kitlz

But we're not here to judge the seriousness of the problem. Please, let's keep it constructive and skip the criticism.

lilti9er

Thank you all for the suggestions. Yes, I have my seat on the highest it goes and the steering wheel height is lowered at a comfortable level. I have seen covers but honestly would not use them b/c they add extra bulk that I don't need for my small hands and I don't like the look of them. One may call it trivial but for me, it's a hazard even with my polarized sun glasses on. Now with all that said, I won't buy a new steering wheel at retail but I did manage to buy a used lexus one for $79 on ebay which is not that much more than the wheelskins and it still looks new. My husband said it won't be too much of a hassle replacing so he doesn't mind doing it for me; once upon a time, he used to be a mechanic.

rj4510

You have your solution and your husband is more than capable of swapping steering wheels, so that is great. For anyone else wanting to address this with a cover, they are definitely not all created equal. Some have rubber backings that add far too much bulk to the wheel. There are super thin leather ones on the market as well, which as has been mentioned lace up like a sneaker. If done correctly, you can't tell much difference between them and a factory wrap. If the edges are finished, as is the case with better quality ones, they simply look like a pleat and go for the most part unnoticed. Also, the more you have to struggle to stretch them to fit, the better. Keeps it nice and tight. If it slips on, there will be extra to try and even out throughout and usually end up looking pretty sad.

My wife is 5" tall as well, so curious if she's going to find the wheel an issue come summer. She never said anything with her GS or my GX, so hopefully this will not be an issue with our RX. We're definitely not short on sun around here....

kitlz

Nancy, I'm glad you were able to find a used steering wheel at a reasonable cost. Having a husband to replace it for you, even better. Please let us know how it turns out.

lilti9er

rj4510: this is my first car with the wood grain steering wheel so I didn't even know this would be a problem for me.


Anita, I just noticed from your signature we have the same car. What modifications have you made to yours? I saw some posts with changing the interior lightbulbs to LED so I'll be looking into that in the near future but what about the exterior lights? If I get LED bulbs for the DRL, fog & reverse lights, do I need some sort of electrical bypass device like a ballast in a HID kit or would I get away with just replacing the bulbs? (I clearly have no clue what I'm saying lol but I just want all the lights to be the same color, white. I don't like that my fog lights are yellow and my headlights are more white)

kitlz

You have good taste

Modding days are over but I've done a few. Interior lights, puddle lamps, fog lights (x4), reverse lights, parking lights and blinkers were all changed. For the fog lights, you can try a better halogen or LED bulb. Both of those are plug and play. HID requires a ballast. The 12V battery is in the cargo area so installing the harness (usually included with HID kits) would mean running a line from the back to front. The harness is not absolutely necessary but recommended. Lexus also sells LED fog light assembly. Bumper might have to come off for that. Room is limited. I settled for just a better halogen bulb in the end. DRL I also changed to a better halogen bulb. Other bulbs require something to be installed with it (forget the name) because they have to go from 50% to 100% power, or DRL to high beam. Interior lights, reverse lights puddle lamps and parking lights were replaced with LED. The blinkers have chrome bulbs to lose the orange glow. I think that's about it.

If it makes you feel better, I thought the 3RX steering wheel felt huge when I first got it. Never had wood so I can't comment on that. I think you'll like the all leather steering wheel. I haven't had any issues with cracking, scratching or the stitching coming undone. You'll probably have better grip on the wheel too.

lilti9er

Thanks Anita! Besides the thread by greeknasty with the links on where to buy LED bulbs for the interior, do you know of a thread for the exterior? I just want to keep it simple and replace the bulbs without needing to install extra stuff like a ballast. I've already mentioned to the hubby that I love the F-Sport front look so he will look into cost to replace the front end later down the road.

kitlz

There's lots. I'll have to find them and post later. And keep in mind switching over to the F-Sport also means changing the headlights. You'll also lose AFS if yours has it.

kitlz

Well, here's a few threads on changing the interior/exterior bulbs. JDKane started it all but unfortunately the pictures in the threads are gone and some of links on bulbs are old:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...e-lamps-2.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ng-lights.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...white-led.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...onversion.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...bulb-swap.html

And a few of mine. They're mostly about the fog lights:

Fog lights part 1
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...he-rx450h.html
Part 2
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...50h-again.html
Part 3
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...e-trilogy.html

Finally some threads talking about changing the bumper and/or headlights on 2010-2012 RX to 2013+ RX:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...or-2013-a.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...-facelift.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...it-2010-a.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...om-sewell.html

lilti9er

Thank you so much Anita! After reading some posts regarding puddle lights I was convinced my car didn't have them. Come to find out, my exterior light setting was off lol. So this morning in the parking lot at work, I played with the light settings like a crazy woman hahaha

Oh and I do have AFS and like that feature....but I do love the look of the sporty bumper more....decisions, decisions

I may just change the "white" bulbs only and leave the brakes, signals, etc alone b/c really the yellowish white bulbs are the only thing that bothers the heck out of me.

kitlz

Agree. Replacing the interior, fog, reverse and even puddle lights will make a big difference. And they're easy to to change for the most part. Rear dome cover is tricky to remove. Taking about the side view mirrors is not for the faint of heart. But I've done most of the above using the threads I posted.

How about looking into changing the grill portion and not the entire bumper? carid has a few that might work. Click here to see some that might work. It's much cheaper and will make your RXh unique. Plus you get to keep AFS.

lilti9er

Anita, I've gone through the links and I'm very confused about the fog lights. Is there not just a bulb to match either the HID or 5K LED DRL color? I read someone said LED bulbs lose the fog light function, halogen is for fog lights but not the right color, and HID kit makes the light scatter? I'm so lost...

kitlz

Lexus LED fog lights are white and bright. Take a look at this thread. It has some pictures to give you an idea. Only thing with the install, there's less room in front of the engine and behind the bumper, 350 has more. Removing the bumper would make it easier. I had aftermarket LED bulbs but didn't install them. I liked the slightly bluish tint of the replacement halogen bulbs better. It kind of fits being hybrid.

The LED headlights are white but not the brightest. With the right fog lights, it's much better. HIDs were definitely white and bright. They matched pretty well too. I had 5K and 6K. The light wasn't diffused either. I just didn't have great luck with the ballasts. And even though nobody melted the housing as far as I know, HIDs do give off a lot of heat. The OE LED fogs would've been next but I couldn't justify spending the money. I like the aftermarket halogen bulbs just fine.

NickTee

You could also talk to an upholstery shop, they can probably leather wrap the stock wheel. Then, when it comes time to sell the car, you can simply cut the seams and have your stock wheel. That way you're not turning potential buyers away.

lilti9er

Update: I received the all-leather steering wheel and it was a bit more beat up than pictured on the ebay listing so the seller is refunding me and looking for a better one for me.

I also ordered oem led fog lights on ebay at $260 for both left & right instead of $219 each at the dealer.