Installing a 2011 Jeep Steering Wheel in an Older JK Wrangler

Radio controls won’t work but the newer Jeep steering wheel retains airbag functionality and looks sportier.

In 2011, Jeep introduced a new, sportier steering wheel that was offered in a variety of models and forum member txjeeplover wanted the new look in his 2008 JK Wrangler. He made a thread back in 2012 and with the swap to the newer wheel being so popular, the discussion has gotten replies since then with other members asking questions or sharing information on their own project.

In 2018, “bbaskey” updated the original post with input of his own after performing the swap in his own Jeep Wrangler, offering some updated information six years after the discussion began.

Introduction

When the OP first started his thread, he explained why he made the change, what went into the change, and which features of the new steering wheel work on the older Jeep.

“I’ve wanted to convert my 2008 style steering wheel to the 2011 Jeep style since I first saw the re-design. I love my Jeep and its interior, but the new steering wheel with the three spoke design reminds me of the 80’s and 90’s YJs and XJs for which I have a great fondness.

I did tons of research before the conversion so I had an idea of what to expect. The only steering wheel that would work; would be the wheel from the 2011 and later JK or Liberty. I looked into purchasing a new wheel, but the total to build a new steering wheel came to over $1000. Instead, I waited months for the right deal to pop up on eBay. Eventually, I purchased a complete leather steering wheel from a 2011 Liberty for $80.00 and an airbag from a 2011 JK for $200.00. I had to buy bolts from Lowes to mount the airbag because these are not available from the dealer, but they were under $5.00.

The various steering wheel controls (radio, hand-free, etc.) WILL NOT FUNCTION for 2007 – 2010 JKs. The only way to get them to work; would be to have Chrysler re-program the pre-2011 TIPM to recognize the controllers. As someone else on the forum pointed out, the dealer cannot flash the TIPM to accept the input because it was not an option for earlier model years and Chrysler will only push out updates for electronics that were included in the Jeep’s model year sales code catalog.

The JK airbag connections are the same from 2007-2012, so the airbag was plug and play.

I spliced the connector for the 2011 horn into the wiring harness for the original 2008 steering wheel.

My Jeep came stock with cruise and I held out a glimmer of hope that the 2008 TIPM would accept input from the 2011 controller for the cruise commands, but it didn’t. I had to remove the cruise lever from my old steering wheel and mount it to the 2011 steering wheel frame.

So the functions that are working are the functions that I had previously. Considering that this was a purely cosmetic upgrade, I’m fine with that. No codes, no airbag light, horn works, cruise works, and of course it still steers! I’m now debating on whether or not to change out the shroud. I’ve ordered a charcoal one, but I keep changing my mind on whether or not to use it when it arrives.”

He also included the pictures shown here of his Wrangler before and after the swap.

Community Responds

With 10 pages of replies, there are plenty of comments from other members and almost all of them are positive. There are a few people who prefer the older steering wheel design, but for the most part, everyone prefers the newer look. This thread encouraged some other members to attempt the swap on their own Wrangler and the thread is chock full of discussion about the process of switching from one wheel to the other.

The most popular point of discussion when the thread was first posted was the lack of function with the radio controls. The OP reiterates several times that the problem is in the electronics of the vehicle and not the steering wheel, and the same was true of the 2011 cruise control level. The airbag system hadn’t changed, so that was plug-and-play and the horn was spliced in to work with some simple wiring, but even years later, there was no fix for the radio controls.

2018 Update

After years of discussion without input from the OP, “bbaskey” posted in 2018 to elaborate on the original post information. He copied and pasted the content of the original post, adding insight that wasn’t included back in 2012. Rather than copy that all here, you can read that specific post by clicking here.

I know this is several years later but I just did this install myself and wanted to update a couple things in case anyone else wanted to do it. I’m going to hopefully answer some questions that didn’t get answered throughout the thread. I’m going to post the original post and just edit the things that were missing. Because it’s 2018, I was able to use a 2015 steering wheel instead of a 2011 but worked all the same.

Click here to head into the forums to read all about adding a newer Jeep steering wheel to an earlier JK Wrangler.

Join the JK-Forums now!

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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