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Hello @cerex ,
I was about to say the same yesterday, BUT, after looking at the rear side of the airbag and the backside of the steering wheel itself, the 3 spoke wheel does not have the 2 holes in the leather to insert a flathead to turn and release the airbag like the 4 spoke wheel does, and the 3 spoke airbag does not have the same locking setup as the 4 spoke, meaning even if you poked the 2 holes in the leather (because the 2 holes are still in the steering wheel itself, but covered by leather, unlike the 4 spoke) the flathead would not release the airbag because the locking rods/pins are different on the 3 spoke, so it looks like taking the upper and lower covers off of the column is correct.
This is the 4 spoke airbag locking setup, where you would turn the steering wheel to expose the 2 hole on the backside of the steering wheel itself, and insert tool to release the airbag.
This is what the 3 spoke steering wheel looks like, no holes in the leather, but holes in the SW itself, but they seem to be useless, then the airbag showing the difference in airbag locking clips.
Or is it that one would place a flat tool in each side to release the 3 spoke airbag without disassembly of the steering column covers as @cerex stated ??
I was confused by this when I got my new 3-spoke wheel (which I have not yet installed - i will post pics) but i have figured out you don't need to remove the steering wheel column.
Unlike the 4-spoke that is turned upside down (180 degrees) to release the 2 screws, the 3 spoke wheel needs to be turned to a 90 degree angle and you use a flat tool to push clips inward and unclip one side at a time. Will need to rotate the wheel to that 90 degree angle for each side.
Apply pressure to the 3-spoke air bag as if you are honking while doing the unclipping procedure to help relieve with the pressure/tension of the rear clips.
There is also several fuses that need to be pulled (airbag fuse, horn fuse, motor function fuse for the steering column)
I verified it in the Bentley Technical service manual yesterday. Just angle the wheel the correct way and you will be able to unclip the bag one clip at a time
Hardest part was getting the 4-Spoke Airbag off once that was done smooth sailing. The reference pictures above are spot on thank you helps to know which way to turn the screw driver. If your going to do this have an L shaped flat head screwdriver available and save yourself the headache.
One item I haven’t seen posted was have a 1/2 inch T-55 torx bit on hand to remove the steering wheel bolt. It is also suggested not to reuse the bolt and use a new one but I didn’t have one handy so went with the old one. New one is $6.00 if your planning a conversion order one part # N90799101 (bolt).
I disconnected both batteries Right starter side first, left Main one second (negative leads only). Waited 30 minutes before getting the airbags and wheels swapped. Better safe than sorry, she woke up with no issues after the install was complete - all faults went away after a short drive. Seat memories retained windows needed to be reprogrammed.
Just need to now program the cruise control buttons the others all work, but my kids and wife are out of patience for today.
Going from the wood 4-spoke wheel for the sporty 3-spoke one is night and day visually and steering feels completely different much more responsive feel.
08-02-2020 | 07:54 PM
