Flappy paddles steering wheel in Tiguan.

[High-Fidelity]

The eBay item doesn't have paddles tho

Of course... I was responding to someone that asked about a wheel without paddles, which is slightly off topic for the thread, but the rest of the info is relevant.

[tigger73]

I've got a flappy paddle steering wheel on the way..... type R badge but without airbag.

Next question is how to figure out which airbag to get as there seems to be some differences on the part # on the airbag (and possibly cables???)

Any suggestions from people that have already been down this path.

Also my other concern is buying off ebay/net and getting a knock-off (non-genuine) part.

As it's a pretty critical piece of equipment (like you want it to work when you need it to), I'm a little concerned buying stuff from Hong Kong.

I've noticed that there are a few people selling airbags from Europe but not sure if anyone has had any experience with any of these.

Should I wait until I get the wheel to order an airbag or are all Mk6 airbags the same?

[ido09s]

Also my other concern is buying off ebay/net and getting a knock-off (non-genuine) part.

As it's a pretty critical piece of equipment (like you want it to work when you need it to), I'm a little concerned buying stuff from Hong Kong.

I've noticed that there are a few people selling airbags from Europe but not sure if anyone has had any experience with any of these.

Should I wait until I get the wheel to order an airbag or are all Mk6 airbags the same?

This is pretty much where i am stuck..... you can find stuff for sale on ebay pretty easily but who are the genuine sellers?

I not only want to change my steering wheel for an R wheel with paddles but i also want to get myself a sat nav unit but dont know who sells the right gear

[Ryan_R]

If the price matches what we paid and the seller has >99% feedback then you should be fine. Photos help (make sure any watermarks match the store name and aren't obviously copied from elsewhere). Part numbers will often change but this doesn't always mean newer versions are incompatible. Just make sure the shape of the airbag and the clip system matches. RNS510's are best purchased from the UK, have AUS maps already loaded, show a security code card, and cost around $1000-1200.

[tigger73]

OK my "R" steering wheel with flappy paddles arrived today. Next step is to get the right airbag and cable to suit.

I spoke to my local VW dealer (spare parts dept), however they were not prepared/able to assist. First they don't want to give advice to something that is non-standard as they don't want it to come back and bite them in the rear end. The other reason I think they don't want to help is they know if they quote me the part number that works, I'll go and source it somewhere else at 1/5th the price.

Strike 1.

So I've checked around online and there are a number of airbags/cables advertised with very similar part numbers 5K0 880 201 A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H etc (only the last letter changes). The only problem I have is to know the right one to buy and what the last letter means (and if this is going to matter).

If anyone can shed some light here that would be greatly appreciated.

Second can any of you guys that have already done this modification tell me if you used the Tiguan wiring or if you used the Golf Mk6 wiring for your airbag? i.e. if I need to buy and airbag with the wiring harness or if I just need to get the bag.

I'm hoping that if someone can provide the answers it will help other people looking to do this mod but not knowing where to start (if you can't buy a wheel with an air bag)

[aussietig]

I thought I stated that in my first post in this thread that existing Tiguan wiring harness works.

Again, based on my own experience you just need to get the bag.

If that fails, then you just buy the harness. No loss.

[tigger73]

I thought I stated that in my first post in this thread that existing Tiguan wiring harness works.

Again, based on my own experience you just need to get the bag.

If that fails, then you just buy the harness. No loss.

Thanks - wasn't sure which harness you ended up using.

Will do as you suggested and try the Tig harness first. Worst case I'll have to buy the Mk6 harness.

Now just to work out which airbag to get....

[Ryan_R]

I used my existing wiring in the Golf as well, no changes there, no issues.

Last letter in part numbers usually just means incremental revisions over time (at last as far as bluetooth and RNS510 part numbers go)

[tigger73]

I used my existing wiring in the Golf as well, no changes there, no issues.

Last letter in part numbers usually just means incremental revisions over time (at last as far as bluetooth and RNS510 part numbers go)

Yeah so the million dollar question is are the various revisions compatible. The wheel I've got is brand new - date stamp is 05/2012. Do you know what the airbag has to be compatible with? i.e. what bit is it talking to and what is going to throw up a fault?

I've had a look at the wheel and there's a 5 pin plug in the base of the steering wheel (that the wiring harness from the airbag goes into) and the other cables from the multi-function buttons end up around here as well. Is this just a connector for all the cables to feed back further down the steering column or is there some "smarts" under the bit of black plastic?

At the end of the day all I ned to know is do I get an airbag to match the electronics of my Tig or to match the electrics of the steering wheel?

I'm guessing there's revision numbers for a reason... any idea how to find out what the various updates/changes would be and then if there's any compatibility issues.

Local VW spare parts guy has everything tied back to a VIN so that really doesn't help that much.

[Leec33]

Tigger.. Where did you get the wheel from? Do you know if they have anymore?