Sticky Steering wheel

[jsr]

Has anyone else noticed their steering wheel is sticky?

The leather where you grip and 10 and 2 oclock is getting more and more sticky, especially as your hands warm up the leather.

It's my wifes car and has done 4300 miles. She doesn't have any products etc on her hands that would transfer to the wheel. I've tried cleaning it regularly with Autoglym leather cleaner and then treating with AG leather balm, and whilst this helps for a few days it does become sticky again pretty soon after.

I went to Citroen today as all four wheels have started corroding so they've taken photos for the warranty claim (which he didn't seem surprised about) but he was surprised about the steering wheel, so again he's going to look into that as they may need to order a new one of those.

I have to say I am not impressed with the quality of this car. Considering it wasn't much cheaper than a comparable Mini, it really is disappointing that after 8 months it's already needing new wheels and maybe a steering wheel. The interior is rattling as well and there is an intermittent running problem (can't maintain idle) but since Citroen last had it, it hasn't done that again.

[Yellow]

it must be fixed if the intermittent prob isn't there then. The wheels should get changed as the problem has been known for over a year. I've had loads of sweaty hands on my steering wheel and nothing happened. The stickyness can occur through overuse of leather products. I used to clean leather regularly and if you over did it then the surface felt like sticky soap.

[Buzz61]

I know someone who had the wheels on his M3 replaced under warranty twice for the same corrosion problem that not only the DS3 suffers, but most cars with polished and laquered alloys wheels. It's one of those things.

[gar074]

27000 miles on my THP, and no trace of stickiness on the steering wheel.

And I'm a sweaty-palmed bastard when the going gets twisty.

My advice?

Lay off the Paddington Bear-type sandwiches while at the wheel.

[Arlow]

I know someone who had the wheels on his M3 replaced under warranty twice for the same corrosion problem that not only the DS3 suffers, but most cars with polished and laquered alloys wheels. It's one of those things.

Had the wheels on my Toyota MR2 Roadster replaced just before the 3 year warranty ran out as the coating had started to bubble up as if there was corrosion going on underneath. So as with the BMW mentioned even manufacturers known for their build quality have problems.

[charliechap]

I had a 60 plate c3 & the steering wheel on that used to get very sticky & all i used to do was clean it with baby wipes & was ok for a few weeks before it neede another clean!

[Chris_Blue]

Those leather "wrap" steering wheel covers are pretty good. Wrap them round the wheel, and then coil the black PVC twine around and the grip is pretty good. Only a fiver- prevents a sticky wheel, and also grips better if your hands are dry.
Its a bit silly wearing gloves nowadays!
CBLUE

[furryjen79]

I wiped my interior over (including the wheel) with Turtle Wax Interior wipes and since then I've noticed a 'sticky wheel'. Keep meaning to look into what I should be cleaning it with to avoid/remove this.

[nicksharp400]

Clean it with a damp micro fibre cloth you will probably find its not real leather and you are literally melting away the top surface of the leather with the chemicals found in the wipes leather cleaners etc.

[furryjen79]

Thanks Nick

[Bigfeet]

As nick said the leather on the steering wheel is not real leather but the fake stuff, using cleaning products on the wheel is a bad idea as it gets adsorbed into the material and when you put your hot hands back onto the wheel it will draw it out again.

For me the best way to clean the steering wheel is to just use a damp cloth to wipe the surface.

[ZACK]

Your Wife Needs To Wipe Her Hands After She's Finished With Ya...

[jsr]

Thanks for the replies guys.
The steering wheel went really sticky before I started cleaning it. I don't usually clean the wheel unless it needs it but as it was getting really sticky it needed something as a wet microfibre did nothing. A previous clio 182 suffered from 'steering wheel melt' where the entire fake leather covering basically went sticky and started an effect like melting. It did it just as the warranty expired so I ended up paying to have the wheel retrimmed. That was almost acceptable - over 3 years old and 30k+, however we noticed this on the DS after 2,000 miles.

The DS3 brochure states on page 27 that the steering wheel is Leather. Surely if it is not real leather, they cannot say it is?

[Owd git]

my C2 VTS had a 'leather' steering wheel. After 30 odd thousand miles and out of warranty I noticed that it started to wrinkle where my hands rested.

There appeared to be a thin plastic like coating that was coming adrift. Scraping bits of that off revealed a sort of slightly sticky base which could have been leather.

I sold it on shortly afterwards so didn't investigate further, but I suspect that the DS has the same sort of thing - I shall be keeping a careful eye on it.

I agree if it aint leather then they are misrepresenting things

[Bigfeet]

The steering wheel is made from leather, just the man made stuff rather than moo-moo so what's stated in the brochure is not mis-representation.