Steering wheel not able to drive straight

[Skytte]

STEERING WHEEL ISSUE
--
Have a Model Y we got back in September 2022. I have recently experienced that the steering wheel is not turning in a smooth movement but in 'steps'.
Unfortunately, it means that car when driving on the highway is unable to drive straight, as this is just between two of these steps.
As such, constant steering input with 1 click to the right and then shortly after 1 click to the left is required with the outcome that I end up driving from side to side in the lane as if im drunk.
Anyone that has similar experience or have knowledge if it is a setting that is wrong or if it's a more mechanical thing that is causing this ?.

 

[Danno_]

Mine was recovered yesterday and taken to the local service centre. Just waiting to hear back as to what they plan to do.

 

[leon morley]

Steering rack replaced today. Driven it a few times this evening and all seems to be Ok again. Strange that a software update caused it. Perhaps the new rack has a different API on it and the old one is no longer supported. May be talking rubbish though.

 

[joelrodrigues]

Thanks everyone for the info, booked for service today...any idea how long it takes to replace the parts and get the car back? Is it realistic to assume that I will get the car back on the same day?

 

[CoopCoop]

Thanks everyone for the info, booked for service today...any idea how long it takes to replace the parts and get the car back? Is it realistic to assume that I will get the car back on the same day?

Highly doubt it. Mine arrived there Saturday, they looked at it Monday and ordered the parts and said it should be repaired at the end of the week.

 

[PastaSource]

So they managed to test my steering at 20 degrees +, and said the steering was working as designed at that temperature, implying that for me, the issue is software related and will be fixed in a future update… slightly disappointing since it’s rather horrid to drive (a safety concern IMO) on the motorway/dual carriageway until then (when is anyone’s guess), and seems to be clearly fixable with HW… oh well, will wait and hope.

 

[Danno_]

So they managed to test my steering at 20 degrees +, and said the steering was working as designed at that temperature, implying that for me, the issue is software related and will be fixed in a future update… slightly disappointing since it’s rather horrid to drive (a safety concern IMO) on the motorway/dual carriageway until then (when is anyone’s guess), and seems to be clearly fixable with HW… oh well, will wait and hope.

That’s what I was fobbed off with 2 weeks ago but when I spoke to roadside assistance earlier this week they arranged for a flatbed truck to pick it up.

 

[PastaSource]

That’s what I was fobbed off with 2 weeks ago but when I spoke to roadside assistance earlier this week they arranged for a flatbed truck to pick it up.

Hmmm… Has the SC updated you yet, and was that Tesla roadside assistance?

 

[Danno_]

Hmmm… Has the SC updated you yet, and was that Tesla roadside assistance?

Yes, it was Tesla roadside assistance. I phoned them on Monday after having no response to my second service request sent last Thursday. It is with the service centre now and I’m awaiting a diagnosis but the temperature thing they said last time doesn’t wash, especially as they said it would be fixed by the next software update which came and went and made no difference. Besides which, if the part only works at 20 degrees then it’s not much use here for most of the year!

 

[SHT54]

Guys, this might be related.

I am pretty sure they gave you single-chip steering racks. (FYI no FSD possible with them. You need a redundant power supply, communication bus, and two chips in a steering rack to qualify or aim at SAE ADAS level III)

Now Tesla hides that information in their EPC catalog. But here is a screenshot from Twitter from a few months back.

I bet that thousands of cars from Shanghai are affected. It might be the reason for your problems.
I think it was widely reported by the media too.
The best way to proceed is to ask Tesla what part number steering rack you have installed in your car. -If it is a single or double-chip steering rack.
This should be included in the car's configuration information.

 

[PastaSource]

Guys, this might be related.

I am pretty sure they gave you single-chip steering racks. (FYI no FSD possible with them. You need a redundant power supply, communication bus, and two chips in a steering rack to qualify or aim at SAE ADAS level III)

Now Tesla hides that information in their EPC catalog. But here is a screenshot from Twitter from a few months back.

I bet that thousands of cars from Shanghai are affected. It might be the reason for your problems.
I think it was widely reported by the media too.
The best way to proceed is to ask Tesla what part number steering rack you have installed in your car. -If it is a single or double-chip steering rack.
This should be included in the car's configuration information.


View attachment 912589

Interesting, that seems a totally reasonable explanation and the first I’ve seen that could supports software causing an issue (and potentially a ‘fix’).

 

[SHT54]

That's what I considered.
Different HW config => SW does not account for certain behavior/signals.
And that leads to some weird feedback loop.
Jerkiness, "notching".

 

[debrooker]

That's what I considered.
Different HW config => SW does not account for certain behavior/signals.
And that leads to some weird feedback loop.
Jerkiness, "notching".

Same here, before the 2023 update steering was smooth now a bit notchy. Feck it i'm going to raise it as a service request now

 

[leon morley]

Thanks everyone for the info, booked for service today...any idea how long it takes to replace the parts and get the car back? Is it realistic to assume that I will get the car back on the same day?

Mine went in on Friday last week for diagnosis for a couple of hours. Took it back in yesterday and had it back the same day. Also had a courtesy car too. Got back to the SC and my car was fully charged too which was a bonus. Can't complain about the service to be honest.

 

[leon morley]

I did put a link to this thread in the service request which may have helped them with the issue.

 

[PastaSource]

To add insult to injury while my car was at Guildford SC ‘not’ having the steering fixed, the contents of the rear boot underfloor went missing, including my charging cables, air compressor and some car cleaning stuff - nothing irreplaceable, and the manager was decent enough to give me a replacement type 2 cable (I nearly left empty handed which I was none too happy about), assuring me they never went into the boot.
Next time I’ll insist they take pictures of the boot contents as well on drop off and I’ll remember to check when collecting the car instead of when I’m sat at a charger and notice the missing cable :/!
And this morning I start getting an ‘auto steer disabled’ warning message… hmph!

 

[1k-dummy]

Guys, this might be related.

I am pretty sure they gave you single-chip steering racks. (FYI no FSD possible with them. You need a redundant power supply, communication bus, and two chips in a steering rack to qualify or aim at SAE ADAS level III)

Now Tesla hides that information in their EPC catalog. But here is a screenshot from Twitter from a few months back.

I bet that thousands of cars from Shanghai are affected. It might be the reason for your problems.
I think it was widely reported by the media too.
The best way to proceed is to ask Tesla what part number steering rack you have installed in your car. -If it is a single or double-chip steering rack.
This should be included in the car's configuration information.

So...I guess since I didn't order FSD they gave me a car with single chip, and that variant doesn't play well with the new firmware so they have to replace my steering rack to a double chipped one?

Cost saving comes back biting them in the end huh?

 

[SHT54]

Yes, I think that's what happened as well.
I admit it's a pain in the butt —extra labor, time, inconvenience, and parts. Not exactly "eco" too.
The chip shortage and pursuit of cost savings probably contributed to the decision to remove it.
But weirdly, Musk keeps saying, "All HW is there. The cars are an update away from becoming fully autonomous/robotaxi." That is not OK, IMO.

 

[SHT54]

To add insult to injury while my car was at Guildford SC ‘not’ having the steering fixed, the contents of the rear boot underfloor went missing, including my charging cables, air compressor and some car cleaning stuff - nothing irreplaceable, and the manager was decent enough to give me a replacement type 2 cable (I nearly left empty handed which I was none too happy about), assuring me they never went into the boot.
Next time I’ll insist they take pictures of the boot contents as well on drop off and I’ll remember to check when collecting the car instead of when I’m sat at a charger and notice the missing cable :/!
And this morning I start getting an ‘auto steer disabled’ warning message… hmph!

I am sorry to hear that, mate.
Hope things will work out for you.

Can they check the CCTV footage how it all went missing? Let's be honest it's theft if you are certain that and can prove it.

Did they tell you what part number steering rack you have?

 

[PastaSource]

I am sorry to hear that, mate.
Hope things will work out for you.

Can they check the CCTV footage how it all went missing? Let's be honest it's theft if you are certain that and can prove it.

Did they tell you what part number steering rack you have?

Thanks… short of filing a police report, which I didn’t think worth the effort for £100 worth of stuff (excluding the cable which they replaced for me), there was little left to argue about - me saying it happened on their watch (I even saw the boot open in the app when they had finished charging so somewhat fuming that they kept insisting no-one had been in the boot), and them saying it didn’t. I asked about cctv and again they said I needed to file a report to escalate it… at one point when I decided I would I was told they couldn’t offer me a replacement cable since the escalation would have to be resolved first!
Next time I’m going to ask they take pictures of the boot contents as well as the exterior…
Still a little miffed, in 30 yrs of almost every marque I’ve never had something go missing, and this is about the most secure car (supposedly) of all the ones I’ve owned!
I was too annoyed to ask about the steering rack part but feel I’m close to starting another service request since at least twice today I’ve seen the ‘auto steering disabled’ warning. I’ll wait for the next update and take it from there.

 

[SHT54]

(I even saw the boot open in the app when they had finished charging so somewhat fuming that they kept insisting no-one had been in the boot

Re "I even saw the boot open in the app when they had finished charging so somewhat fuming that they kept insisting no-one had been in the boot"
-Then there are logs confirming this. Very easy to pull/check. But mind you, if you do nothing, they will be deleted after some time (I don't know if it is three months or six months).
My 5 cents -You lost 100 quid, but if this repeats (might be one rotten egg in the basket), many more people might lose more important and valuable things they are attached to. I'd probably do something.

In regards to the steering rack version, I think you're in luck.
Just a few hours ago, I found a way to check it yourself.

Coincidentally, Omar has pointed me in the right direction under one of Green's (@greentheonly) posts.

I came across these tweets:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1631211619672891397

So it turns out that you can check what Option Codes you have in your car.
If you have The Option Code "SG01" in your car, that means that you have SINGLE-CHIP STEERING GEAR / STEERING RACK.

EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINED HERE:

Authentication | Tesla JSON API (Unofficial)

The authentication process for the Tesla API

tesla-api.timdorr.com

AND HERE:

GitHub - timdorr/tesla-api: 🚘 A Ruby gem and unofficial documentation of Tesla's JSON API for the Model S, 3, X, and Y.

🚘 A Ruby gem and unofficial documentation of Tesla's JSON API for the Model S, 3, X, and Y. - timdorr/tesla-api

github.com

Also, for anyone interested in buying a car, I see that Tezz.la Hunter (Tezz.la - Tesla Global Inventory Search) makes it available to check the Option Code prior to buying a used or new inventory car.

Unfortunately, it requires a $7 subscription.