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Error - Steering Assist Reduced - Steering may require increased effort

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Well I guess it was going to happen eventually. I was getting ready to drive to store and my 2020 MSP said I had a service update. So I said go ahead and update. Well my phone app sent a message that the update had failed. So I said I would try again when I got back. Got in MSP and buckled up and selected reverse. Tried forward also. A message appeared that the "Steering Assist Reduced - Steering may require increased effort" then flashed "Lane Departure Avoidance features unavailable" and repeated. Well I tried to back out of garage and cannot hardly turn steering wheel enough to drive. So I put back in garage and tried to schedule an appointment. App said I had to drive 70 miles to SC. I can not even get out of garage so that ain't happening. Looked at roadside assistance and no help.

So then I did a soft reset, hard reset and a power off. Still no glory. I was able to try updating again but it failed just like before.

Any ideas? Pretty sure getting a tow on a flatbed will be very difficult with driveway configuration. Maybe put some soap and water under tires might make it possible to turn enough to clear garage.

Does Tesla send a flat bed or do I have to get one? The car is 2 years old.

Thank you

M

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Tesla is only supposed to send flatbeds with drivers that should know how to move your car onto the flatbed. Then again, tow calls probably aren't always correctly done. At least you can enable tow mode and raise suspension.
 
Fast Forward - Well my service appointment was finally here. Had a great experience at the SC. Drove the MSP Raven 70 miles without steering power assist. No arms workout at gym needed today. It was an adventure. Took nearly 2 hours in morning traffic. Checked in at SC for appointment. They handed me the keys to a MXP loaner. The loaner was NOT limited to chill mode :). Unknown how long repair would take. Visited in laws while in Pensacola. Got a text 2 hours later that it was ready for pickup. Holy Cow Batman !!

What they found - I was explained to me the there was no communication to Power Assist Module. Expecting a wait on parts. They found that a connector appeared to be connected but when technician was going to connect diagnostic machine he heard definite click in the connector. Appeared not to be all the way in. Tests check 100%.

Way pleased with SC especially with all the horror stories around on the internet.

So nice to drive the MSP again with Power Assist Steering !!!

M

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My car wife's car ('22 TMXP) has been in the shop since 8/14/22 for this same error; UI_a020 - Steering Assist Reduced. Car has less than 9k miles on the car. Every time I've reached out to them over the past 18 days, they've been replying with the same response; that their technicians here in SoCal have been in 'talks' with techs up in Fremont to resolve this error. Frankly, I don't even know if anyone's truly working on resolving this issue, as no further information is available on what they've identified as the culprit, and thus no available solution. It's a guessing game as to when/IF they'll be able to return the vehicle back to me at this point...
 
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It took my SC 3 weeks to figure out what was wrong, then determined that new steering rack had to be ordered. Took another 2 weeks for delivery, then installation was completed in under 6 hours. From wat I've read online, it can be either the steering rack, loose cables, or a simple update will correct this.
Had the car over 3 weeks now, without any faults/warnings.
 
The warning went away.
Don't know if it means, precious warning was a false alarm.
I have scheduled a service request for Oct 18.
Will wait and check for a day or two to see if it pops back up.
If not, thinking of cancelling the request.
 
The warning went away.
Don't know if it means, precious warning was a false alarm.
I have scheduled a service request for Oct 18.
Will wait and check for a day or two to see if it pops back up.
If not, thinking of cancelling the request.
What happened to yours? Any needed fix?
Had this error pop up today, and disappear after power down.

Sep 2022 built LR Model X
SW 2022.40.4.1
 
I just picked my new 2023 Model S Plaid 6 days ago, and I got this error immediately from the get go and also autopilot never activated successfully (and yes, I enabled it in the settings) in the 2,500 miles I've driven since then.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to wait around and have their own technicians service it, as I needed to return to the other side of the country ASAP and was unable to use autopilot at all.

I emailed them:

The car has the following problems from the moment I picked it up. I thought maybe the warnings would resolve themselves and they have not.

1. The Steering Assist Reduced message comes on to indicate that there is a problem with my power steering system. Though at this point just annoying, I have no complaints w/ how steering actually feels/works when I'm driving it myself.

2. It says autosteer is temporarily unavailable (probably due to issue #1). But it is not temporary, this has never worked once. This needs to resolved immediately. I tried the computer reset maneuver but that didn’t anything.

2. Lane departure avoidance features unavailable (also possible due to issue #1). Lower priority but should work.
--

I did try the "double wheel button push reset" which did not help. Has anyone else had this experience? It's hard to believe they never once tested autopilot before delivering the car to me.

Has anyone else experienced this issue, particularly immediately at delivery of a new vehicle? What was the resolution if so?\

I'll probably make this a separate post if nobody responds on this old post.
 
I got this error multiple times on my MXP. Service said everything was fine and that a software update would fix it even though it resulted in actual loss of power steering for a few seconds each time. Just one of many issues I had with it. No longer my problem now.
 
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