Out of all the popular automotive creature comforts of the 21st century, the heated steering wheel has to be my favorite. It’s like gloves without gloves, freeing your fingers in the winter for precise operation of controls without freezing them on a cold wheel. But you know the saying: “Anything’s a smoke machine if you operate it wrong enough.” Turns out, it really can be anything.
There are several things steering wheels are supposed to do. They’re supposed to turn, they’re supposed to be round-ish or at least a squircle, they’re supposed to not fly out of the window while you’re driving, they’re supposed to not be upholstered in razor wire, and they’re definitely supposed to be smoke-free.
I need to take a quick poll of the room to see what the normal response to seeing smoke rising from your steering wheel is. Turning off the heating function? Turning off the car? Getting the eff outta dodge? All of those seem like more appropriate, more self-preserving, more sensible actions than taking a photo while driving and asking Reddit if the smoke is normal.
Is this a normal behavior for steering wheel heating?
byu/Academic-Earth-1542 inBmwTech
Your eyes do not deceive you, that is indeed a smoking steering wheel. Specifically, it’s the smoking steering wheel of a Bangle-butt BMW 7 Series having some sort of hideous electric problem, as they’re often prone to. I’ve seen rear air ride tilted like a Yankees cap, I’ve seen fiber optic issues, I’ve seen Christmas tree dashboards, but a smoking steering wheel? That’s a new one.
Yet, with two indelible pictures and one line that says it all, this Redditor has captured something unforgettable. “Is this a normal behavior for steering wheel heating?” No, no I don’t think it is. I can’t find anything in the technical information system on whether the steering wheel has some secret hotboxing mode that’s an easter egg or something. If I were to hazard a guess, something’s gone wrong with the heating control to the point where the temperature of the element underneath the steering wheel leather exceeds the smoke point of the glue used to hold it on.
Strangely, this almost feels like business as usual E65 BMW 7 Series. The V8s are known for leaky valve stem seals and the so-German-it-hurts problem of leaking alternator brackets. Want a V12? Prepare your entire bank account because a replacement genuine high-pressure fuel pump costs almost as much as a new Versa. Anyway, if white smoke signals a new Pope, what does steering wheel smoke indicate? Answers on a postcard, please.
Top graphic image: Reddit
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Heated steering wheel. It sounds silly but in a cold climate, it’s such a nice little feature.
Not all are equal. Our BMW has the entire wheel heated and the button on front of wheel, but the only indication it’s on (aside from the heat) is when you cycle it’s power. Our Nissan has some annoying cold spots and a button near the climate control that lights up when it’s in use. The 2 series can also be programmed to automatically turn it on if outside temp is low enough (among many other things one can automate).
Heated wheel might be a dealbreaker feature for my next cars. (I also love heads up display too. Both our cars have that and again, the BMW hud is superior to the Nissan hud in every way.)
My (now ex) wife had a 2015 X5 with a heated steering wheel. It never did that. But the warmth on the hands was kind of comfortable.
We traded it in for a 2018 Acura MDX and she didn’t realize it also had a heated steering wheel and was so happy when I pointed out the button to enable it for her. She’s a dentist, so happy, functioning hands were kind of a big deal.
Dammit, was going to make a pope election joke and then Hundal hits it at the very end…
How bad must this smell? I can’t imagine being able to be in the car with burning glue and leather.
It’s not the alternator brackets that are leaking but the blinker fluid working its way backwards through the alternator, as they never installed a diode as a check valve. Thay’s why the blinkers always tend to stop working before the rest of the electrical system, but you know it’s only a matter of time by then.
This is why you have to refill with Genuine BMW-Moxnixleuchtfluid ($250/liter pre-tariff).
technically, this car has become of the age required in most states to smoke legally now…..
An interesting article Thomas I laughed haha. But apparently journalism no longer requires any investigation, truly a sad occurrence. Had you bothered to check the dark web you would have seen this is a feature that resulted from BMW trying to encroach on the the Native American sports car market. In fact this is a smoke signal sent out to inform the driver similar to a warning light that tells the driver you are about to spend a shit load of Wampum. Get to a casino now.
Yes it’s a joke all in good fun people don’t freak out.
Now don’t be silly, BMW drivers never use signals of any type 🙂
As I just experienced heated seats this year I am reluctant to add heated steering wheel after seeing this. I mean really what ever happened to eating a can of beans to heat up your seat. I guess the 39 cents a can for baked beans didn’t carry enough profit at a 30% mark up. Today’s car enthusiast is just too soft. I was never too cold even with the windows down in the winter drinking a 32 ounce iced soda that a couple sausage egg and cheese burritos from Whataburger couldn’t give me enough farts and heartburn to stay warm.
Everyone calm down. The steering wheel is vaping.
Did this story miss the yoke shape?
I can’t believe an adult human with enough brain cells to obtain a driver’s license thinks an appropriate response to a car fire is to post a photo on social media and ask if it is normal.
Has the internet actually made people stupider or has it just made stupidity more visible?
That is truly this generation’s deep philosophical question. I assume Misanthropic means Wise.
The best reply in the Reddit thread was “LET’S USE OUR BIG BOY THINKING SKILLS NOW”
well they did buy a E65 BMW 7 Series so guessing not that car savvy in first place
I agree that humans in general are becoming more like corporate worker lemmings with zero critical thinking skills. When I read it, I presumed it was a BMW owner’s last resort for humor since they were trying not to have an emotional breakdown in traffic. The: Hey everyone! Look what new Hell my 7 Series has concocted for me to experience.
Neither. He has enough brain cells to know: 1. That a heated steering wheel fire is absurd 2. That getting it fixed is going to be absurdly expensive 3. The car isn’t going to burst into flames because of it 4. Others on the internet would find such absurdity amusing
And – the driver can turn off the problem so as not to breathe the fumes.
It wasn’t a car fire, it’s very localized smoke on an interior part of the car. So they got evidence of the problem and a visual novelty, then asked “is this normal” both as a joke, and in the context of “is this a known fault of these BMWs steering wheels?”
Taking the picture on a public road does seem unwise, but it appears to be slow traffic with construction, and the following distance is long enough that it appears they had slowed/stop to take the picture.
Everyone wants to go viral these days. And if getting reposted on The Autopian counts as “going viral”, mission accomplished, I guess?
The Bangle butt BMW 7er: such smoking hot car!
My FIL has a work car Ford Transit. back in 2022 when we were visiting them, he picked me up after work and when he was driving he kept saying that the seat is too hot. It was a really hot day and I though maybe it was just because of the sun. he kept complaining until he pulled over and got off the seat to reveal the whole heating element was literally melting the seat through. interestingly the factory seated heat switch is mounted under the seat (it is a commercial van) so it was really easy to disconnect there and so we did. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire trip back…)
Why have the heated seats on during a hot day?
he did not have it ON. something happened with the ON/OFF switch under the seat and it stuck being on. I am sure the van would have caught on fire if he left the ignition on and unattended for period of time.
This is a feature I never knew I wanted until my new car came with it. If I drove a Bimmer, I’d keep a small fire extinguisher suitable for putting out electrical fires.
I love that this is a “Bangle butt” 7 series and not an E65/66 or 2001-2008 7 series ????
Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
BMW: Hold mein beer and watch this!
Why did I read that in the voice of Marvin the Martian?
Early BMW fragrance dispensers were equipped with rolled incense sticks instead of later “smell juice”. I’m guessing this is nag champa.
I’m either going to have to go find out what “leaking alternator brackets” could possibly mean or wait for more experienced commenter to elucidate. I love the sound of it.
I just looked it up myself. It’s an oil leak where the alternator bracket attaches to the engine block.
That’s hilarious. It sounds like something a crooked mechanic would say, but it is genuine. How BMW.
Interesting. I assumed he was instead referring to a water cooled alternator leak.
I believe there’s a different BMW with a water cooled alternator. In these the alternator bracket appears to just block off some oil passages: https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/alternator-bracket-oil-leak.583242/
Whiffs of smoke from the steering wheel? Someone used the turn signals, and the steering wheel cancelling the signals caused smoke to escape.
They need to tie the new steering wheel cooling circuit to the directional stalk. If you haven’t signaled a turn or lane change in the last ten minutes, whoomp, it all goes up in flames. Many BMW drivers will die.
I figured nobody had ever (EVER) used the blinkers in a BMW and they just revealed a serious wiring design mistake by being the first one.
I acknowledge and appreciate your subtle reference to steering wheels not flying out of the window while you’re driving.
This reminds me of the Pontiac Bonneville I owned two decades ago. The batter was under the rear seat, which wasn’t an issue until one of my friends who was 6’9″ and 350lbs sat back there and caused the seat spring to bridge the battery posts. His “Is it normal that my butt feels like it is on fire and smoking?” made me laugh so hard I almost didn’t care about the damage to the seat.
Had somewhat similar incident in my childhood. For some reason I don’t remember, we were ferrying people to an extended family event and I got stuck on the center console between the front seats of some compact station wagon of the 70’s. I wondered why my rear end was getting so warm, only to find out when we got to the nearby destination that I had managed to activate the cigarette lighter and make it stay on so that it melted a hole in the center console. Oops. Got a number of laughs at the family event that way…
This happened to large rear seat Beetle passengers for the same reason too back when those cars were older and neglected.
As a mechanical engineer, I can confidently say that electrical component let out the magic smoke and will now no longer work. The magic smoke must stay trapped inside the box, giving the mystery electrical device it’s life force. /s
My inability to picture those magical electrons moving is why I’m also an ME.
Actually, I have some background in hydraulics and they are almost exactly the same. A resistor is a flow control, a capacitor an accumulator, a diode a pressure reducer, etc…
Nearly every hydraulic component has an electrical system analogue.
Yes, mechanical analogs for resistors, capacitors and inductors are dampers, springs and masses, respectively.
“If you think you understand quantum physics, you don’t understand quantum physics”
–some famous quantum physicist, allegedly
It’s quantum physically impossible to know both the quote and who said it.
Same, I can heard microns but electrons elude me.
Software also lets the magic smoke out, or so my end users would say.
As an electrical/electronics engineer, that is technically correct.
This is my favorite electrical joke, and also why I avoid wiring complex things in my vehicles. If not for that magic smoke, I would probably have engine swapped a few of my cars by now. It’s also why I sold a MK7 GTI after only owning it for 8 months. The PTSD from past electrical issues in VW products made me paranoid whenever it had an alert bing or bong. I was always afraid the dash would throw up lights when it was not December. Fun car, but not for me.
Shit happens. Both Volvo and Saab had recalls for seat heating elements that could catch the seats on fire.
But in 20+ years of being on BMW forums, I have never heard of this issue. And most BMWs have had heated steering wheels as standard for a long time. In fact, both my e91 and e88 would have had heated wheels even without the optional heated seats. Once you have had one, hard to live without if you live in a cold climate. Same with heated seats – I use mine all the time in Florida.
You paid for a heated steering wheel.
The OFF button is extra. Monthly subscription.
I hope BMW never discovers how sketchy phone apps work and switches to a bi-weekly model. 🙂
The thing is, they proposed a subscription model for features that are already physically installed and hooked up, meaning you could have an electrical fire caused by an option you didn’t pay for and were never able to use
But you’d still be liable for the damages!
The industry works SO hard to screw over its own customers, it’s hilarious.
Came here just for the subscription joke.
Special option for the French market?
Your wallet just caught fire.
LoL! Perfect response!