Audio controls - steering wheel - TrailBoss

Trailboss boss · November 27, 2019

Not sure if you got your answer but I just did confirm that the wiring is NOT in the steering wheel on my 2019 TB Custom.

Dunn · November 27, 2019

its a lot easier to add wheels and lift than try and get interior options....and can even make it better than TB

Edited November 27, 2019 by Dunn

Trailboss13 · December 22, 2019

On 3/18/2019 at 1:49 PM, Ssfrantz5 said:

if you do, post your results i am wanting to do this my self

You can’t just take the cover off as far as I can tell, you basically have to disassemble the stirring wheel...

redwngr · December 22, 2019

On 3/11/2019 at 11:45 AM, Jricharc said:

This is the main reason I am not getting the Custom trim level Trail Boss. I just find it hard to believe that a leather wrapped steering wheel with controls aren't standard on a $40k+ vehicle...

OTOH, it's' hard to believe people buy a $40k+ vehicle without ensuring it has the options that are important to them....

AlohaDan · December 23, 2019

I bought a 2019 Work Truck and after speaking to the dealer and reading as much as I could find online, seems that adding audio controls to the steering wheel is not possible. I was told that even if I could add the buttons to the steering wheel or change the steering wheel to one that has audio controls, the necessary wiring doesn't exist in the wiring harness for the WT. Oh, well.. so be it! But, if anyone learns anything different, please post.

Dunn · December 25, 2019

so custom TB doesn't have anything behind the wheel for volume and channel changing....I know they have plate on face of wheel on right side that normally does phone and cluster.....but no paddles behind wheel on both sides either?

Pdubb Pdubb · January 15, 2020

Surely, if you purchase the audio control switch and find the right harness it will work. It is my understanding that they all are made the same from the factory.Besides that, many 1500 and 2500 parts are interchangeable. It's the electrical wiring, packages and features that they add later is what makes a Lt, a Lt and a high country High Country. Almost any feature can be later added. However, most of the time a harness is needed to make it work. I just purchased the 2020 Silverado HD tow mirrors and had the dealer install them on my 2019 work truck.It needed an additional harness to make the turn signal and lightening work.I too purchased the work truck and slowly added factory add ons as I go.The fog lights , the bed lights, console cover, and tow mirrors has been added.Doing this way I've save a ton of money.Kinda, pay as you go without the finance . Besides that, it makes the truck unique. People are constantly asking me, is your truck a 2500.

AlohaDan · January 21, 2020

On 1/15/2020 at 3:52 PM, Pdubb Pdubb said:

Surely, if you purchase the audio control switch and find the right harness it will work. It is my understanding that they all are made the same from the factory.Besides that, many 1500 and 2500 parts are interchangeable. It's the electrical wiring, packages and features that they add later is what makes a Lt, a Lt and a high country High Country. Almost any feature can be later added. However, most of the time a harness is needed to make it work. I just purchased the 2020 Silverado HD tow mirrors and had the dealer install them on my 2019 work truck.It needed an additional harness to make the turn signal and lightening work.I too purchased the work truck and slowly added factory add ons as I go.The fog lights , the bed lights, console cover, and tow mirrors has been added.Doing this way I've save a ton of money.Kinda, pay as you go without the finance . Besides that, it makes the truck unique. People are constantly asking me, is your truck a 2500.

As a fellow 2019 Work truck owner, I'd love to learn more about your upgrades and how you accomplished them. I would really be interested in what it would take to add a different wiring harness that would allow for audio controls on the steering wheel. Seems like a dealer would charge arm and a leg in labor to change the harness, let alone the cost of the harness itself. The dealer told me that the actual head unit (infotainment unit) in the work truck was not set up to handle the steering wheel audio control switch. Not sure if that's true as it seems strange that they would produce a different head unit just for the work truck, but who knows.

Pdubb Pdubb · January 22, 2020

Chevy_wheel.pdf

Dunn · January 22, 2020

On 3/11/2019 at 8:45 AM, Jricharc said:

This is the main reason I am not getting the Custom trim level Trail Boss. I just find it hard to believe that a leather wrapped steering wheel with controls aren't standard on a $40k+ vehicle...

same feeling i had when i looked at one.....i was so so close to buying one

lack of storage really killed it, by the time i added what i wanted to inside be cheaper to just do the lift and wheels and lot less headache....

but totally get why people buy em….its bitchin truck just very basic

Goobax · January 26, 2020

Came here hoping to find good news but looks like this still hasn't been done just yet. Has it actually been tried and confirmed to not work or just the dealer saying they haven't done it so it "can't" be done?

Method2Madness · January 27, 2020

A member has swapped the steering with with an LT model and this did NOT work. The steering wheel controls run through the instrument cluster and ultimately to the radio module, so either (or both) of those may need to be changed. There may be a harness issue as well. So as much as it sucks, we're probably just stuck without steering wheel controls. I've learned to live with it.

AlohaDan · January 28, 2020

On 1/21/2020 at 4:35 PM, Pdubb Pdubb said:

Chevy_wheel.pdf 35.35 kB · 21 downloads

Pdubb: Are you planning to do this to your truck? (Add audio Controls). If so, will you come back and let us know how it goes?

Dunn · January 28, 2020

the clusters are totally different and right side steering wheel controls control the cluster along with phone, paddles behind adjust radio

Goobax · January 29, 2020

On 1/27/2020 at 10:59 AM, Method2Madness said:

A member has swapped the steering with with an LT model and this did NOT work. The steering wheel controls run through the instrument cluster and ultimately to the radio module, so either (or both) of those may need to be changed. There may be a harness issue as well. So as much as it sucks, we're probably just stuck without steering wheel controls. I've learned to live with it.

The instrument cluster can be swapped fairly easy though from WAMS so if that can be done then in theory adding the LTZ wheel with the right harness "should" work no? only thing I can think of is if the IOR radio just has no functionality to have the steering wheel controls. Who knows though. I will probably just bite the bullet and try here in a month or two and worse case scenario I end up with a nicer steering wheel and cluster.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Goobax