AlexNY

Now, i know the wooden parts of my steering wheel is not heated (even though it should, not sure what the heck lexus was thinking).
so my understanding is that the steering wheel heat affects all areas with no wood.


So that would be both sides at the middle where you normally would grab the wheel + bottom of steering wheel?

i'm asking because the bottom of my steeering wheel (not wood) is not heating at all.

only 2 parts heating is both left and right sides.

is this how it's supposed to be? or is it supposed to heat up in the bottom portion as well?

pab12

>only 2 parts heating is both left and right sides.
That's what I would expect. My wheel is wood top/bottom so the heating is only done on the sides. I'm sure that technology is used for all steering wheels regardless of where the wood is located. I doubt Toyota would design a separate heating feature for the lower part of the wheel.
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My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 Jaguar XF (its aubergine)

bc6152

Pab12 is correct. Only heated areas are left and right sides of the wheel. On the 2019 MY cars the entire wheel is heated. Lexus saw their mistake...

lesz

As stated by the others, even though the bottom of the wheel is covered with leather, it is not heated. Only the areas at approximately 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock are heated.

However, with the 2016 mid-cycle ES changes, the steering wheel was re-designed. The steering wheels on the 2016-2018 ES have slightly larger leather covered and heated areas than were on the 2013-2015 ES.

lesz

For me, it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. While it certainly is a plus to have a larger heated area on the steering wheel, from an aesthetic point of view, I like the look of the Generation 6 steering wheel with more visible wood over the look of the Generation 7 wheel with more visible leather. I'm guessing that it is actually less expensive for Lexus to make the Generation 7 wheel than it was to make the Generation 6 wheel because the cost of wood is, I'm guessing, higher than the cost of a larger heating element.

For the last couple of decades, safety experts have been saying that the safest location for hand placement is at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Over that period of time, that is where I've gotten in the habit of placing my hands. So, the only time that I notice that a larger area isn't getting any heat is when I'm making a turn that requires me momentarily to place my hands at another location on the wheel.

AlexNY

thanks for the reply fellas.

i was wondering if i should go get it replaced, ahah