"Steering assist reduced" error '18M3

[Apperception]

Greetings all-Wifey's 2018 M3 LR has been perfectly reliable and lightly driven until now. Fine when we parked it under the carport. She wen to leave yesterday and error message with worse than no power steering-She drove the A7 and I wrestled my short commute. Only 23K miles but out of warranty. Kudos to Brent Xcelerate who is assisting. I have an appointment with service sixty miles away scheduled for January 3. Searched the forum but didn't see much on M3. I'm not sure it is safe to drive through traffic where someone might pull out in front of me. I can find no human to talk to at Tesla and was wondering if any of you might have experience or might speculate on what might be up?
Thanks in advance,
Larry in Georgia

edit: Just received an estimate from Tesla for $2,643.55 I'm still thinking it could be software related)

 

[BigNick]

It is safe to drive if you have a reasonable amount of arm/shoulder strength, and have driven cars that lacked power steering. If you can remove lug nuts using a 12-inch lug wrench or shorter, you should be good to go.

Personally I would drive it to the SC, but I don't know your specific 60-mile route. At highway speeds, less assist is needed. It's residential-street-speeds and parking-lot-speeds that can be difficult. IMO electric power steering is easier to drive than the old-school hydraulic power steering when you lose assist. You don't have to muscle a bunch of fluid around.

If you have AAA Plus (up to 100 miles) or Premier (up to 200 miles), you can have it towed free of charge. I just renewed my Premier membership for $131 yearly. It's relatively cheap insurance on a car with no spare tire, and it would be good in a situation like yours.

 

[UncertainTimes]

Jealous I want that