Nissan - steering wheel spacer installations instructions

Valid for:

This installation write-up has been made for the steering wheel spacer with part number starting with 370Z-… and NSN-… The last part number has been discountinued because the Nissan steering wheel spacer is now 1 single product that had been engineered to fit many different Nissan cars since the 1990s.

How can 1 single product fit so many cars?

Despite the steering wheels looking different from the outside, they have been all made on the same metal frame, which is hidden, and share the same spline pattern and clockspring matching.

This made possible to design and machine the steering wheel spacer in a way that fit all these cars.

At some point in early 2000s, Nissan revised the steering wheel core, but this revision has not been radical, because spline patttern didn’t change, and we could revise our project by just adding, in the aluminium hob, 2 slots and a pin’s hole, so that it is still possible to use 1 spacer for both pre and post steering wheel revision by just twisting the spacer at the moment of installation, to match the clockspring’s position of connectors.

It’s a very intuitive step you will notice yourself at the moment of installation.

Exclusion:

Nissan cars manufactured under partnership with Renault share a Renault steering wheel spacer and they don’t follow this instruction guide.

They are:

For Nissan Pulsar C13 since 2014, also called Nissan Tilda
For Nissan Qashqai J11 since 2013 to 2021, also called Rogue Sport in USA
For Nissan Juke F16 since 2019.
For Nissan X-Trail mk3 T32 since 2013
For Nissan Rogue mk2 T32 since 2013

NOTES BEFORE INSTALLATION:

1) Park the car with the wheels straight before installation, otherwise you risk “missing a tooth” during assembly and find yourself with the steering wheel slightly off centre while driving straight.

2) Disconnect the battery before starting, thus avoiding the illumination of lights at the end. Wait 30 min to let remaining electric power discharge from the car.

3) Be careful when handling the cables coming out from the clockspring behind the steering wheel, do not pull them even accidentally and unlock the connector clip before disconnecting, otherwise you risk to damage or rotate too much the steering angle sensor and hear an annoying “click” while driving, and you have to do the whole procedure again. Don’t worry, this problem comes if you really pulled the wires hard, you can’t generate this problem while just handling the wires.

INSTALLATION

Check the video tutorial at the bottom of this product page, or videos on the internet that show how to disassemble the steering wheel of your specific Nissan. Watching one or two before starting helps to do everything more comfortably and without doing damage. In any case, we’ll summarize the main points here.

Reading OEM workshop manual is also very useful.

Airbag removal

The Nissan airbags are anchored to the steering wheel OR by clamps, OR by bolts. Usually, 1 to 3 clamps or 2 to 3 bolts.

To unlock the airbag, just release clamp springs (or unscrew the bolts). Take your time to locate the springs (or screws): the access holes to unlock the airbag are on the behind the steering wheel spokes.

They may be covered by plastic caps, which just pops out, or hidden in the soft plastic core.

If your airbag is fixed by springs: push them in with a screwdriver until the corresponding part of the airbag clicks and pops out a little bit from the steering wheel. Remember: you can take a long time to find the proper action that release the lock. Don’t get angry, you don’t need strong force. Example of tutorial with CLAMPED airbag removal
If there are screws instead of springs, they are usually hard to unlock, then it only takes a few turns to be completely unscrewed. They are made to stay in place and not fall away when unscrewed. Dont’ attempt to fully remove them from the steering wheel, once you free the airbag, it’s enough. Example of tutorial with BOLTED airbag removal

When the airbag is in your hands, disconnect the connector (can be 1 or 2). Connector(s) will not come off even if pulling hard, unless you first lift the safety clip with a flat screwdriver. Can still require force after this.

Lay the airbag far away from everyone.

REMOVE THE STEERING WHEEL

Unscrew the central nut without removing it completely: the steering wheel can make sort of “glue effect” on the steering column and you may need to pull and shake it hard to unlock it.

So, leave the nut still partially screwed in and make sure that, by pulling, the steering wheel slides on the steering column and does not come off suddenly, tearing up the wires between the steering wheel and the car.
You may need a puller to unlock the wheel. It’s quite cheap, available at tool shop. It’s a generic too you can find useful in any other do-it-yourself job, even not car related, so, better have than not.

After ensuring the steering wheel slides on the steering column, remove the nut, unplug the remaining connector(s), if any, and pull out the steering wheel by gently sliding the cables into the steering wheel slots.

Now you can install the spacer.

INSTALL THE STEERING WHEEL SPACER

The steering wheel spacer is shipped pre-assembled, and in order to proceed with the installation you must separate the aluminum part from the steel one by unscrewing the M6 Allen screws.

Pay attention to the following step, because if you skip it, the steering wheel spacer will not be secured to the steering column!

Insert the aluminum hub (the one with the black cover) into the steering column, passing the airbag wiring harness across the slot(s).

Find the combinations of slots that suits your clockspring. Depending on the car’s model and year, it’ll use some of the slots machined in the spacer’s aluminium. Twist the spacer to find the proper combination, and don’t twist the clockspring trying to match it. Clockspring must never been twisted: leave it in the orientation it was when you removed the steering wheel.

Tight the central big nut/screw (that was previously holding the steering wheel on the steering column itself) to a torque of at least 40 Nm. Check on car maker’s workshop manual.

Don’t overtorque! You can strip the thread on the steering column or damage the spacer. If you don’t have the torque wrench, it is useful to know that a quarter turn unlocks the nut/bolt, so the same force plus a little more in the opposite direction is enough to secure the steering wheel.

Less torque is better than overtorque: a loosen bolt/nut can be immediately recognized because you will feel a little play on the steering wheel, while an overtorqued bolt/nut can break down suddenly but not immediately (days / months later).

Bolt the splined shaft part of the spacer to the hub you just secured on the column, by tightening the M6 allen screws to 10 Nm. This is average man’s wrist force. Again, less strenght will result in play between the 2 parts, too much tightening torque (for example using whole arm strenght) will result in stripped threads and damaged spacer.

RE-INSTALLATION OF THE STEERING WHEEL

Insert the steering wheel into the spacer’s shaft and connect the connector from the steering wheel to the clockspring. You may need rto work with your fingers in a very little room, without seeing what you are exactly doing. Take your time to find the connector’s housing and push until you feel the click engaging sound of the connector.

Route the airbag wiring harness through the steering wheel slot and leave it pending, you will reconnect it later on.

Tighten the nut/bolt to at least 40 Nm. If you have a ratchet wrench with a handle of about 30 cm (1 ft), a vigorous squeeze of a quarter turn may suffice.

Again DON’T OVERTORQUE! You can damage either the steering wheel, the steering wheel column and the spacer itself. It can result in a very expensive mistake and a safety issue we don’t take liability for! Do your own research one time more about which is the torque required to properly tight the central bolt/nut.

The best source for this type of information is the official car manufacturer’s workshop manual. Asking a professional is a good choice too.

RE-INSTALLATION OF THE AIRBAG

This step is as easy as uncomfortable, because put airbag back in place is quick, while the prior set up requires to:

work very close to the steering wheel (think about hug it, seriously).
hold the airbag with one hand and reconnect its connectors with the other one.
work in a tiny room.
pay attention not to accidentaly pull the wires in while.

We strongly suggest to watch a video or 2, consult the car’s workshop manual or ask a professional.

Approach yourself to the steering wheel (slide the seat frontward if possible) and pre-align the airbag in the steering wheel housing, reconnect the horn cable and the airbag connector(s), airbag unit is also the horn.

Connect the longest last, and the shorter first: longer wire allows mobility to handle the airbag to connect the toughest, while not viceversa.

Don’t swap the airbag connectors (if there are more than 1), and don’t twist their orientation: connectors have different colors to prevent swap, and tabs to avoid wrong direction reconnection, but if you push hard they still go in and break, because they are made of plastic, which can break down.

The airbag cable (or cables) are long, but you may find little the room to tuck your hand in: use your fingers. It’s a more a “touch-feel” than a visual job: take a lot of time and patience. You hear a “click” both when the connector is in its place and then when you press the safety clip.

PUT AIRBAG BACK IN PLACE

Now that everything is re-connected, push back the airbag into the steering wheel. Align in its housing, and:

if clamped by springs, push hard (as when you give a hit of the horn) until they all click.
If bolted to the steering wheel frame, just re-tighten them. Do it gradually side by side and son’t tight too hard: when you can no longer turn the wrench (torx or Allen) with your hand, it is enough. We still suggest watching more than one tutorial on the internet.

Check that the airbag has the same mobility inside the steering wheel as before the installation. Can you press the horn with the same gap/feeling as before? Perfect!

RECONNECT THE BATTERY

Nobody should stay sit in the car while reconnecting the battery. If you did everything properly, nothing bad is going to happen, just avoid the risk of airbag deploy.

Turn on the engine at idle and check as follows.

Final post-installation checklist

there are no warning lights.
The stalk levers returns automatically.
You don’t hear noises or clicks when you turn the wheel.
Steering effort feels as prior the installation.
The steering wheel buttons, if available on the car, must all work immediately.
The horn works.
The existing steering wheel adjustments (both tilt and depth) works.
No break-in period is necessary and the steering wheel, when driving, must be as straight as before.
It may be that at idle the steering wheel vibrates slightly more than before, due to the greater distance from the engine, which is the source of vibrations.

Nissan – steering wheel spacer installations instructions