mousebat wrote:Don't suppose the buttons can simply be retrofit to the standard flat bottomed gti wheel?
Define 'simply'...
Yes they can be retrofitted, see e.g:
{How-To} Polo 6R MFL nachrüsten (it's in German but it should be all there). I just ordered a set of (2nd hand) buttons for my FB wheel through the German fifth-letter-Bay. An entire trim piece is swapped for a buttoned one, plus you'll need a button control module to go inside the wheel:
I've already documented the removal of the old trim a year ago when I got my buttonless flat-bottom Scirocco wheel for my Polo. I knew the pics would come handy at some point!
To get to the trim, you'll obviously need to remove the airbag first. I don't know about UK legislation, but e.g. in Germany it's illegal for anyone but a properly trained person to work on airbags. Consider the legal disclaimers thus fulfilled...
When removing an airbag, you first MUST disconnect the battery negative lead and should then wait for at least 15 minutes before moving on. The GTI airbag is held by two springed steel loops you'll need to reach for from behind the wheel with a flat screwdriver:
The 'old' buttonless trim piece, the two sides are connected by an arc:
The trim piece is held by just two screws, one on both sides:
And off comes the trim:
That's the mechanical part. The wheel and airbag both have same part numbers for both buttonless and buttoned GTIs, so there is room inside the 'buttonless' wheel for the extra buttons control module.
Then there's the wiring. It's a bit more complicated since there are wiring differences between standard Polos with and without a MFSW. And there might be differences between a buttonless standard Polo and a buttonless GTI, since the GTI already has the wiring for the gearchange paddles. But there are three main things that (may) need addressing:
- The wiring from the Central Electronics module behind the dashboard to the steering column. Buttonless standard Polos need two (or was it just one...) extra wires added, I'm not sure of the GTI.
- The wiring inside the steering wheel. The horn buttons are wired differently between buttoned and buttonless standard Polos, so you might need to modify (or change) the SW internal wiring loom. Again I don't knw how it is for the GTI.
- The coding of the Central Electronics module. This is needed to A) get the horn to work B) to get the RHS buttons to work.
I'll be tackling this job on my standard Polo with a buttonless Scirocco FBSW once my buttons hopefully soon arrive from Germany.