Model Y steering locked up while driving [Power steering went out]

[Brian-MS90D]

The steering didn't lock up, but the power steering went out. This can happen on any car. It's much harder to turn steering wheels today (when the power steering fails) because many cars using electric power steering assist instead of hydraulic (older day).

I'm not calling you a liar. I agree it's a bad situation and it should be fixed. Only noting that the steering didn't "lock" and power steering can fail on any car (EV or ICE).

I hope your repair is swift and successful.

 

[zoomer0056]

Thank you for everyone for all your input. I will update here with info we get at the Service Center - appointment is Thursday morning.

Today is Saturday, any updates from service?

 

[ecsmudge]

We got the car back last night - they replaced the steering rack. Hopefully we are all set now!

 

[Sai Ko]

So, was it bad steering motor or failed steering motor ?

 

[acarney]

So wait... what happens when you get in the card and you need to swipe your key card to "start it." Is the steering locked, or is that just the fell without the power steering? I'm hesitant to really yank on it to see if I could get the wheels to move because it certainly feels locked (a little give left and right but quickly comes to a lock point).

 

[ecsmudge]

So, was it bad steering motor or failed steering motor ?

That I don’t know - they didn’t say

 

[Steve802401]

Thanks for the update and sorry you had to go through that. Much scarier than having the power steering fail in my garage. Did you happen to report this to NHTSA? Since my steering rack was not replaced by service, I'm going to be keeping tabs on this.

 

[ecsmudge]

Thanks for the update and sorry you had to go through that. Much scarier than having the power steering fail in my garage. Did you happen to report this to NHTSA? Since my steering rack was not replaced by service, I'm going to be keeping tabs on this.

I didn’t report it - but I should. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Texas]

This happened in June 2023 to my wife in our driveway, accompanied by a notice on the dashboard “condition detected in a vehicle controller.” This is 2018 Model 3 Dual Motor. Turned out to be a defective Front Controller, a component that looks like a microcomputer that sits behind the 12v battery in the frunk. It controls a wide range of low-voltage functions, including power steering. After a transporter hauled the car to the service center, the controller was replaced for $750 and all was back to normal. I never was able to see whether the car could have been steered while at road speed, but it certainly felt “locked” when parked.

 

[Steve802401]

I didn’t report it - but I should. Thanks for the reminder.

NHTSA opened a "preliminary evaluation" based on 12 complaints according to reports today. PDF link: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2023/INOA-PE23014-4415.PDF

 

[zoomer0056]

NHTSA opened a "preliminary evaluation" based on 12 complaints according to reports today. PDF link: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2023/INOA-PE23014-4415.PDF

Interesting, and I would like to see results of investigation. Probably many months out.

 

[fiehlsport]

So wait... what happens when you get in the card and you need to swipe your key card to "start it." Is the steering locked, or is that just the fell without the power steering? I'm hesitant to really yank on it to see if I could get the wheels to move because it certainly feels locked (a little give left and right but quickly comes to a lock point).

Like any car with no power steering, you need to have the wheels rolling to free it up. Even just 1mph will allow you to start turning the wheel. With the super-fast steering ratio on these cars, the effort is exacerbated since small inputs = large amount of steering. That's probably why it feels "locked up" to those that experience this failure.

 

[kaushpaul]

The steering wheel locking incident just happened to us!! New car (bought it 6 weeks ago!). Thankfully was on the right side of the road so was able to get off the road and stop. It’s most likely related somehow to the Lane Assist feature because that’s showing as disabled.

Reset a few times and don’t fix the problem. What worked is switching off all road assist features (Lane Assist, Auto braking, etc). Was able to get steering wheel control and drive it to the service/dealership.

waiting to hear back from the Service team.

 

[gopal]

Hi All
New over here and a new owner of Model Y( we purchase 6 months ago). I read this and unfortunately my wife was not that lucky yesterday and the car slammed into a car parked on the side of the road less than 150 meters from our house. She is fine and safe with a few injuries. Neighborhood speed and we go past the car we slammed almost everyday. As per her, the car took over and she could not turn it. This is totally unacceptable and I have asked her to open a case with Tesla to get diagnostics data to see if it was her or the car, while the insurance do their work. Hard for me to believe she will run on that road into that car on her own. My son was also in the car and was shaken up.
Should I wait for the report to come or should I report this to NHTSA immediately?
I am so disappointed to see all these reports and from a safety viewpoint, we should not at all be even discussing this here.
Thank you

 

[KenBlub]

I had this happen in my Model 3 10 months ago. Fixed it my doing the 2 thumb salute Happened right after an update. I now turn the car off after every update and haven’t had any issues since

 

[gopal]

Hi
Good to know. waiting on getting data from tesla ( which I hope I get) to open a case with NHTSA. Costed me a new car and probably an arm and leg in my new insurance rates
Thank you

 

[nate704]

Neighborhood speed and we go past the car we slammed almost everyday.

What does this mean???

 

[Sai Ko]

What does this mean???

I think he meant 25-35mph speeds and they drive past the car his Model Y crashed into

 

[Brian-MS90D]

Hi All
New over here and a new owner of Model Y( we purchase 6 months ago). I read this and unfortunately my wife was not that lucky yesterday and the car slammed into a car parked on the side of the road less than 150 meters from our house. She is fine and safe with a few injuries. Neighborhood speed and we go past the car we slammed almost everyday. As per her, the car took over and she could not turn it. This is totally unacceptable and I have asked her to open a case with Tesla to get diagnostics data to see if it was her or the car, while the insurance do their work. Hard for me to believe she will run on that road into that car on her own. My son was also in the car and was shaken up.
Should I wait for the report to come or should I report this to NHTSA immediately?
I am so disappointed to see all these reports and from a safety viewpoint, we should not at all be even discussing this here.
Thank you

Something doesn't add up. That impact looks massive. And the impact blasted the red car from being parked longwise on the street all the way up into that driveway!!!!!! It's hard to tell from the photo, but also possibly spun the red car around 360 degrees???

 

[nate704]

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