Steering Question

[JeffreyC]

I have had my Y for about three months, but last night (for the first time) I noticed a strange feel in the steering. Going around gradual turns on the Interstate (80MPH ish), it seemed like the car was in ruts or wanted to follow its own line around the turns and I had to lightly steer out of it. Autopilot was NOT on, but it almost felt like the slight torque you need to apply to the wheel to disengage autopilot - although it was much less torque that was required. My wife noticed it as well and asked me what I was doing, so pretty noticeable.

Anyone have a clue as to what this could be?

P.S. autopilot at night is a nightmare. We had phantom braking (even without autosteer) about every 20 minutes. To be clear, autopilot was completely off when the steering problem described above occurred.

 

[Jeff N]

I’ll guess that it’s the optional lane keeping when not in AutoSteer. You can disable it and see if it changes the behavior you are feeling.

 

[JeffreyC]

Good guess. I will try it, but strange I never felt it before. Thanks for the response.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

@JeffreyC have you checked your tire pressure lately? I remember checking when we first got the vehicle (start of May this year) and all four tires were showing 41-43 or so at the time, and then I kind of forgot about it. I checked again a couple of weeks ago (about 4-4.5 months into ownership) and found all four were then in the 36-38 range--and what prompted me to check is I was starting to notice the steering felt different and took extra effort compared to before. After topping them back up to 42-43 each (Tesla recommends 42), that feeling is gone again. If you haven't checked in a while, it's worth while.

 

[JeffreyC]

I will check the tire pressure. Thanks.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

I will check the tire pressure. Thanks.

@JeffreyC could be a red herring, but worth the few mins to check. Cheers.

 

[thesmokingman]

Check the road surface especially in parts where they've resurfaced.

 

[WattsappMTL]

I’ll guess that it’s the optional lane keeping when not in AutoSteer. You can disable it and see if it changes the behavior you are feeling.

@Jeff N but wouldn't there also be an aural and visual warning in that case?

 

[Jeff N]

@Jeff N but wouldn't there also be an aural and visual warning in that case?

I think that only happens if the car actually crosses the lane markings. Before you get to that point, the car can apply light torque to resist driving out of the lane.

this is just my impression — I haven’t tried to reproduce this behavior intentionally while driving.

 

[tdroney]

I had my Model Y freak out when I was going over a narrow freeway bridge and there was a truck beside me. It started violently swerving left and right trying to get away from the perceived obstacle. I had to hang on for dear life until I got off the bridge. Freaked me out. I looked into the settings and there is one that will automatically force the car away from an imminent collision. Turned that off!

 

[WattsappMTL]

I think that only happens if the car actually crosses the lane markings. Before you get to that point, the car can apply light torque to resist driving out of the lane.

this is just my impression — I haven’t tried to reproduce this behavior intentionally while driving.

No, I had it happen when the car thought I was cutting the inside of a curve too close, and there was a concrete barrier there. I didn't see if there was anything on the screen, but it did yell at me and applied "corrective" steering to get away from the obstacle. I never crossed a lane marking.

 

[Jeff N]

No, I had it happen when the car thought I was cutting the inside of a curve too close, and there was a concrete barrier there. I didn't see if there was anything on the screen, but it did yell at me and applied "corrective" steering to get away from the obstacle. I never crossed a lane marking.

Well in that case there was no possibility of crossing a lane boundary….