Leather airbag cover
 

Does anyone know how to take the leather airbag cover off. I don't mean the whole airbag itself out of the steering wheel. The cover looks like it is held on with many silver tabs. But I don't want to start taking it apart and have it blow up in my face :eek:. I have searched the subject, but didn't really find a good how too. Thanks for any help in advance.

When I did mine, I took the charge off first. ;)
Then you can free it from the tabs.

Just take out the screws on the back and lift it off?

Yep ;)
I placed a piece of electrical tape over the contacts. You don't want a static discharge to get to those.
Just treat it like a loaded gun with an electrical trigger. If you're near a metal water pipe that goes into the ground or something else that you can discharge yourself on, it's a good idea to discharge any static you may have. Get it off and put it somewhere safe and out of the way (no plastic containers as they are bad about static; put it in a cardboard or wood box on a wood shelf or concrete floor).

Sorry if I scared you a little bit. They can be dangerous, but as long as you play it safe, there's really not much to worry about.
Remember that the force will be exerted fore and aft if it does discharge, so hold it from the sides and don't point it toward anyone or anything that you don't want damaged.

most DIY recommend disconnecting the battery first and letting the car sit for 30 minutes

I think you're talking about two different jobs. To remove the air bag there are two Torx screws that secure it. Once the air bag is free of the steering wheel you can work the tabs to remove the cover from the unit. I don't think it is possible to remove the cover without removing the unit from the steering wheel.

No Chuck I already have the whole airbag unit out of the steering wheel. I want to take the cover off of the the airbag to send it to carsdream to recover it.

Gotcha. A couple years ago I asked Carsdream if they would do a leather cover for an air bag and they said no. Are they doing them now?

Yes they said they would do the airbag if I only send them the cover. They also said I could send them the whole thing, but it would be a much bigger pain. They would need to send it back via Germany and it would be much more $$$. So it makes more sense for me to take the cover off of the airbag myself. This way i can send both items in one box and it will be faster and cheaper.