Airbag cover removal/ install (2018+)

[Aw8dGT]

I see a lot of aftermarket airbag covers available these days and having just finished installing mine I wanted to post about my experience. No videos, posts or threads were available to my knowledge when I installed. Hope this can save some headaches or if people were unsure of purchasing due to install concerns maybe give them more confidence. FYI i brought my airbag and cover to a local mechanic who did not want to try to install it. Also called a ford dealer service department and the guy there said "The cover is molded to the airbag itself and cannot be removed. Ive been doing this for 15 years so pretty sure I know what I'm talking about". Well, he was wrong.

Long story short: the cover is solely held on by the ring of outer plastic tabs. They are a pain to be opened/released.

Here is the youtube video I made going into much more detail if anyone is interested.

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[Cobra Jet]

Thanks for creating the vid and passing it along! It will definitely help those needing to work on steering wheel/air bag swaps.

 

[Kane]

Great video thank you.. my customized airbag cover won't fit on my new steering wheel, I don't know why. The outside diameter seems smaller than the factory one.
It's touching though buttons & prevent tjem to be pushed in.

When I tried to put the factory one back it fit but pushing the horn seems harder now (almost no space to push), not sure if those side things damaged or what ... Any tip or advise?

Attached pictures one of them from the top you can see it's not aligned with the steering wheel frame from the top.

 

[MAGS1]

Great video thank you.. my customized airbag cover won't fit on my new steering wheel, I don't know why. The outside diameter seems smaller than the factory one.
It's touching though buttons & prevent tjem to be pushed in.

When I tried to put the factory one back it fit but pushing the horn seems harder now (almost no space to push), not sure if those side things damaged or what ... Any tip or advise?

Attached pictures one of them from the top you can see it's not aligned with the steering wheel frame from the top.

Is it a cover for the correct year? The 15-17 airbags are slightly different than the 18-23 airbags. That might be the issue? Hard to say exactly with custom covers. They just might be a little off when being manufactured.

 

[Kane]

It's copy paste of the factory I have tho .. 2017 clips seems different from what I have & the customized one matches my factory. (Factory on the right side)

 

[Mcgurr]

I swapped the Airbag cover (and steering wheel) in this video. Hopefully it helps:

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to modify your airbag cover for you, way too much liability involved there. Even if completely done correctly, it wouldn’t stop a lawsuit in the event something unfortunate happened. It’s not like you can go back and test it, it’s completely blown apart at that point. It seems like there is no statute of limitations with airbags, ask takata.

 

[Kane]

I swapped the Airbag cover (and steering wheel) in this video. Hopefully it helps:

Great video man. Realized your airbag cover like mine, horn won't press except from the bottom side

 

[Mcgurr]

Great video man. Realized your airbag cover like mine, horn won't press except from the bottom side

Thank you :-)

 

[Kayyyy11]

I’m dealing with the exact same problem. 2021 mustang and the cover is too small / tight. I reached out to the company I bought it from, they said check for wire that could be blocking it so I did and still have the same problem. There is zero room to press the horn and if I could it would hit the top of the steering column.

Have you made any progress solving the fit??

Great video thank you.. my customized airbag cover won't fit on my new steering wheel, I don't know why. The outside diameter seems smaller than the factory one.
It's touching though buttons & prevent tjem to be pushed in.

When I tried to put the factory one back it fit but pushing the horn seems harder now (almost no space to push), not sure if those side things damaged or what ... Any tip or advise?

Attached pictures one of them from the top you can see it's not aligned with the steering wheel frame from the top.

 

[Kane]

I’m dealing with the exact same problem. 2021 mustang and the cover is too small / tight. I reached out to the company I bought it from, they said check for wire that could be blocking it so I did and still have the same problem. There is zero room to press the horn and if I could it would hit the top of the steering column.

Have you made any progress solving the fit??

Yes, I just pushed it, force it in & my issue was with the control buttons on the bottom right & left. They were stuck (pushed in) so I kept pressing on them few times till they popped out . The horn still only work from the bottom. It's kinda hard to push it even from the bottom. It feels like it's already pressed (pushed in) but try from the bottom it should be work

 

[Kayyyy11]

hmm mine won’t activate the horn from anywhere, I’ve tried pushing my hardest. It’s not interfering with buttons but it’s a very tight fit.

Yes, I just pushed it, force it in & my issue was with the control buttons on the bottom right & left. They were stuck (pushed in) so I kept pressing on them few times till they popped out . The horn still only work from the bottom. It's kinda hard to push it even from the bottom. It feels like it's already pressed (pushed in) but try from the bottom it should be work

 

[Kane]

That's odd, check those hooks thingy on the airbag that hook to the airbag cover, if they all in. Also check if you can actually press the airbag cover when its not yet installed, also make sure those 3 silver trim parts on the steering wheel are not in the way or if you have those carbon fiber trims on them.

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