Impala steering wheel falling apart?

Had same problem with a 2002 Sunfire. Occurred after 2 yrs. and was replaced under warranty. When dealer checked it out he said it was a "safety issue". Check with your dealer, there may be a hidden recall on it.

Larry

N8N wrote: But now, the same top half of the wheel seems to have a

My new-to-me Jeep has the same issue. I don't exactly like it, but its not bad enough to make me want to replace the wheel (and airbag). If I do, I'm getting the identically shaped, but leather-bound, wheel off an Eagle Vision TSi like my wife's car- that's a GREAT feeling wheel.

where could I get a syringe

Last time I checked, you can buy syringes at any drugstore. You left the obvious "diabetic" off your list of syringe users....

Hey Nate - why not just get a wheel out of the junk yard and move it over? Simple enough and sure beats holding on to a crumbling hunk of foam.

a) it's got an airbag b) if that is the fix, I'll make someone else do it, since theoretically I'm not supposed to pay for any maintenance/repairs on this POS

nate

I understand that second part. The airbag does not really present any problems.

B) is the only reason really... The leather on my mustang's factory steering wheel got worn and I was sick of looking at it so I replaced it with an FR500 steering wheel. The air bag module was easy to disconnect and reconnect. Not an issue at all. Unless GM did something astoundingly stupid the airbag isn't a problem.

Ask your manager what to do. That's what he gets paid the big bucks for.

Nate,

My 1994 Buick Regal has had this same issue with the foam detached from the steel frame of the steering wheel at the top for a number of years. Other than feeling weird there are no other issues I've been able to find.

Since it is a company car, tell your boss about your misgivings about the steering wheel and see what he says. It would not be hard at all to replace the wheel - the air bag is a seperate assembly and can be transferred to the replacement steering wheel.

Regards, Bill Bowen Sacramento, CA

Don't know how to fix it, but I asked my son the mechanic about this and he says he sees bad wheels most often on Chryco pick-ups. Hardly ever on Fords and GM's. Most of his business is truck suspensions, and he test drives after completing the work. With the Chrycos the stitches come apart and the wheel turns into a mess, with exposed foam. Also said Chryco changes steering wheel design often, bit don't fix the stitching. He thinks the foam detaching from the steel core is a personal issue with the drivers, and noticed with one such truck the first thing the owner did when he get in his truck is wrap his hand on the wheel and twist it like a motorcycle throttle as he drove off. Something to think about, as I could find no other complaint about the Impala steering wheel being sub-standard. P/S doesn't require much force on the wheel. Reminds me of a little sore on my neck I was worrying once and the doc had a term for it I can't remember, but he said "Keep you hands off it and it will go away." He was right. But that won't work with your steering wheel. If you continue to "grip the wheel semi-firmly and twist" you can get all that foam off. I know I could.

--Vic

You seem to imply that one should not "grip the wheel firmly." I probably should not park the car in the sun all day every day either but that's not going to change any time soon, until my employer sees fit to plant trees around the parking lot. It doesn't help that Chevy has continued an ergonomic trend that I've noticed on a lot of newer cars, e.g. that the steering wheel is simply too far away from the driver, that is, if I adjust the seat so that my legs comfortably reach the pedals, even with the seat back fully upright the wheel is a little too far away from me (and since the pedals are so far forward of the front edge of the door, it's also difficult to fold oneself in and out of the car.) I'm not a particularly disproportionate individual; I'm about 5'11" tall and my arm span is almost exactly 6 feet from fingertip to fingertip. What this means is if one is cruising down the highway and resting one's hand on the top of the wheel (I know, not the Driver's Ed approved hand position, but it is comfortable and common) one is by necessity putting a little torque on the wheel rim because the wheel is so far away.

All that said, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a steering wheel to last 3 years under these conditions, because they're not that different from conditions that a significant number of motorists experience. I did replace the steering wheel in my 20 year old Porsche a while back because the leather was starting to look a little shabby, but in the same sort of use and admittedly indifferent care, the wheel I took off is still eminently usable and if recovered appears to be serviceable for many more years to come.

But this post did not start as an attempt to bash GM, more a simple query if there was anything that I could do quickly and cheaply that would patch up this wheel for another couple months until I get a new car...

nate

You seem to imply that one should not "grip the wheel firmly." I probably should not park the car in the sun all day every day either but that's not going to change any time soon, until my employer sees fit to plant trees around the parking lot. It doesn't help that Chevy has continued an ergonomic trend that I've noticed on a lot of newer cars, e.g. that the steering wheel is simply too far away from the driver, that is, if I adjust the seat so that my legs comfortably reach the pedals, even with the seat back fully upright the wheel is a little too far away from me (and since the pedals are so far forward of the front edge of the door, it's also difficult to fold oneself in and out of the car.) I'm not a particularly disproportionate individual; I'm about 5'11" tall and my arm span is almost exactly 6 feet from fingertip to fingertip. What this means is if one is cruising down the highway and resting one's hand on the top of the wheel (I know, not the Driver's Ed approved hand position, but it is comfortable and common) one is by necessity putting a little torque on the wheel rim because the wheel is so far away.

All that said, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a steering wheel to last 3 years under these conditions, because they're not that different from conditions that a significant number of motorists experience. I did replace the steering wheel in my 20 year old Porsche a while back because the leather was starting to look a little shabby, but in the same sort of use and admittedly indifferent care, the wheel I took off is still eminently usable and if recovered appears to be serviceable for many more years to come.

But this post did not start as an attempt to bash GM, more a simple query if there was anything that I could do quickly and cheaply that would patch up this wheel for another couple months until I get a new car...

nate

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Hey Nate. Sorry to hear more bad news about your lemon Impala. You seem to be going through hell with that car. I don't really have any idea's for your current Impala, but after reading this post, I wanted to recommended that when you get your new company car, you try to get one with the "moving peddles" feature. My sister's 04 Malibu Maxx has it as a standard option. It's really quite a neat feature, that I know many other brands also have. She (and many others) usually need to sit too close to the wheel to reach the peddles, but with this feature, she is fine. I think I recall you saying you may end up with another Impala, and I'm pretty sure they come standard on the newer models too. Anyhow, good luck, and next time scratch the car before you drive it off the lot, to look for yellow underneath the paint ;-)

I agree that all modern cars have HORRIBLE ergonomics in this regard. I'm absolutely certain that its because of airbags- they want to keep the wheel as far from the driver as possible so the airbag is less likely to take the driver's head off. But the result is a horrific straight-armed driving position that is both uncomfortable and greatly reduces control authority. When I get rental cars, I typically compromise between having my feet too close to the pedals (knees bent) in order to get the wheel in a halfway decent position. On cars with adjustable pedals, I lower the pedals as far as possible and that helps a bit.

Well, you did call it a POS. I looked for similar problems because the car is on my short list for when I replace my '97 Lumina. Since the problem - so far - seems unique to your car I was suggesting possible reasons. It's my impression you're up east and not in Florida, where I might expect anything from sun damage. Many use windshield screens where the sun burns reals hot. Anyway, I agree about the ergs, and notice the same thing on my Lumina. It's a stretch to drape my wrist over the wheel in the up position, and the down position makes it difficult to enter/exit. I usually leave it up and end up resting my hands on the lower rim. Maybe not the preferred method, but at least I don't use a spinner. The design might have something to do with airbag deployment. BTW, I seldom grip the wheel firmly. Only in tight/fast situations, which I seldom encounter, or hanging on to it when I'm adjusting the seat. I prefer cars that track well, so except when making turns the wheel is basically a handrest. Never wore out a steering wheel. Since it's a company car, as others have said, let them fix it.

--Vic

========================= ===

Eh, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "lemon." The two real failures of the car were the stock tires, which were dangerously tractionless, and the parking brake which goes out of adjustment every couple months. Other than that, it's been eminently reliable - which is obnoxious, because I just wish it would fail in some spectacular manner so I could insist that it's time for a new car :(

It's one of those cars that's so reliable but you wish it wasn't - kind of an anti-Ferrari, if you will.

nate

You coulda just said "like a Camry." :-)

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That's one theory. Another would be that manufacturers want also fast-food lovers to fit behind the wheel without having to squeeze there :)

I'm surprised you didn't mention telescoping steering wheel. According to my experience, it's much more common -- at least here in Europe -- than adjusting pedals. Did you take it for granted that steering wheel already was pulled as close to the driver as possible before finding the wheel still being too far, or don't cars where you live have that feature?

I think it would be good if adjusting pedals would become more common too, as they would help more people of different sizes to find comfortable driving position. I once saw on TV how a woman shorter than average, but not unusually short, was looking for car suitable for her. Here typically in a family with two cars, man drives the larger car and woman the smaller, but in the show it was found that small cars have limited adjustability and suit better for average-size drivers. In typical "women's cars" the woman in question had to move the seat all the way forward to reach the pedals, but then the steering wheel was so close to her chest (something like 10 cm) that she was worried about what would happen if in an accident the airbag would deploy... Ironically the best-fitting car for her tuurned out to be a large station wagon or space wagon that had adjusting pedals so she didn't have to move the seat so far forward!

P.V.

Some do, some don't. The '05 Impala does not have that, or at least it's not standard equipment on the 'el strippo fleet beater' model.

I think it must be the airbag thing. I was driving a new-ish Malibu the other day which had a telescoping steering wheel and I still pulled it all the way towards me. Oddly enough I find that I fit fine in all the small cars I've owned, many VW's and a Porsche 944. I even fit in a 914 comfortably, but without a whole lot of room to spare - the same is true for a Miata. Of course none of the cars I've actually owned have had airbags.

There must be a preference, or at least lack of complaints, among consumers for a straight-armed driving position, because recent vehicles seem to universally encourage it. Back in the day this was not the case however, if nothing else you needed the leverage of having the wheel close to you if you didn't pop for the power steering option. Again this is a situation where I find my "antique" cars actually ergonomically better than modern ones (but then again, having the wiper/washer controls on the column, mirroring the turn signal stalk, is a wonderful innovation... of course GM, Ford, et. al. are still yet to adopt this eminently sensible arrangement and instead provide you with a 'multi-function stalk' with all the tactile feedback of a bowl of warm pudding, and which feels like it's going to snap off if you aren't ever so delicate in operating it...)

I guess right about now is where I show myself to be a true retro- grouch and mention that if I adjust the seat so I can fully depress the clutch in my '55 Stude, I can drape my right wrist over the top of the steering wheel, hang my left arm out the window, and tool down the highway in perfect comfort once I get the vent window adjusted just so... of course, that is not a car for the large of girth; that 17" steering wheel is awful close to the thighs even of Yours Truly. (let's conveniently ignore the fact that it's a straight line from the center of the horn button all the way down to the worm gear in the steering box, and that the two are connected by a solid steel tube. crashing would likely result in a driver-kebab.) I do have the optional power steering but to the horror of many aficionados I am actually considering doing away with it, just for simplicity's sake. Oh, and the horn ring just looks cool, too.

nate