Steering wheel not able to drive straight

[Skytte]

STEERING WHEEL ISSUE
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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 ?.

 

[brkaus]

Just noticed this same issue on our MY LR today. It's only got 4500 miles on it. We took it to the service center due to a tire blowing a belt (protrusion visibly showing on the sidewall). Tesla was happy to replace the tire for $427.50 - which normally would have been free had Tesla actually been a Goodyear dealer (like every other dealership already is), but alas now we have to make a separate claim to attempt to get our tire monies back. Yet another bonus of Tesla's "superior" dealership experience apparently. But, I digress, so I figured given the tire damage the "stepped" feeling in the steering might just have been a symptom of the bad tire - however it's no better after the drive home. Looks like I'll have to set up yet another service center appt to have this looked at. Definitely didn't start happening until this week though - and we had just returned from a weekend getaway trip running 135 miles each direction and I don't recall experiencing the stepping steering issue at all during the weekend trip.

Why didn’t you just take it to a Goodyear place? I’ve never found an auto dealer that covers tires. A sidewall bulge is frequently a road hazard problem.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Why didn’t you just take it to a Goodyear place? I’ve never found an auto dealer that covers tires. A sidewall bulge is frequently a road hazard problem.

Every traditional independent car dealer I've ever dealt with is an authorized tire dealer for the brands used on the new vehicles sold and can process tire warranty issues sine they are authorized dealers and resellers. I've had this issue happen twice in the past on new vehicles within the first six months of ownership and in both of those cases (one a Ford dealer, the second a Nissan vehicle) the dealer replaced the tire for no cost since they were authorized tire dealers for the brands used on the cars. I explicitly asked the Tesla SC if they were authorized Goodyear dealers and the answer was no. This was new for me - I've never come across this limitation before with a car dealer based upon past experience on a new vehicle with less than 5000 miles on it. Agreed it is a road hazard problem. We are taking the unmounted tire for inspection at a local Goodyear dealer on Monday and based upon what we indicated, we expect reimbursement based upon feedback from our local Goodyear shop (likely will take a while though). Rest assured moving forward- based upon my experience with the Tesla SC this time around - I will simply go to our local authorized tire dealer shop instead.

 

[Pianewman]

Every traditional independent car dealer I've ever dealt with is an authorized tire dealer for the brands used on the new vehicles sold and can process tire warranty issues sine they are authorized dealers and resellers.

Interesting.

"Every traditional independent car dealer I've ever dealt with..." REFUSED assisting in tire warranty issues. Toyota, VAG, Nissan.

Maybe it's regionally dependent?

 

[Contra472]

Just documenting my issue here for others.
New MYLR picked up 6/29
Two days in, steering sometimes feels very notchy/clicky when turning the steering wheel. Hard to drive straight cause I can't steer in-between the "clicks". This results in me bouncing back and forth, left and right, in a lane (looking like I'm drunk)
Created service ticket, but they're 10 days out
Today, steering wheel locked up as I was backing out of garage. "Steering assist disabled"
Austin build 6/13
Will try and get it towed

 

[smogne41]

Just documenting my issue here for others.
New MYLR picked up 6/29
Two days in, steering sometimes feels very notchy/clicky when turning the steering wheel. Hard to drive straight cause I can't steer in-between the "clicks". This results in me bouncing back and forth, left and right, in a lane (looking like I'm drunk)
Created service ticket, but they're 10 days out
Today, steering wheel locked up as I was backing out of garage. "Steering assist disabled"
Austin build 6/13
Will try and get it towed

Very concerning that this is still happening to new builds. I guess the idea that this was just a bad batch of racks may not be true, and it is some flaw that shows up in a subset of all new racks. Best of luck with this, and hope they can get this fixed for you sooner.

 

[sagar_jcky]

TL;DR - Steering rack replaced after ~3500 miles. Part # 1044832-00-A. Fremont build, first week of April.

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We did ~600 mile road trip last weekend. Everything was fine except I started getting a loose feeling on the steering wheel and vibrations towards the end of the trip. Probably unrelated, was getting a banging noise when the brake got applied when the car is stopped while in drive and felt some weird feedback on the accel/brake pedals. Then on Tuesday, when I started started driving I got the clicky steering wheel. May be related, right before that happened I had driven through a dip(from construction) in the road.

April'23 Fremont Build.

Took it to service center. Reps/techs at my norcal SC are typical annoying a**h**s, except the master tech who is always reasonable. They asked me to do an appointment and come back. I told them this is a safety issue and I need it looked right away and I am not leaving unless they take a look at it. The techs did a check, acknowledged the issue. Two days later, got the car back today. Steering rack was replaced. PN - 1044832-00-A.

I spoke to the tech, he mentioned they didnt have a case like this before but the Fremont service center did. Weird, considering the dealership moved a ton of Teslas last few months. May be not as widespread.

I dont know if it could be related but my steering wheel wasn't straight when I took delivery and it was fixed after a wheel alignment in the first SC trip last month.

 

[Contra472]

Just documenting my issue here for others.
New MYLR picked up 6/29
Two days in, steering sometimes feels very notchy/clicky when turning the steering wheel. Hard to drive straight cause I can't steer in-between the "clicks". This results in me bouncing back and forth, left and right, in a lane (looking like I'm drunk)
Created service ticket, but they're 10 days out
Today, steering wheel locked up as I was backing out of garage. "Steering assist disabled"
Austin build 6/13
Will try and get it towed

Update.
Towed to dealership.
Steering rack replaced. Firmware reinstalled. Alignment.
All done within 24 hours. Impressive.
Car drives great now!

 

[HitchHiker71]

I have a 2023 M3 Performance with 534 miles, and it started today. v2023.20.4.1 I submitted a repair request, and the appointment is this Friday. Let's see what they say.

For those who submitted a service request - what category did you input this issue under in the app and what description did you use for the reported issue? Documenting this might helps others who find this thread and are having similar issues.

 

[towndrunk]

I don't think the category matters much (my request says, "something else"), but I mentioned that others in this forum had their problem resolved with a new steering rack or steering column. I also requested a loaner. (I live 220 miles from the nearest SC.)

 

[Contra472]

For those who submitted a service request - what category did you input this issue under in the app and what description did you use for the reported issue? Documenting this might helps others who find this thread and are having similar issues.

Other issues:
Steering wheel intermittently feels very clicky/notchy when turning the wheel. Can be felt either parked or moving. Cannot drive in a straight line.

Once the SC drives it though, I'm pretty sure they'll know immediately that the steering rack needs replacement.

 

[lolsups]

Other issues:
Steering wheel intermittently feels very clicky/notchy when turning the wheel. Can be felt either parked or moving. Cannot drive in a straight line.

Once the SC drives it though, I'm pretty sure they'll know immediately that the steering rack needs replacement.

They shouldn’t even need to drive it. Both service centers I went to knew exactly what the issue was and knew what needed to be replaced by the alerts and my description.

 

[bradyjfrey]

Just a heads up to all of you, NHTSA just opened a probe on this issue:

US opens probe into 280,000 new Tesla vehicles over steering issue

U.S. auto safety regulators said Tuesday they have opened an investigation into 280,000 new Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles over reports of loss of steering control and power steering.

www.reuters.com

Looks legit, they even have a direct quote from me regarding my loss of power steering I posted in this forum.

 

[GundamMIII]

My 2023 M3 LR was delivered to me on May 19th, and the steering wheel works silky smooth until Aug 1st. Before that day, the car was already on software 2023.20.9.

When I pull out from the garage on that day I felt the strong notchy feeling, it's been a few days since I have this issue now, feels dangerous to drive on highways. Service request book for Aug 15th, will see if the Australia SC knows about this issue.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Just a heads up to all of you, NHTSA just opened a probe on this issue:

US opens probe into 280,000 new Tesla vehicles over steering issue

U.S. auto safety regulators said Tuesday they have opened an investigation into 280,000 new Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles over reports of loss of steering control and power steering.

www.reuters.com

Looks legit, they even have a direct quote from me regarding my loss of power steering I posted in this forum.

Looks like this issue may be getting some legs under it - and this is likely not an issue that can be resolved with a software fix from the looks of it - which means Tesla potentially could be looking at their first major physical vehicle recall to grapple with - at least potentially. We haven't taken ours into the SC just yet as we've had other priorities to attend to - but we're taking a longer road trip starting 8/31 so I want to get this resolved before that is upon us so looking at a SC appt next week.

 

[DDotJ]

I just picked up my Model Y last week (Built on 7/20/23 from Fremont) and at high speeds (65+ MPH) I feel extraneous lateral movement, almost like my car is being pushed left/right by high crosswinds. It happens fairly inconsistently but it has me slightly concerned. I saw the NHTSA probe and stumbled onto the thread but I'm not sure if this is the issue everyone is talking about. I don't feel a clicky steering wheel at low speeds. At low speeds my steering is perfectly smooth. Just at high speed, my car feels like it is slightly being "pushed/rocked" side to side.

 

[smogne41]

I just picked up my Model Y last week (Built on 7/20/23 from Fremont) and at high speeds (65+ MPH) I feel extraneous lateral movement, almost like my car is being pushed left/right by high crosswinds. It happens fairly inconsistently but it has me slightly concerned. I saw the NHTSA probe and stumbled onto the thread but I'm not sure if this is the issue everyone is talking about. I don't feel a clicky steering wheel at low speeds. At low speeds my steering is perfectly smooth. Just at high speed, my car feels like it is slightly being "pushed/rocked" side to side.

Yes, that is completely unacceptable. It could be related to the steering rack problem discussed here, or it could be something related to alignment, wheel balance, or something loose in the front suspension. Either way, get it fixed ASAP.

 

[bwilliams]

And yet another ... this "digital-feel steering" began for me this morning. I zig-zagged the car home on 50mph road. I'm pretty sick about it as my 2013 MS had zero problems with it and I 100% trusted Tesla. It also was a much less complicated car. I have relentless phantom braking ('nother subject) and today this steering problem. My info:

2023 MY LR
July 25, delivery from Paramus, NJ to New Hampshire
Version: 2023.12.400
Mileage: 1203

I am 3 hours away from a service center and have no access to another vehicle. I sold my ICE vehicle a few days ago (the MS is in CA). Roadside tow won't work for me unless they provide another vehicle and not sure how that works at such a distance. The driving experience is bad enough that I don't want to drive it at all - never mind highway speeds.

 

[bwilliams]

i haven't had the car long enough to try Auto Steer and given the many phantom braking incidents I've had with basic cruise control (TACC) I was unwilling to try it.

What I'd like to know from those of you that are dealing with this - is driving better with Auto Steer? I can't imagine having to drive 200 miles to a service center with this.

 

[lolsups]

i haven't had the car long enough to try Auto Steer and given the many phantom braking incidents I've had with basic cruise control (TACC) I was unwilling to try it.

What I'd like to know from those of you that are dealing with this - is driving better with Auto Steer? I can't imagine having to drive 200 miles to a service center with this.

One of the tests I did when I started having the issue, and my local service center was giving me a hard time, was to test it with auto steer.

With auto steer enabled the issue was not present at all. I tested around curves on the expressway where I would normally feel the issue and it did not happen at all.

 

[bwilliams]

One of the tests I did when I started having the issue, and my local service center was giving me a hard time, was to test it with auto steer.

With auto steer enabled the issue was not present at all. I tested around curves on the expressway where I would normally feel the issue and it did not happen at all.

Thanks for this! I'm going to enable it and give it a try.

How was your steering issue resolved?