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Choosing a Steering Wheel Upgrade for the 70 Series & Nissan Patrol

Last updated: September 2026

Swap the wheel in a Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series or a Nissan Patrol and you'll feel it on the first drive. The factory wheels are large, thin-rimmed and built to a price. A thicker, better-shaped rim changes how your LandCruiser feels after eight hours behind it. It's also the one cabin job tangled up with safety hardware: your wheel holds the airbag, the horn and, on later builds, the cruise and audio buttons, and the clockspring behind it keeps those circuits alive as you turn. Pick a wheel that fits your platform, keeps the safety gear you started with and holds onto the buttons you actually use.

You're making a compliance decision as much as a styling one, because a steering wheel and airbag are safety-related parts. Where airbags, clocksprings and certification come up, treat the ADR Compliance hub as the authority and confirm anything specific to your build with a licensed automotive engineer.

Why owners change the wheel

  • Grip and comfort. The original rims are thin and slippery. A thicker rim with a contoured grip, perforated leather or suede sections cuts fatigue on corrugations and long touring days.
  • Feel and control. A flat-bottom or reshaped wheel frees up thigh room if you're tall, and gives you a clearer sense of where straight ahead sits.
  • Appearance. Your wheel is the centrepiece of the cabin. Owners often match it to a head unit upgrade and trim changes as part of a wider interior refresh.

Those are the three reasons owners give us. The 76 Wagon, the 78 Troop Carrier, the 79 single and dual cab, the long-running Y61 (GU) Patrol and the later Y62 all get kept for decades and worked hard, and your hands are on that wheel every minute you drive. None of that justifies giving up your airbag, your horn or the steering controls. You want the feel and the look with every function the vehicle left the factory with.

What PVS supplies for each vehicle

  • Toyota 70 Series and N70 Hilux. Complete ADR-compliant steering wheel upgrade kits. Your factory airbag and clockspring stay, and you can add the wireless control module where the vehicle never had audio buttons on the wheel.
  • Nissan Patrol, Y61 GU and Y62. Replacement steering wheel cores only. You transfer your own airbag, controls and back plate onto the new core, so what you had before the change is what you have after it. There's no PVS Patrol upgrade kit and no PVS wireless control module for a Patrol.

We serve the two vehicles differently, so start there. Everything that follows on airbags, clocksprings, controls and compliance applies to both, because the safety rules don't change with the brand on the bonnet.

Airbag vs non-airbag platforms

Work out first whether your wheel holds a driver's airbag. That answer decides what you can fit and how the job has to be done.

Most modern 70 Series and Patrol variants sold in Australia have a driver's airbag, and it's ADR-mandated safety equipment for the vehicle as built. Some older or base-spec utes, and many pre-airbag classics, never had one. The two cases aren't interchangeable. Choose the wrong wheel and you'll either disable an airbag or end up trying to wire one into a hub that was never designed to take it.

What to weigh up If you have an airbag If you don't
Wheel type Must use a wheel and hub designed to accept the original airbag module, or a vehicle-specific airbag-compatible replacement. Can use a wider range of wheels, including classic-style hubs, provided the horn and any controls are wired.
Airbag module The factory airbag is retained and refitted. It must never be discarded, defeated, or replaced with a blanking plate. No airbag is present, so there is nothing to retain in the wheel itself.
Clockspring Retained. It carries the airbag, horn and control circuits and must remain connected and centred. A horn contact or simplified clockspring may be used depending on the hub.
Compliance risk High if done badly. Removing or disabling an airbag is a safety-critical, potentially defectable modification. Lower, but the horn must still function and any added controls must be wired safely.
Recommended approach Vehicle-specific airbag-retaining wheel fitted by a competent installer with engineer sign-off where required. Quality aftermarket wheel and boss kit suited to the hub, with the horn confirmed working.
Never delete a factory airbag to fit a wheel. The driver's airbag is ADR-mandated safety equipment for vehicles that were built with one. A wheel that needs the airbag removed, or one wearing a blanking plate where the airbag should sit, isn't a legitimate upgrade for an airbag-equipped vehicle. It can make the vehicle unroadworthy, with the safety and insurance consequences that follow. If you have an airbag, pick a wheel built to keep it. Read the underlying principles on the ADR Compliance hub.

Keeping your airbag and clockspring

On an airbag-equipped vehicle, a proper upgrade reuses your original airbag module and clockspring. The replacement wheel is engineered so your factory airbag bolts back into it, the horn contact lines up and the clockspring connector plugs straight in.

Your clockspring, also called a spiral cable or rotary coupler, is the flat ribbon-cable device behind the wheel. It keeps the airbag, horn and steering-wheel-control circuits connected while you turn the wheel lock to lock. It's direction-sensitive and has a limited number of turns. Refit it off-centre and it can tear internally the first time you reach full lock, which kills the airbag circuit and often the controls with it. So you take the wheel off and put it back on with the steering centred, the clockspring held in its centred position, and any airbag work following the correct disconnect and wait procedure for your vehicle.

This is the kind of work where you either use a vehicle-specific wheel and have someone competent with airbag systems fit it, or you talk to us about the parts and the process for your vehicle before you start.

Keeping cruise, audio and phone controls

Later 70 Series and Patrol wheels carry buttons: cruise control, audio volume and track, phone, sometimes voice or display. Lose those in an upgrade and you feel it daily. Cruise control on a long touring trip is the one you'll miss most.

Your buttons survive an upgrade one of two ways. You can choose a "with-controls" wheel carrying factory-style switchgear wired into the vehicle's existing circuits. Or you can run a wireless steering wheel control module, a CAN or resistive-to-key adapter, which maps the wheel buttons to the head unit so audio, phone and voice keep working after the wheel or the stereo changes. That second route is increasingly common with aftermarket head units. Cruise control sits outside the head unit and depends on the wheel's switchgear and the vehicle's cruise system staying intact.

Function How you keep it Check this before you buy
Cruise control Requires a with-controls wheel whose cruise switches connect to the vehicle's factory cruise circuit, or retention of the original control stalk where fitted. Confirm your vehicle has factory cruise and whether it sits on the wheel or a stalk. A controls-delete wheel will lose wheel-mounted cruise.
Audio volume and track Factory-style buttons wired through, or a wireless control module mapping the buttons to an aftermarket head unit. If you're also changing the head unit, confirm the unit supports steering wheel control retention or that a control adapter is included.
Phone and voice Same as audio: native wiring on a factory-spec wheel, or mapped through a head unit control module. Hands-free and voice rely on the head unit's CarPlay or Android Auto plus a working control link.
Horn Retained on every wheel via the clockspring or a horn contact ring. It's never optional. After any wheel change, test the horn before you drive. A horn is a roadworthy requirement.
Airbag warning light Stays off only if the airbag and clockspring circuits remain intact and correctly connected. An airbag light on after fitment signals a wiring or clockspring fault that has to be fixed.
With-controls or without is a use decision. A "without-controls" wheel costs less and is simpler, and it can be the right call on an early build that never had buttons. If your vehicle came with cruise and audio controls, a controls-delete wheel sends your hand back to the dash, which is the distraction a modern head unit and retained controls exist to avoid. Match the wheel to how you drive. If you're changing the stereo at the same time, plan the control retention with it.

Materials, grip and shape

  • Leather. The default for durability and feel. Perforated leather on the side grips gives your hands something to hold on a hot day, which matters in an outback cabin.
  • Suede or Alcantara-style sections. Excellent grip and a premium feel, mostly on the 3 and 9 o'clock grips. They show wear and dirt faster, so they suit a weekend vehicle better than a touring one.
  • Rim thickness. A thicker rim suits most hands and cuts fatigue, but push it too far and the steering feels vague. The 70 Series and Patrol want a moderately chunky rim, not an extreme one.
  • Shape. A flat-bottom wheel frees thigh and knee room getting in and out if you're tall, which is genuinely useful in a high-cab 4WD. A round wheel keeps the grip uniform for off-road steering.
  • Stitching and markers. A top centre stripe or marker shows you straight ahead instantly, worth having when you're reversing a trailer or picking a line on a track.

Once you've settled the platform and the controls, the rest comes down to rim thickness, covering, shape and grip detailing. Pick the covering for the life your vehicle leads. Work a dusty 70 Series every day and it's happiest on hard-wearing perforated leather, and a garaged show build can carry suede grips.

Nail your fitment before you order

  • Exact model and build year. A 79 Series dual cab, a 76 Wagon, a Y61 Patrol and a Y62 Patrol are four different fitments. Your build year decides airbag type, connector and control wiring.
  • Airbag or not. Confirm it physically rather than assuming. Look for the airbag marking on the wheel and the warning light at start-up.
  • Controls present. Note exactly which buttons your current wheel has, and whether cruise is wheel-mounted or on a stalk.
  • Hub and boss compatibility. On a non-airbag classic you may need a boss kit matched to the column spline. With an airbag, you need a wheel that accepts the factory module.
  • Head unit interaction. If you're running or planning an aftermarket head unit, plan steering-control retention into the same job.

Fitment is where these upgrades go wrong most often, because the range spans decades and the wheel, hub spline, airbag connector and control wiring all changed along the way. There's no universal wheel for these vehicles, so check your exact variant against the parts first. We can advise on the right kit and control retention for your 70 Series, on the right core for a Y61 GU or Y62 Patrol, and on whether your installation needs engineer certification in your state. Send us your model, build year and a photo of your current wheel and we'll spec it.

Compliance and roadworthy

  • Keep the airbag if the vehicle had one. Disabling or removing a factory airbag is a safety-critical modification that can make the vehicle unroadworthy and is likely to be defectable.
  • Keep the horn working. A functioning horn is a basic roadworthy requirement on every vehicle, airbag or no airbag.
  • Get advice where the modification is significant. Whether a wheel change needs certification depends on the installation and on your state scheme. Confirm with a licensed automotive engineer if you're unsure.

A wheel upgrade touches safety equipment, so it carries a compliance dimension that a speaker or a light bar doesn't, and those three principles cover almost every case. Check the ADR Compliance hub for the standards, the clockspring's role and how steering controls are handled without compromising the airbag system. Nothing here guarantees a legal or insurance outcome, so confirm your own situation with a licensed engineer and your insurer.

These three pair naturally with a wheel upgrade if you're refreshing the cabin more broadly.

Talk to us before you buy. There's no universal steering wheel for the 70 Series or Patrol, and the airbag, clockspring and controls all have to be right. Start with the safety principles on the ADR Compliance hub, then send us your model, build year and current wheel. We'll spec the right kit or core for your vehicle, one that keeps every function it left the factory with.

Last updated: June 2026