Airbag Cover Removal

[txpat3]

Attempting to install a new steering wheel, but completely stuck and frustrated at getting the airbag cover off. I can feel the spring on either side with an Allen wrench, but nothing seems to “pop” off. I’m pulling at the airbag cover with a lot of force while depressing the spring and still having no luck. Is there a trick to this I’m missing?? Been going at it for almost an hour now!

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[txpat3]

Well, I think complaining about my difficulty on the internet did the trick lol. Finally got it off. Hoping the rest goes smoothly!

 

[m3incorp]

Which steering wheel are you installing?

 

[Elp_jc]

I think complaining about my difficulty on the internet did the trick lol. Finally got it off.

Hey, how about posting a DETAILED explanation how did you remove it, from the start? I asked that question a while back, and nobody replied. Probably not going to mess with it now, but curious how to remove it. So far, EVERY mod I've made ends up with some damage. Stupid Ford should design panels to be removed. Did the GT350 gauge pod, and the plastic part that holds the upper tab of the little piece that goes below the large one, was permanently deformed when I pulled on the little piece. And I didn't just yank on it, like the videos do. Once I opened a gap to see inside, I stopped pulling, and used a trim tool to hold the plastic behind it. But the damage was done... although it wasn't apparent until I reinstalled everyhting. There was a horrible gap between the lower part and the upper one. Was able to correct it by drilling a small screw, but I'm afraid to do anything to this stupid car. And same to my ex-F150. Whatever you remove; it never goes back to factory fit; really frustrating. So I'm probably done now. The 'Bullitt' on the horn doesn't bother me now, like when I first saw it in pictures. Hopefully you can put everything back without any fit issues. Good luck.

 

[Bikeman315]

Hey, how about posting a DETAILED explanation how did you remove it, from the start? I asked that question a while back, and nobody replied. Probably not going to mess with it now, but curious how to remove it. So far, EVERY mod I've made ends up with some damage. Stupid Ford should design panels to be removed. Did the GT350 gauge pod, and the plastic part that holds the upper tab of the little piece that goes below the large one, was permanently deformed when I pulled on the little piece. And I didn't just yank on it, like the videos do. Once I opened a gap to see inside, I stopped pulling, and used a trim tool to hold the plastic behind it. But the damage was done... although it wasn't apparent until I reinstalled everyhting. There was a horrible gap between the lower part and the upper one. Was able to correct it by drilling a small screw, but I'm afraid to do anything to this stupid car. And same to my ex-F150. Whatever you remove; it never goes back to factory fit; really frustrating. So I'm probably done now. The 'Bullitt' on the horn doesn't bother me now, like when I first saw it in pictures. Hopefully you can put everything back without any fit issues. Good luck.

This should be all the detail you need. All you needed for the 15-17 cars was a pick. As noted in the video the 18+ spring was harder so he used the Allen key.

 

[txpat3]

I was able to find the spring using a small allen wrench, but it kept slipping off the spring (or so it felt). Honestly, both sides eventually just "popped" the airbag cover loose - no pulling of the airbag cover was required on my end. I think what helped me was finding a video online that showed the back of the airbag cover, specifically the spring setup so I could visualize what I was doing while messing around with the allen wrench in those tiny holes. I can locate that video on youtube if anyone needs it. The install process from start to finish took me about 3 hours. The entire first hour was struggling with that airbag cover! The rest of the install would have gone more quickly, but I got everything from the old wheel transferred to the new wheel before realizing that the airbag cover springs weren't included on the new frame. So, I had to take everything off and start over. This was a bit of a stressful job and I'm by no means a mechanic, but I like trying to tackle my own mods (who doesn't love that sense of accomplishment?).

As for the steering wheel itself, I got it from Carbon Bargain. Went with a flat top/bottom dry carbon and perforated leather wheel with a blue center stripe and blue stitching. I think it looks great and feels really nice. Here's a quick pic I snapped after finishing up the install last night. I'll take more pics in the sunlight this weekend, if anyone wants them.

 

[opengl]

I had MUCH better luck with a flathead screwdriver with large handle than a little allen key. A lot easier on your hands to manipulate and get leverage against those springs which are really strong.

 

[txpat3]

I had MUCH better luck with a flathead screwdriver with large handle than a little allen key. A lot easier on your hands to manipulate and get leverage against those springs which are really strong.

That's really what I should have used, but didn't find a thin enough flathead until later on when I was moving the clips from the stock wheel to the new wheel. I have blisters on my fingers from the little allen wrench lol!

 

[leviathan21]

I have a 2020 Mustang GT, be careful when sticking a tool in there (I used an allen key exactly like CJ Pony said too). I removed my steering wheel today to replace it with another one, and I cut a wire to my controls because it was in the way of the spring from the Factory!!! (See attached Pictures, you'll see the blue wire on the right side of the wheel that was cut because it was in the channel for the air bag spring!)

I had to sodder the wire back together and use heat shrink tubing around it to repair it. Pissed me off, and then to top it all off, when I put everything back together again I got an AirBag warning light.. I tried to pop the AirBag off again, but this time I spent hours trying to pull the damn thing off, but couldn't get it. Only 1 side at a time would pop up, and I could never get the other side to pop off without first re-attaching the other side.. frustrating to say the least, my hands are raw from trying over and over.. I gave up, reconnected the battery and to my surprise the AirBag light went away?

Pain the ass design...

See pictures:

 

[kiksbutt]

Are there any aftermarket products that retain heater feature if you have it?

 

[Bikeman315]

Are there any aftermarket products that retain heater feature if you have it?

Yes there are some aftermarket wheels that have the heated function. Do a search under steering wheels. There was a recent one that addressed this.

 

[txpat3]

I have a 2020 Mustang GT, be careful when sticking a tool in there (I used an allen key exactly like CJ Pony said too). I removed my steering wheel today to replace it with another one, and I cut a wire to my controls because it was in the way of the spring from the Factory!!!

Pain the ass design.

And to think I thought my install gave me a hard time. That really sucks, sorry to hear your steering wheel swap was such a nightmare. How’s the new wheel though? I’m really loving mine!

 

[Calhoun]

I will say that that step was the most frustrating one in the entire steering wheel replacement process.

 

[Elp_jc]

I'm very frustrated with Ford's approach to design crap to only install it once. Both on my F-150 and Mustang, everything I've done (and very carefully), always needed extra work to fix stuff to make it fit back like factory... and not everything did, even after that. Those stupid metal clips are crap. They always bite into the plastic when pulled (the only question is how much, which depends on how hard you had to pull), never fitting like factory again, because of play. I fix that by pushing clips all the way to their stops again, and filling the gouges with 'crazyglue', to avoid the play I mentioned above. And in addition, if not pulled perfectly perpendicular, they just don't release, like it was the case with the roof console (to change the map lights to LEDs), leading to permanent deformation, or broken plastic. Fortunately, I didn't break anything, but had to spend a ton of time fixing the damn thing so the console fit like factory again (it didn't, but close; at least tight enough that nobody can tell, and it doesn't move or make noises).

Then to install the gauges, the little piece to the right of the glovebox has one of those metal clips, and stupidly, it's attached to an unsupported piece of plastic that deformed, not allowing it to sit flush against the side of the dash, and against the upper trim part that houses the gauges. Looked like crap. Had to drill a hole and find a thin/small screw to fix the flush issue. And then it was to one side, so had to insert a rubber spacer on the inside of the glove box to finally make it fit back like factory. Geez.

I'm done with this stupid car. Just hope the infamous 'C' rattle that I can already start hearing on the right side, doesn't force me to remove even more crap. With all my previous European, and Japanese/Asian vehicles, never had that issue. You could always put things back to factory. Worst that could happen was breaking or losing a plastic clip, but that's easy to remedy. Oh well. For less 'anal' folks all of that might not be a problem. But for guys like me, it always is. Ha ha. And yes, sometimes I hate myself .

 

[Bikeman315]

I'm very frustrated with Ford's approach to design crap to only install it once. Both on my F-150 and Mustang, everything I've done (and very carefully), always needed extra work to fix stuff to make it fit back like factory... and not everything did, even after that. Those stupid metal clips are crap. They always bite into the plastic when pulled (the only question is how much, which depends on how hard you had to pull), never fitting like factory again, because of play. I fix that by pushing clips all the way to their stops again, and filling the gouges with 'crazyglue', to avoid the play I mentioned above. And in addition, if not pulled perfectly perpendicular, they just don't release, like it was the case with the roof console (to change the map lights to LEDs), leading to permanent deformation, or broken plastic. Fortunately, I didn't break anything, but had to spend a ton of time fixing the damn thing so the console fit like factory again (it didn't, but close; at least tight enough that nobody can tell, and it doesn't move or make noises).

Then to install the gauges, the little piece to the right of the glovebox has one of those metal clips, and stupidly, it's attached to an unsupported piece of plastic that deformed, not allowing it to sit flush against the side of the dash, and against the upper trim part that houses the gauges. Looked like crap. Had to drill a hole and find a thin/small screw to fix the flush issue. And then it was to one side, so had to insert a rubber spacer on the inside of the glove box to finally make it fit back like factory. Geez.

I'm done with this stupid car. Just hope the infamous 'C' rattle that I can already start hearing on the right side, doesn't force me to remove even more crap. With all my previous European, and Japanese/Asian vehicles, never had that issue. You could always put things back to factory. Worst that could happen was breaking or losing a plastic clip, but that's easy to remedy. Oh well. For less 'anal' folks all of that might not be a problem. But for guys like me, it always is. Ha ha. And yes, sometimes I hate myself .

Manufacturers find the easiest way to get things done during the build process. Unfortunately what is easiest to build is not always the easiest to unbuild and rebuild. As far as the air bag, they want that to be difficult. One reason is you do not want your airbag to be dislodged in an accident. Ford is thinking safety, not owner modifications.

By the way cars are neither smart or stupid. Your Mustang, for better or worse is a Ford. Some of the things you are experiencing are normal. Frustrating, but normal. If you cannot deal with them than maybe you should go back to a foreign car. I say stick with it for awhile. You'll get used to it.

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