Damage to my multi-purpose steering wheel

[jquest]

I need to replace the plastic center cap on my 2002 mini cooper multi -purpous leather steering wheel. Any whay to do this without replaceing the the entire airbag assembly?

[Tonyt3]

Quote: Originally Posted by jquest

I need to replace the plastic center cap on my 2002 mini cooper multi -purpous leather steering wheel. Any whay to do this without replaceing the the entire airbag assembly?

I am not an expert but I don't think that this is possible. sorry. How did it get damaged, was it yourself or perhaps the garage?

[jquest]

I had to park oputside last nigth so i used The Club on my steering wheel. When i woke up this morning that darn thing left a big dent and scratch on my center cap!!!!!

[NEMINI]

well stop using that useless club then

Sorry to hear you damaged your steering wheel tho hope there is a way to sort it ... have you inquired with your dealer?

[jquest]

Yeah they qouted me 250.00 U.S. dollars to buyt the part and that did not include labor.

[NEMINI]

which part is damaged specifically? the black area or is it just paint damage to the silver ring around it? if its the silver ring you could repaint it yourself (perhaps body color to be different?) just some thoughts

[jquest]

Both actually : (. But repaiting is not a bad idea. Do you know how to remove the cap for painting?

[NEMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by jquest

Both actually : (. But repaiting is not a bad idea. Do you know how to remove the cap for painting?

by the looks tha ttached drawing I don't thing u will be able to take it off

[jquest]

Wow thanks for the info!
I was able to find some pin stripe tape that will do the trick for now.

[stryder]

Just to reiterate what other people have said, the center is attached to the rest of the wheel, it only detaches if the airbag goes off, so your pin stripe idea sounds very good. Let us know how it turns out.

The centers are very prone to scratching, and its just a poor design that you need to replace for a little scratch.

[NEMINI]

Once I get around to having a body shop paint some of my interior bits I'm gonna take a bit of left over paint and repaint that silver ring and then clear coat it myself (scratched mine before I even got it out of the showroom the day I was picking it up ... how you ask? Hang nail of all things )

[planeguy]

Can some one get a part number and or price for the piece #7 in the photo?

I too scratched my ring

[Fullupo]

Yeah i manged to put a scratch on my plastic shiny bit in the middle about the 2nd day i had my car. Can only see it form certain angles when the light hits it and ive always wanted to replace it. I aint buying the whole wheel tho so guess i wont bother

[Crashnet2000]

Quote: Originally Posted by stryder

Just to reiterate what other people have said, the center is attached to the rest of the wheel, it only detaches if the airbag goes off, so your pin stripe idea sounds very good. Let us know how it turns out.

The centers are very prone to scratching, and its just a poor design that you need to replace for a little scratch.

it is attached to the airbag ? am i right ? so the whole thing needs to be taken down, mask it with some good tape and repaint the silver ring ? ahhh damn, can i only take off the center bit ?

[stryder]

I'm not exactly sure of the entire organization, but I'm pretty sure you'd have to take the entire airbag assembly out of the steering wheel to mask off the silver ring outside the car. The entire cover (MINI logo + silver stuff) is attached to the airbag assembly (not the bag specifically) and isn't removable from the airbag assembly without breaking something.

Perhaps someone who has the parts catalog can show you the pictures of how it goes together, but in any case, its not an easy task to paint it if you expect to separate it from the car.