 

Could you post a photo of the problem so we could actually see the trouble you are describing?

Thanks

 

This has nothing to do with this thread,but many years ago we rigged an airbag in a desk drawer.when she opened it OH BOY was that funny.After getting over almost peeing herself,she got us all donuts

 

Unfortunately the paint scratches off quite easily. A friend once got into the driver's seat of my car and while getting out of the car, he used his right palm to brace himself against the center of the steering wheel while stepping out. The result is that his ring cause a very slight gouge of the paint on the steering wheel. I have no doubt that the center posts supporting the dash instruments are also scratch-prone, and I try to be very careful of not scuffing or scratching them.

 

The dealer replaced it...They claimed I did the damage and that they were "upset" that I was "making" them replace it under warrenty.......Somehow, I'm OK with that!

Thanks for the advice guys.

Ceers
Gary

 

Unfortunately, mine isn't just scratched. The ring actually has chipped all the way through. If I had a good enough camera for a close-up, I'd take a photo of it. One of the other posters said that his became so chipped and holey that he finally just chipped the rest of the ring off with his fingernail. He claimed that the black indented area underneath looked a lot better than the raggedy ring.

 

Nice job negotiating, Gary!

 

I too had scuffs and then peeling on my center ring. I bought some testors silver model paint and dabbed some paint on the effected area's, after about a minute I wiped the excess way with a clean rage and Walaa! The silver paint wiped clean off the already factory silver but filled and stuck to the scuffed and damaged area.

 

That sounds like another good idea!

 

Why can't someone just come up with a chrome ring stick-on for these like they do with the other interior bits? I have yet to see one that isn't all messed up and that would be an easy fix. Moss has a ring that just goes around the edge. What's the freakin' point? Mine is finally beyond repair. I've been filling the cracks in with a silver paint marker. The cracks/dents are looking pretty bad.