It is the original wheel. I had the car 4 years and put 52K miles on it. I park my car in the sun and it gets very hot here in the summer (100+ temps). I recently put some Meguaire's leather conditioner on the steering wheel but I don't think that caused the problem. I just ordered some "leather paint" online in the color that is supposed to be for the dark grey Crossfire interior. I will try that and see what happens. It is just one small spot but I want to take care of it because small spots usually get bigger