Strange Issue Driving Straight

[dskid]

Okay, so the issue isn't quite as egregious in these videos. Not sure if that's the wheel/tire change or different roads. Things I did discover:

1.) The vehicle wants to follow the bank of the road. Most roads are slightly banked to the right, so the car always wants to go right. I have 30 minutes if video of me driving constantly correcting the car after it was set straight, then slowly wanders right (or left if the road banks that way, but generally right). For fun, I tried the same thing in my Model 3 and it keeps driving straight. Suspension on the X is Standard, if you're curious. Tires 45 PSI cold.

2.) Bumps cause the wheel to move. I get it over large bumps and train tracks, but small road imperfections were a bit surprising. However I can't say I would have noticed this before or not. This is also not the problem I'm posting about, but including in case it's relevant.

3.) The SuperWide aspect of the video makes it a bit more difficult to see the subtle movement of the wheel. In future I may place markers on the wheel and/or use a less-wide aspect.

In thinking about it, it is curious that wheel movement over bumps. When I was changing to the summer wheels, I gave the wheel a good shake and it seemed solid. My last vehicle had play, this did not. The most frustrating thing is the car just won't stay straight without my constant intervention

And now for some video content:

Video 1
The first video shows the movement in the wheel not done by me or bumps (anything of me adjusting was to stay in the lane/on the road). I was slowing down at the end, so say what you will about regen being a factor there. This has happened quite often without regen being involved, and generally has no relation to speeding up/slowing down as I automatically excluded those events in my mind so I'm not confusing torque steer (for instance) with this issue. I included primarily because it was the best example in this run.

Video 2
This second video shows going over some minor road imperfections and the reaction the wheel has. Again this issue I'm experiencing is not localized to road imperfections, but could be a symptom of the problem.

Video 3
This third video shows the "bank turn" the car follows the road's initial bank to the left just after the train tracks and back to the right. it also shows the wobble of the wheel over the tracks but I can't say I'm surprised especially considering the angle of them.

If everybody else's Model X drives like this, then hey, that's just the way the car is. It's easy to overcome but feels unnatural. I hope I'm not hyper-focused on it now and that's why it bothers me. But I'm almost certain it never did this when it was new. Correct me if my memory is failing me.

 

[dskid]

Okay, so the issue isn't quite as egregious in these videos. Not sure if that's the wheel/tire change or different roads. Things I did discover:

1.) The vehicle wants to follow the bank of the road. Most roads are slightly banked to the right, so the car always wants to go right. I have 30 minutes if video of me driving constantly correcting the car after it was set straight, then slowly wanders right (or left if the road banks that way, but generally right). For fun, I tried the same thing in my Model 3 and it keeps driving straight. Suspension on the X is Standard, if you're curious. Tires 45 PSI cold.

2.) Bumps cause the wheel to move. I get it over large bumps and train tracks, but small road imperfections were a bit surprising. However I can't say I would have noticed this before or not. This is also not the problem I'm posting about, but including in case it's relevant.

3.) The SuperWide aspect of the video makes it a bit more difficult to see the subtle movement of the wheel. In future I may place markers on the wheel and/or use a less-wide aspect.

In thinking about it, it is curious that wheel movement over bumps. When I was changing to the summer wheels, I gave the wheel a good shake and it seemed solid. My last vehicle had play, this did not. The most frustrating thing is the car just won't stay straight without my constant intervention

And now for some video content:

Video 1
The first video shows the movement in the wheel not done by me or bumps (anything of me adjusting was to stay in the lane/on the road). I was slowing down at the end, so say what you will about regen being a factor there. This has happened quite often without regen being involved, and generally has no relation to speeding up/slowing down as I automatically excluded those events in my mind so I'm not confusing torque steer (for instance) with this issue. I included primarily because it was the best example in this run.

Video 2
This second video shows going over some minor road imperfections and the reaction the wheel has. Again this issue I'm experiencing is not localized to road imperfections, but could be a symptom of the problem.

Video 3
This third video shows the "bank turn" the car follows the road's initial bank to the left just after the train tracks and back to the right. it also shows the wobble of the wheel over the tracks but I can't say I'm surprised especially considering the angle of them.

If everybody else's Model X drives like this, then hey, that's just the way the car is. It's easy to overcome but feels unnatural. I hope I'm not hyper-focused on it now and that's why it bothers me. But I'm almost certain it never did this when it was new. Correct me if my memory is failing me.

So just an update. I drove the same route in my 3, and the road banking has the same effect on it. So it seems holding the steering wheel is part of the normal operation of a motor vehicle. hah. The bumps while they do move the wheel of the 3 slightly, is not as dramatic as the X. However, the X has air suspension so I'm assuming that has something to do with it.

The curse of the original problem was hyperfocus on everything steering related, and not knowing what's normal and not (because I had never paid this close attention to it). Obviously I've swept up some other things that are completely normal in trying to prove there is actually an issue. I have a feeling as it warmed up the snow tires may have had an outsized impact on this strange occurrence, because it is very subtle is the few runs I've done and almost non-existent. I don't feel there's much point bringing it to Tesla as if they couldn't find it when it was decidedly far more obvious, they certainly won't find it now that it has become far more subtle. I guess we'll have to see how it behaves the next few months to see if this issue is gone or just gone into hibernation.

 

[Mandarin]

I have something similar after the latest update 2021.4.18.

My car is a 2016 MX P100D with MCU2 and HW3 with FSD.

1 day after the latest update I have noticed there is some tension or glitching on the steering wheel when I make turns on any roads with any conditions.

I have turned off all assistant features but it did not help. Even disengaged an autopilot feature.

After I tried to reboot the car. No changes.

Then I did power-off for 5 minutes and the problem has disappeared but came back 1 day later. After another power-off problem has cleared again. And seems like it's a glitch loop. For me, it seems to be some software issue. People also were reporting this problem since 2018 over the internet.

 

[dskid]

I have something similar after the latest update 2021.4.18.

My car is a 2016 MX P100D with MCU2 and HW3 with FSD.

1 day after the latest update I have noticed there is some tension or glitching on the steering wheel when I make turns on any roads with any conditions.

I have turned off all assistant features but it did not help. Even disengaged an autopilot feature.

After I tried to reboot the car. No changes.

Then I did power-off for 5 minutes and the problem has disappeared but came back 1 day later. After another power-off problem has cleared again. And seems like it's a glitch loop. For me, it seems to be some software issue. People also were reporting this problem since 2018 over the internet.

If this happens for you during turns, you may need a new steering column. There is a known issue that can eventually seize the steering column. In fact, they assumed I was having the same problem initially and had ordered a steering column in case it was that issue. It was not.

My issue is still subtly present but Service and I are at an impasse. So either it gets bad enough that Service can recognize a problem or we trade it in on a refresh, if they ever come out. hah.

 

[dskid]

Just an update to this, it's been into Tesla 5 times now and they can't seem to find anything wrong. Aside from the banked road drift issue which is normal, the wheel tension persists at random. Strangely, one section of road it happens exactly the same every time. Can't say its the banking or cracks in the road since it's pretty normal and mostly flat road.

Video 4

Now there is a trailer and your might say it's the trailer, but it's not. When the trailer wags the car it feels very different and actually doesn't affect the steering wheel itself. Not to mention it happens the same with or without the trailer on this same section of road and has done multiple times. Interestingly, the service centre did say there was an issue with a section of road on a different highway that was related to a maps issue, but can't see how that could be related since I was not using AP and the maps should be irrelevant.

The same stretch of road in the Model 3 does not have this issue; it just drives straight without any tugging one way or another (the way it should be).

Edit: Also an update, this has persisted wheel/tire changes and even the half shafts being changed. We also did an alignment to rule that out in March, but it's an active tension on the steering wheel vs a steady one when its an alignment issue.

 

[Radioactive991]

Hello dskid! I'm having a very similar issue with my 2020 Model 3 Performance (USB-C refresh generation) where the car randomly tugs to the right every few seconds. I have other really dangerous camera and screen issues too, but the combo of this tugging involved is very dangerous, and like you were saying, it makes you not want to drive the car anymore.

My car has been at the service center many times for these issues, although this is the first time for the tugging. My car has been there 6 weeks and they refuse to drive the car more than the 1.31 miles they drove "to replicate the issue." They just keep calling me to pick up (my dangerous) vehicle, meanwhile the loaner car (that was built in the same month & year as my car) drives perfectly straight and "never misses a beat" with the cameras and screen. The loaner car is an absolute joy to drive.

Would greatly appreciate any insight or resolution info you have found. Tesla Service is literally Hell on Earth.
Incredible cars, absolutely horrible company to work with.

Did you ever find the cause and/or solution to this issue?

 

[dskid]

Hello dskid! I'm having a very similar issue with my 2020 Model 3 Performance (USB-C refresh generation) where the car randomly tugs to the right every few seconds. I have other really dangerous camera and screen issues too, but the combo of this tugging involved is very dangerous, and like you were saying, it makes you not want to drive the car anymore.

My car has been at the service center many times for these issues, although this is the first time for the tugging. My car has been there 6 weeks and they refuse to drive the car more than the 1.31 miles they drove "to replicate the issue." They just keep calling me to pick up (my dangerous) vehicle, meanwhile the loaner car (that was built in the same month & year as my car) drives perfectly straight and "never misses a beat" with the cameras and screen. The loaner car is an absolute joy to drive.

Would greatly appreciate any insight or resolution info you have found. Tesla Service is literally Hell on Earth.
Incredible cars, absolutely horrible company to work with.

Did you ever find the cause and/or solution to this issue?

We never got resolution, although we did have to replace the steering rack(it almost seized), the issue persists. There was a service bulletin about the X power steering sensors misinterpreting road bumps as steering input but ours was not part of that recall.

I found comfort mode seems to mask it somewhat and it doesn’t bother my wife…and it’s her daily driver. So there it’s been. Perhaps some software changes have adjusted it slightly along the way too.

What screen issues are you having? And how’s your tire wear and alignment?

 

[dskid]

We never got resolution, although we did have to replace the steering rack(it almost seized), the issue persists. There was a service bulletin about the X power steering sensors misinterpreting road bumps as steering input but ours was not part of that recall.

I found comfort mode seems to mask it somewhat and it doesn’t bother my wife…and it’s her daily driver. So there it’s been. Perhaps some software changes have adjusted it slightly along the way too.

What screen issues are you having? And how’s your tire wear and alignment?

Make that Sport mode. Comfort mode is where it was first discovered.