Steering Problems of Tesla Model S - part 2

The horn on this car is a button on the right side of the steering wheel. I nearly got into yet another accident when someone started backing up and nearly hit me. I panicked as they backed up and pressed the center airbag as a natural reaction, where a car horn had been for 100 years. Tesla has since changed this on new models, but they need to recall my model and repair this defect before someone gets killed.

See all problems of the 2023 Tesla Model S 🔎.

As I was driving. Multiple warning sensors came on the vehicles screen. Everything was shutting down. I made it to my driveway to reverse in and the car completely shut off. I got out of the car, closed the door and got back in the car and it worked again. I drove the car into Teslas service center and they said it was a steering rack that needed to be replaced, but they never actually looked at the part that needed to be replaced. They just hooked up a pico scope and received a signal. I asked if they would look at it and they said they can only replace it. Ive seen multiple stories similar to mine online where people have had to check the vehicle on there own only to find a loose ground wire or a loose connection that connects to the steering rack. Once they connect the wires the car works fine. There is a faulty design on the Tesla Model S and probably other models as well that should be looked at. Tesla is charging over $5000 to replace the entire rack as opposed to checking the connections. Please look into this. This is not safe at all. Great car, bad design.

See all problems of the 2017 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Experienced severe phantom breaking on [xxx] in route to las vegas at 70mph September 2024. In heavy rain, while windshield wipers set to auto. . . . . . . . . . . Wipers have stopped momentarily blinding the driver, a problem Tesla hasn't fixed on my neighbors 2019 model 3. The stalkless design prevents safe use of turn signals, horn and gear shifts. Wife who only drives an ice car can not safely operate turn signals, horn and gear shifts in my 2023 Tesla Model S. Camera system constantly renders 'blinded' error messages halting autopilot features. Tesla's resolution is to clean camera's before initiating autopilot. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The yoke steering is not intuitive and makes it really hard to instinctively press the horn or use the directionals, without taking your eyes off the road. This presents a serious safety hazard especially in the case of an emergency, where milliseconds count to avert an accident. At a minimum the horn button should be placed on the center of the steering or be replaced with a traditional wheel. In fact, if the car were to spin out of control, the rectangular shape of the yoke would likely prevent me from regaining control of the car. When I purchased the car in 2022 a regular steering wheel was not option. Tesla is now allowing retro fits but at a significant cost to the owner. There have been several instances in the two years where I pressed the center of the yoke with no effect, which could have led to an accident. I am surprised this kind of serious hazard is still permitted to exist and I kindly ask for your immediate attention.

See all problems of the 2022 Tesla Model S 🔎.

When driving my vehicle the rear axle snapped causing the vehicle to fishtail. When checked by insurance company for repairs they found the air suspension and rear axle snapped. It took out the air ride suspension, and bent 2 rims. It caused damage to the front fender as well as both interior wheel wells on the driver's side. Due to the suspension issue it caused a rock to come up and cracked windshield. The issue caused my vehicle to leave the road as I could not control the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2013 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Tesla removed the blinker stalk and replaced it with capacitive buttons on the steering wheel. This is very dangerous because the buttons move as you turn the wheel. To make it worse, they used capacitive buttons that are not raised so sometimes the only way to turn your blinker on is to look away from the road and at the steering wheel to find the button. The buttons would be more useful had they simply been a rocker button like a lot of vehicles have on their steering wheel for volume control of the radio. But the real problem is that on multiple occasions, the turn signal button simply does not work. They do work 99% of the time but there have been several occasions where I have pressed the capacitive button and the blinker does not go on. I then have to look away from the road to confirm I am pressing the button but it still does not work. On a couple of occasions, if I press the other blinker button and then press the original blinker button, it will work. Other times if I press it enough times (I. E. Over 5 times), it will then work. After the 1st complaint, Tesla replaced the component but it continues to happen. I believe it is a software bug and despite seeing other people report this problem to the NHTSA, Tesla told me no one else is reporting it. They suggested when I pick up the car that they show me how to press the button. What is more likely, that I don't know how to press a button or that there is a problem in their design? I know there is probably no rule against not having a blinker stalk because why would anyone ever design a car that would have moving buttons on a steering wheel but I think it is time for a rule and to require Tesla to fix this. If you can't require a blinker stalk, which would be the correct fix, then require the buttons to not be capacitive and to be raised. And who would design left and right buttons to be one on top of the other instead of being side by side. Terrible design and very unsafe.

Problem: turn signal based on buttons on the wheel (Tesla removed the stalks) after three months of ownership, I still can't signal in case of emergency, when a fast lane change is required, or when exiting from parking with the wheel turned. Issues: 1. I can't find the buttons when the wheel is turned (buttons rotate with the wheel) 2. The buttons are located below the hand and not above it, so I need to search for them. I practically need to take my eyes off the road to find the buttons because they have no unique touch and feel. It does not work for emergencies and fast lane changes. 3. The pressure required is not unified. Extreme pressure is required toward the edges of the button and other is no feeling where the edges are.

See all problems of the 2024 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Steering ujoint exposed to elements, eventually causing it to bind during normal use/wear.

My car was left on the driveway for a weekend where I was out of town. Upon returning, as I got into the vehicle and started reversing to get out of my driveway; several alerts popped up on my car. The alerts included "steering assist reduced", "stability control disabled", "automatic emergency braking unavailable" and lastly, "parking brake fault. " immediately the power steering was gone and it took several pounds of force to turn the steering wheel even a little bit. Then, the parking brake engaged. No matter how many times I put the car into drive, it would engage the brake again. My vehicle was halfway out of the driveway and into the road and I was causing my neighbors angst. After several reboots, it still was not working. I was unable to even get the car into neutral to push the car back on to my property and out of the street. After nearly 20 minutes of trying and almost giving up; the parking brake disengaged for a few minutes and allowed me to get back to the driveway. However, when driving the brakes were extremely loud when the car was in motion. The car was completely fine with no signs of wear and tear or issues prior to the out of town weekend. The car was also fully charged so to not run into any batter issues upon my return. After some internet sleuthing, this issue is decently common and is caused by faulty housing in the steering rack. The nuts/bolts that were used by the manufacturer could not withstand more than a few years of wear and tear. I believe there was a recall on the previous years for this exact situation. I am afraid I will have to take it to Tesla service and pay several thousand dollars as the warranty expired last year.

See all problems of the 2018 Tesla Model S 🔎.

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that prior to the failure experienced, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the steering wheel. The contact attempted to start the vehicle, and upon starting the vehicle, the message "service power steering" was displayed, and the eps warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The universal joint that connects the steering to the wheels is exposed to the elements and causes the steering to be difficult and/or stop working.

See all problems of the 2015 Tesla Model S 🔎.

The steering assist failed while driving. Causing near collision and very difficult to drive.

See all problems of the 2014 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Was driving on a highway when suddenly a whole bunch of error messages came on and my car became hard to steer. Wobbled off my lane which was extremely dangerous going 70mph. I reported this to Tesla and set up a service appointment. The day before my appointment they rescheduled it, pushing it out 30 days saying they don’t have the part in store. They haven’t looked at my car. They said they’re waiting for a new steering rack but don’t know when it’s coming in. Mentioned towing the vehicle and it being unsafe to operate - they must know there’s something wrong and clearly there’s a backlog of issues. They should have told me this earlier. My car is practically new. There’s absolutely no reason the steering rack would have broken.

Power steering problem which is not safe.

I have lane departure, avoidance in lane departure assist both turned off in the settings. Despite this, the alarms are constantly going off (even when I am not departing a lane). It even overrides my steering inputs incorrectly! 8:28am 5/24/2024 for example, I am pulling into my garage and it’s yanking the steering wheel trying to crash me into the wall. I immediately verified the settings are all still turned off. I have an open service ticket with Tesla where I am supplying them dates and times every time it happens and no one is responding. Previously had them replaced the whole vehicle (lemon law), and it still happening.

Front suspension has a popping and creaking sound when driving and turning steering wheel. Safety issue as sounds something is loose but Tesla says no issue it’s the body flexing which is even scarier to hear the panels rattling if this is in fact true. Tesla will not do anything about it. Additionally the brakes and rotors squeal when pressed at slow speeds coming to full hard stop. Both front and back. Both brakes and rotors have 90% life and according to Tesla shouldn’t need replacing until 90k miles due to the regen braking. The braking system does not engage as it should or how it is designed and car has 40k miles. Tesla uses the excuse that that they don’t cover this as it’s a wear and tear component. Which another issue because they don’t know the reason of why it’s doing this. They want customers to pay and replace the brakes and rotors. Many owners with same car experience this issue and is a design defect that can pose safety issues.

See all problems of the 2021 Tesla Model S 🔎.

Received and error message, lane departure avoidance features unavailable and steering assist reduced simultaneously while driving between 65-75 mph. Steering will required extreme effort to turn. I was about 5 minutes from home exited the highway and took the backroads. Steering did require extreme effort. The following morning, car worked fine.

The horn is in a difficult place to access compared to all other vehicles in the USA making it a safety concern and hazard will driving should an emergency arise and you can’t get to the horn quickly. This has happened to me driving the 2022 Tesla Model S and I could not get to the horn swerving violently to avoid a collision.

I was driving on the dallas north tollway (dnt) northbound to for a work meeting on Monday, April 22, 2024, at about 3 pm (central). My 2018 Tesla Model S shut down while driving on the freeway. The power steering went off and so did the hazard lights. I pulled over to the shoulder. Unfortunately, the shoulder is not too wide on dnt. I was driving at 70 mph or so when this happened. The only warning that popped on the Tesla screen was “vehicle shutting down pull over safely”. The battery still had about 175 miles left to empty. So, this was an unusually unsafe incident that could have been life threatening.

Incident Tesla Model S was up to date on recalls as far as we can tell, including the recent autopilot update via Tesla internet vehicle update releases. While driving in autopilot mode on the freeway in the lane next to the hov lane, the autopilot got confused as to which lane it should keep and failed to maintain its lane. Incident vehicle drifted across the double lines into the hov lane, where another Tesla Model S was driving. Both cars were damaged in the ensuing side bump impact, then the incident vehicle made a slight impact to another car rear bumper in front of the incident vehicle. No injuries were reported. A subsequent traffic crash report was filed as required with CA highway patrol. We are awaiting this report in the mail. Our safety and others was put at risk due to the failure of the autopilot to maintain its lane. Insurance was contacted. The insurance company, usaa, has deemed the incident vehicle (our vehicle) damage too expensive to fix due to the very high cost of replacement/repair parts and has deemed our vehicle a "total loss. " we have not been able to access the software of the vehicle. Since usaa has deemed the vehicle a total loss, they are selling the car for salvage and thus we have no further access to the vehicle for legal purposes. As far as I know, usaa has not pulled the vehicle software records nor has requested such records and has completely ignored the autopilot issue. That is part of the reason for our complaint here as well. Since there were no injuries, legal representation in this case has not been forthcoming. We ask the NHTSA to investigate since we can get no help from Tesla, usaa or any other legal advocate.

See all problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S 🔎.

There is a design flaw with the horn on the steering yoke. It is not easily located especially in times of stress or eminent collision. I have been driving for 50 years and all horns in my past vehicles have horns in the center of the steering wheel. Last April, I was backing up in a parking lot and through the rear camera, I saw a car behind me backing up. I stopped my car and could not get to the horn quick enough to alert the other diver and he continued to back up and he backed into my car causing $3,500 in damage. Yesterday, I was driving, and someone made a very unsafe turn that needed a horn to alert them, and I could not find the little button on the yoke to activate the horn. Yesterday's event, a near miss caused me to file this notice, although I should have done it sooner. Not as much of an issue, but the turn indicators are buttons too, and it is confusing to use them as opposed to a strike. I find myself not using the indicators as much in situations requiring a quicker need, typically like on the freeway. Nhtsa should consider making all horns to be in the center of the steering wheel and all turn indicators to be strikes.

My vehicle did an update and after update I have received an error message “steering assist reduced”. I am unable to drive my vehicle and the wheel feels locked. I have reached out to Tesla and their soonest appt is over a week from now to even look at it.

The horn button is located on the side of the steering wheel spoke, extremely difficult to find, especially in an emergency. I have had several incidents in which I was unable to locate the small button when needed to avoid a collision.

My car has 55k miles on it and the power steering has failed. Last October, I brought it in to the service center and they wanted $4000 to replace my steering rack. At the time, the car only had about 50k miles on it. It seems like these parts are failing much faster on the Teslas then previous cars that I've owned.

1x while driving, the steering wheel locked up. Luckily this was only for about 1 second, and I was only traveling on a 25 mph road. If this was on a highway, it could have been deadly. 2x the car steering wheel would not move when shifting out of park. It required a tremendous amount of force to turn the wheel even slightly. The car needed to be reset multiple times in order to free up the wheel. This last time, I cannot get the wheel unstuck.

My vehicle suddenly displayed an alert saying, “steering assist reduced” and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. I became very concerned about my safety and the safety of other drivers, so I took the car to Tesla for service. It is currently being repaired.

This is the 3rd time a control arm on the car has cracked. I see tons of people online complaining about the same issue with the fault aluminum control arms. I have no damage and no rust and it just cracked on its on as I was backing out of a parking spot. I could have been seriously injured or my daughter had this happened on the highway. My dad is an issurance adjuster for 30 years and has never heard of any cars control arms cracking on their own. Please help as this is a huge safety issue and it seems Tesla has been putting the blame on the drivers. There was a grinding noise in reverse and the wheel was tilted inward. Multiple control arms have cracked in the car. A car that has no damage or accidents. This car is less than 10 years old and this doesn't happen with any other cars. It's a fault control arm part made out of cheap aluminum.

Recall issue for my vehicle. Have been having issues with the auto steer/auto pilot that comes in the car. The auto steer automatically goes off and whenever you make a turn, there's a weird sound.

Power steering failed suddenly and without any alert on the dashboard. I called Tesla support & they said this is a known problem for which the immediate but only short term fix is to fully power off the car, wait at least 2 minutes & then restart the car. They advised me to do this and then drive the car to a Tesla service center for analysis and repair.

My car has intermittently given me the alert “steering assist decreased. ” when this occurs, the wheel is a little stiff at street speed but drivable, but at very low speed, to park, for example, the wheel becomes nearly impossible to turn. It usually occurs when the car is already in motion. When the alert is not on, the steering is fine. It does seem to be happening more frequently since it first started about a month and a half ago. A Tesla technician looked at it today and stated the steering rack would have to be replaced as the power steering is what is impacted. I understand you already have an investigation ongoing into this problem.

Tesla moved horn button away from center of steering wheel to a small button the frame of the steering wheel. If the wheel is turned such as making a u turn and another car tried making a right almost hitting me. I had no time to find the horn button and this is very dangerous.

The contact owns a 2017 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost steering functionality. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed steering rack. The contact was informed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The horn is a touch button on the steering wheel which makes it hard to find and press in emergency.

No proper horn button, this is a major safety issue. Horn should be in the center or steering wheel. Almost got into crash.

The car doesn’t have a conventional horn. Instead the horn is activated via a small button on the steering wheel. I don’t mean to be a pain, but I feel as though the horn is meant for emergency situations mostly. I’ve been in multiple situations now where someone has almost hit me and I tried to swerve and find the horn but given the fact I have to keep my eyes on the person swerving into me, was unable to find it in time. One of these times, the person continued to not see me and I nearly was pinned between the car and the wall of the freeway. Due to not being able to activate the horn, I had to swerve and slam on my brakes instead almost being rear ended by the car behind me. Ideally I’d love if Tesla has to recall this steering wheel for one with a mechanical horn. They have just started making the wheels with a mechanical horn again and it would be great if they received a recall so that us without them, who are put at risk, can receive them by visiting the service center and having the wheels swapped. Thank you again for the time in reading this. I apologize for the long story. I only ask because it’s unsafe for both myself and those around me and now there’s a remedy.