When buying my new vehicle, the top priority was a heated steering wheel. I was smitten with the Mazda CX-5, and to get the heated wheel required the highest trim level. OK, no problem -- I liked the other features at that level, especially the leather, the heads-up display and power lift gate. It's unbelievably luxurious to feel that warm leather wheel -- almost erotic. But the danged wheel is only heated at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Amazing. What would it have cost to heat the entire wheel (after all, when one is turning a corner or backing into a stall, one uses the whole wheel). So please, Mazda, in upcoming editions of this fine vehicle consider the following options: 1) have heated steering as a simple option add-on. and 2) run the heating element all around the wheel. And while I'm dreaming, I'd also love to be able to remote-start the heated steering; it warms up pretty fast, but it would be so sweet to step in the vehicle and have a toasty warm wheel. I added after-market Viper remote start to the car (given the horrible ratings of Mazda Remote Start), but I'm environmentally conscious and unlikely to use it in less than severe conditions. And it works great but can't warm the wheel, which is the main thing.

 

Uncfred, I understand your frustration. I have never had a heated steering wheel, however, I see where it would be a great thing to have and agree that it makes no sense to only heat a small portion of the wheel. An unheated wheel never bothered me in the past, but for the past few years, I have kept cotton gloves in the car for when it is below 10 or so.

Be careful with the remote start. I have heard of a few times where a vehicle left running in a garage has killed the family in the house and I often wonder if the car was accidentally started with a remote starter.

Other than the disappointment with the wheel, I hope you enjoy your new Mazda and stick around the forum.

 

Yep, very important to use caution with remote start because of carbon monoxide risk. This actually threatened my parents' lives one night when they inadvertently left their car running in the garage which was directly underneath their bedroom. Fortunately they had a working CO monitor that woke them and they could take action. My car is in a detached garage so there's little risk to me, but it's still important advice. And the Viper will, in theory, shut off on its own after 15 minutes, so the accumulation of CO toxins would be minimized. What I'm having more trouble getting used to is turning off the danged engine with the push button! It's my first time with keyless start and more than once I've arrived at my destination and failed to turn off the car. It beeps at me like crazy when I depart the vehicle, and I bet I'll get more accustomed to hitting that button. But it's funny once you no longer have to "turn off" the key and remove it how easy it is to skip the step of powering down the engine. And the 2018 CX-5 has so much sound mitigation that it's actually quite hard to hear that the engine is running. And unlike the Viper which should shut down on its own, if I leave the engine running through absent-mindedness it will keep running until it's out of fuel -- wasteful and dangerous.