Steering wheel leather wear

Anybody else have this kind of wear on their steering wheel leather? (3rd gen) It’s presumably due to rubbing from the previous owner’s hand position. Kind of annoying that it already looks like this when being only 3 years old. Is there anything I could do to make it look better or prevent further wear? Aside from a cover of course. Thanks!

 

Since you're down to actual leather, it might actually soak up some conditioner. That might make it look a little better with a darkening effect.

You could try something like Meguiars Ultimate Leather Balm.

 

How many miles on the truck? I am surprised it looks that way.

 

About 75k. Kind of high for a 3rd gen. I bought it with 60k and that’s how it looked. Hopefully others don’t see the same issue when theirs see more use

 

Steering wheel cover??

 

You said the previous owner did that? Either that dude had some serious white-knuckle rage issues or he had callouses over his callouses. Probably both.

You'll probably need to work it with leather filler / clear coat sealer. That much damage though, its going to take an awful lot of work to make it look almost-right. I'd be tempted to just go buy another wheel from a salvage yard.

 

That’s what I’m considering, but yes that’s how it looked when I bought it. I’ve lived with it so far but I have slight OCD and it really gets on my nerves. I figured getting a new wheel would probably be the only easy option

 

Edit: I treated the steering wheel with a leather conditioner and now it looks worse. It’s to the point where it would look better if I took a black sharpie to it (don’t worry I’m not going to)

 

The PO must have used some kind of lotion, sunscreen, bug repellent or hand cleaner that contributed to this damage. Or maybe had sandpaper hands like an old sheet rocker who sands screw head mud with his palm. Or had a nervous habit of scratching away at it with a fingernail. I think replacing it is the best option. I think ebay has decent deals on leather Tacoma steering wheels. I read about tundra guys replacing their rubber steering wheels with leather Tacoma versions because the Tacoma steering wheels are cheaper and more numerous than leather tundra wheels

 

He was a fishing guide, my guess is lots of sunscreen and bug spray. I guess if anything this is a good warning for others with leather steering wheels. Take care of them! One of the downfalls of buying used is you can’t do it from the start. I’ll take a look on eBay or keep my eye out for a part out

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-3rd-gen-today.399305/page-5400#post-19306635
Might want to look at a Wheelskinz leather cover.

 

These two things can wreak havoc on a cars interior, and exterior plastics as well. Bug spray eats away plastic, well DEET does. Some people use it to remove hazing from headlights, it actually eats away the outer layer of plastic. Its weird how some chemicals can cause so much damage to our trucks. I recall a few posts where air fresheners hanging from someone's volume knob bubbled the finish of someone center dash around the climate knobs

 

Nice job. I saw some tundra guys who used these covers and were very happy. Would be nice to figure a away to make it heated, I'm sure theres a kit available, you'd just need to run wires through the clockspring/air bag area.

 

Thanks! I'll look into these

 

Good to know. I think I'll look into a cover for now, I hate covers and like to keep the factory look but it looks like there are some good ones out there. I appreciate your help!

 

Wonder if you could get a new dealer installed steering wheel for under 1k ? ( Expensive I know )

 

I don't even want to know the cost of a new one from the dealer. Unfortunately it'll probably be out of my price range for something so minor

 

$60 Loncky Custom Steering Wheel Cover for Toyota Tacoma 2012-2023 / Tundra 2014-2021/ Toyota 4Runner 2010-2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024/ Sequoia 2014-2022 Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/Loncky-Steering-2012-2019-2014-2019-Accessories/dp/B00QLWTZ0W
Might be interested in this....not sure about ease of install though, looks like it has to be sewed on and I have absolutely no experience doing such. Might have to call my grandma

 

Go for it. Some of the guys at tundras.com this without any sewing experience. They said it took a couple hours. Seems like taking the wheel off and doing it indoors is the best route.

 

Mine started to do the same as well. Only 40000 mkles