I've been thinking about trying to put a 5th gen steering wheel on one of our trucks, and doing some fairly simple circuitry to get the buttons working on an aftermarket radio. Will the steering shaft splines match? Are the clock springs interchangeable? Thanks in advance everyone!

I'd be interested in your definition of "fairly simple" for the circuitry...

That said, the splines likely fit. The clockspring is unlikely to fit. The 3rd gen clock spring has no extra pins available, but similar year Lexus model (GS300, etc.) clock springs do fit and will have extra pins for use (at least 2, maybe 3 or 4 extra wires, I have forgotten).

There's also the issue of airbags - the 5th gen will have a multi-stage, but the 3rd gen is a single stage bag. So, a bit to figure out on that front too.

I have a leather + steering wheel control project that I have been working on on and off for a while now using a 1st gen Sienna wheel. The controls on that need to be gutted and modified to work (I'm modding it to a simple resistive setup from the multiplex bus comms style). So, involved electronics but simple mechanically.

It'll be like this, but all black:


-Charlie

Thanks for the info, especially on the Lexus Clock Spring front! I control all my offroad/work lighting with CAN currently, so I have a feeling the circuitry won't be all that bad compared to that. I was planning on converting it to a resistive setup like you, I was just hoping for some more buttons for Android Auto! Good thinking on the airbag. Will have to do research regarding that as I'm not interested in losing the bag.

Thanks,
Kiwi

It's doable, I swapped in a 4th gen (or equivalent year) steering wheel + airbag, from what I see, you can swap to a single stage potentially, depending on the 5th gen's holes to mount it. If you look through my post history (or just search on the forum) you'll find my post about my swap.

If you're planning to swap it, I would highly recommend upgrading your clockspring to something that either would work with the wheel, or repinning the 5th gen to use a different one. The clockspring I used for my swap had enough pins for everything.

Hoping our man, @phattyduck is doing OK in Pasadena!!

The fire got within about a half mile of us. Plenty of ash and cleanup to do, but we are safe (I moved the 4Runner a few miles down to the road when we left in the van - my wife was too sick with a cold to drive herself and the kids far, so I had to leave the 4Runner nearby).

We do know a number of people who lost houses though...

-Charlie

Glad to hear you are ok and safe and sound. Everyone is hoping the fires get dealt with quiickly and lots of people are safe from them with as little death and injuries as possible. :-(