I just installed a 2000 RX300 steering wheel and was expecting its airbag to plug straight into my existing wiring, both being single-stage. The plugs are slightly different shapes, though. Is there an adapter for that, or do I need to get the wire for the RX300 wheel and splice its plug onto my wire?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7679877-post3.html

Sounds like my problem.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/1228753-post7.html

I had read those threads before but was foggy on the info, thinking the adapter was referring to 2-stage to single-stage...

wait so if i have an IS airbag it won't work even with an adapter? i'm not sure what year it is though, i think 2003

I'm not entirely sure. I was a bit confused by the "only RX300" plug 'n play comment, too. I thought several other models have compatible single-stage airbags. Then again, I also thought the airbag connector was going to be the same on both...

Aside from that little hiccup, the only things I've run into are:

1) The cruise control lever needs to be switched over. I was hoping for the same experience as one of the other guys where the newer one worked despite the extra pin, but it doesn't function at all on mine. I'll work on swapping that tomorrow.

2) The front screw on the lower steering column shroud is impossible to put back in due to the different shape of the 3-spoke airbag. No biggie, as it's secured plenty solid with the plastic clips and two lower screws.

3) Two of the four star-head screws holding the SC airbag on were incredibly difficult to get free. It took three people working on it and a lot of stripped metal. It was the top one on each side.

I have a Momo steering wheel in my other car and this RX wheel comes darn close to that smile inducing feel. The improved hand positions transform the driving feedback as much as the look transforms the overall cabin.

That looks like a 99+ SC wheel/airbag rather than an RX wheel. The RX wheel I have is wood grain, and yes it was literally plug & play into my '99 SC400. Perhaps older model SC's had different connectors?

There are a bunch of different RX wheels, from what I've seen. I thought the wood ones like your's were all 2-stage airbags from '03 or so?

Mine is definitely from a '00 RX300. This is who I bought it from:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx3...-part-out.html

The fact that your SC is a '99 and mine is a '94 probably explains the plug 'n play differences and why a newer airbag matches your's but not mine. I bet Lexus switched connector styles somewhere during that period. You can see the difference in shape in my 3rd picture up above.

^ yea thats probably it, i should edit my post in the other thread to not confuse people..

I was just about to head back over to that thread and post an update, too.

You need a Toyota "SPX Adaptor" cable. I can't remember what P/N it went by but this was made available for some reason to adapt these different types of airbag connectors... presumably during a model refresh, transition or warranty repair when a revised airbag was available. Weirdly, I had to buy mine from SPX directly. It's been a while since I did this.

Thanks. From what I've been able to find, SPX is the company that made the #09082-00760 harness that Curt @ Elmhurst carries. I'm not sure if SPX is still in business, but the part is discontinued. All the linked pages on their site are down (the whole toyota. subdomain is), but maybe it's still the same company with nothing obviously automotive about it.

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...Airbag-adapter
http://www.l-tunedparts.com/product/?id=3097
http://www.mr2.com/forums/archive/in...p/t-48662.html

This thread has the most useful information:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/4927772-post57.html

Basically, '99-01 switched to the smaller single-stage plug, so anyone with an earlier SC will either need the adapter or a splice job. I wanted to preserve my SC airbag, since it has $30 or so in value for sale/trade, but if it costs me $30 to buy an adapter, I might as well just cut its plug off and splice.

I switched the cruise control units this morning, but haven't taken it out on the highway to test it out. I can't imagine there will be any issues, though. It's a straight forward swap, being identically shaped units and mounting points. The only size difference is the "head" portion of the lever that is visible outside the steering wheel. You can even get the rubber gasket/cover thingie off the RX head and onto the SC one to fill the hole, but it takes some stretching and prying.

The SC unit's ground wire is soldered to one of the metal pieces, while the RX's is secured to a tab with a spade connector. So, you'll need to snip (or de-solder) the wire and crimp on a spade terminal.

I bought my adapter off of l-tunedparts.