Now I’m even more concerned about what I’ve noticed with mine. Three or four times, on surface streets, when I’ve been in a left handed curve with constant pressure on the wheel (wheel set to sport mode) the steering wheel will suddenly, without warning, go slack and my hand dips about ten degrees to the left. When I turn the wheel to its original position, the stiffness in the wheel comes back. Is this the kind of sensation you experienced?
When we were recently heading across a bridge at highway speed, on Autopilot, the AP suddenly made an abrupt movement to the left like it was trying to avoid something. I immediately took over and righted it back to the center of the lane. it was enough of a movement that my kids from the back seat asked what happened and one of them reminded me that I even addressed the car saying, “whoa Lola! What are you doing?” My SVC is looking into the logs on this and a ton Of other problems I’m having. I’m wondering, since it was in the same direction as the slack wheel feelings, if it’s not related. Could have been an anomaly.
Ours was noticeable backing out of the driveway, and very persistent. My husband drove the car around the block to see if it was just a startup issue, but it didn’t go away. Tow truck driver noticed it too. I can’t remeber if the ”stiff” was abnormal feeling or the loose, honestly, but yes, as you turned the wheel the resistance changed dramatically.
It was a stripped gear of some sort, so it’s possible yours is just starting to go.