2022 Model Y Lost Control!

[Carlos Danger]

My wife was driving her MY when all of a sudden the car applied the brakes and she had no steering control. The car drove towards the curb on it own. She said prior to that incident there was a warning sound that went off twice like she was about to hit something. However there was noting around.
She still has to drive home and I'm concerned.
Is this a known problem and if so, can it be fixed with possibly a reboot?
As an FYI she had a software update last night.

 

[towndrunk]

Reboot using both scroll wheels should always your first attempt to fix a problem, even if you're driving. For the most part, you're just rebooting the screen.

Another option you can try when in park is to shut it down on the screen (service menu maybe), then give it a few minutes and try again.

 

[whisperingshad]

I will admit, i did update 2023.20.4.1 and wife drove and had some random beeping like you describe, while on AP in Toll lanes.

 

[Tam]

My wife was driving her MY when all of a sudden the car applied the brakes and she had no steering control. The car drove towards the curb on it own. She said prior to that incident there was a warning sound that went off twice like she was about to hit something. However there was noting around.
She still has to drive home and I'm concerned.
Is this a known problem and if so, can it be fixed with possibly a reboot?
As an FYI she had a software update last night.

She should always have control over the steering wheel.

Was the car on Autopilot/EAP/FSD...?

You can see numerous complaints of unintentional slowdowns/phantom brakes but humans can always manually turn the steering wheel.

 

[Carlos Danger]

She should always have control over the steering wheel.

Was the car on Autopilot/EAP/FSD...?

You can see numerous complaints of unintentional slowdowns/phantom brakes but humans can always manually turn the steering wheel.

She was not on any autopilot or FSD.
While she said she lost steering control it may have been that it was just hard to steer. I have not be able to talk to her yet

 

[whisperingshad]

any error code?

 

[Carlos Danger]

any error code?

No. She said the steering was "loose" and that made it impossible to steer.
If I contact Tesla, will they have an incident history?

 

[BitJam]

No. She said the steering was "loose" and that made it impossible to steer.

That does not sound right. Teslas are not steer by wire. The steering wheel is physically connected to the wheels. The only thing I can think of is the steering wheel actually came loose. This is rare but it has happened:

Why are Tesla steering wheels falling off?

The problem involves the Model Y vehicles, and it's prompted the NHTSA to start looking into the matter. Here's what to know.

www.popsci.com

OTOH if the steering wheel did come off then I don't think her driving home would be an option you'd be considering.

 

[Carlos Danger]

That does not sound right. Teslas are not steer by wire. The steering wheel is physically connected to the wheels. The only thing I can think of is the steering wheel actually came loose. This is rare but it has happened:

Why are Tesla steering wheels falling off?

The problem involves the Model Y vehicles, and it's prompted the NHTSA to start looking into the matter. Here's what to know.

www.popsci.com

OTOH if the steering wheel did come off then I don't think her driving home would be an option you'd be considering.

The steering wheel did not come off

 

[YW555]

Sounds like a power steering failure.

 

[BitJam]

Sounds like a power steering failure.

That would make the steering stiffer, not looser. Looser steering causing the driver to lose control of where the car goes is a puzzle.

 

[smogne41]

I wonder if an ABS system fault combined with hard automatic breaking caused her brakes to lock up and to loose traction and thus no steering? No matter what sounds bad. Probably best to disable all the automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and not use AP/TACC until you can have it looked at.

 

[Darmie]

Any follow up to this? That is concerning. I hope you found a resolution.

 

[zoomer0056]

That would make the steering stiffer, not looser. Looser steering causing the driver to lose control of where the car goes is a puzzle.

We really don't know, as the OP is relating a story from someone who probably did not know how to explain what really happened. We'll have to wait for the follow up regarding the service.

 

[Pianewman]

CarlosDanger: What was the condition of the road she was driving on? If it was uneven, broken asphalt/concrete, is it possible that, while braking, the front tires lost traction and were bouncing/sliding on top of the broken pavement, making the steering unresponsive? If the front tires were bouncing up and down on rough pavement, the feeling of the steering wheel would be "loose."

That's the only scenario I can think of that would create a "loose" feeling in the steering wheel. As others have stated, the steering column is physically connected to the suspension/wheels, and if it became "loose", it wouldn't recover and the car wouldn't be drivable.

 

[towndrunk]

We really don't know, as the OP is relating a story from someone who probably did not know how to explain what really happened. We'll have to wait for the follow up regarding the service.

Second hand info, when the driver is a non-technical person, leaves a lot to the imagination.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Some more detail - The car gave her two warning alarms about five minutes before the braking incident.
Then the braking self-engaged and the screen had some type of indication in red that said along the lines that "it was correcting steering".
She clarified that the steering was not necessarily loose but she had no control over it.

The road was flat and no auto pilot was active.

Appreciate all the insight but how do I contact Tesla to check the history of events on her car? Is the only option to bring it in for service?

 

[Benito1283]

The car thought there was impending collision (which could have been either real or phantom) and it steered her away and applied the brakes to avoid/minimize the impact. The steering wheel should allow the driver to resume control if certain amount of steering input force is overcome.

 

[afource]

Maybe your MY is part of this recall?

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Model Y vehicles. The steering wheel fastener may be loose.

 

[Pianewman]

Maybe your MY is part of this recall?

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Model Y vehicles. The steering wheel fastener may be loose.

Please see post #9