Bought a 2023 Tesla model 3 performance that vibrates from the day I bought it. After 12 service visits, new wheels tires and even a new brake rotor the car is still vibrating. Tesla seems to say it’s normal and that all teslas drive like this but no other vehicle manufacturer has ever produced a car that vibrates. It’s unsafe and scary to drive this car the way it is. They tried fixing it at first hence why so many parts got replaced but since they don’t know how to fix it they wanna just push the “it’s normal and within spec” speech to me. Please get a recall going to address the ongoing steering wheel vibration problem faced by numerous owners as shown on numerous threads and forums. This is unacceptable.
2023 Tesla Model 3 steering complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle started displaying warning messages as I pulled out of garage - "steering assist reduced" and "lane departure avoidance features unavailable." Afterwards, I noticed vibration and clicking sensation while turning steering wheel and driving at low speeds. I performed a software reset but messages were still there. Then I performed controls, safety, power off procedure. Messages disappeared, but steering still felt jerky. This happened when the vehicle had approximately 2,300 miles on it. A few days later, when exiting the garage, steering wheel was initially locked. It then "popped" when I applied gentle pressure to turn the wheel and the warning messages returned. Steering felt stuttery afterwards. I scheduled service appointment with Tesla. They replaced steering rack. I have had no problems since. Currently at 3,700 miles.
Model 3 steering assistance just stopped working. The car was immobilized and towed
The car lost all adaptive driving features and power steering.
Steering Issue Will be calling Tesla Service about this problem. Put the vehicle in Reverse to back out of a driveway and a message stating “Steering Assist Reduced” appeared on the display. Did not back up; could not turn the steering wheel. Put vehicle in Park and exited. After ten minutes put the vehicle in Reverse, no message, and was able to steer again.
1. Power steering diminished as I was driving. As the steering wheel was turned their was a "clicking feel" , more than a vibration. I drove slowly and safely returned home. The message on the screen was "steering assist reduced" steering may require increased effort. 2. I did fear for my safety and the safety of others on the road because I did not have full normal control of the steering wheel. I slowed speed to 20mph and carefully made my way home. 3. Yes, they determined my steering rack needed to be replaced. 4. Tesla service inspected the steering rack and determined it needed to be replaced. 5. The message displayed on my Tesla screen was "Steering assist reduced, steering may require increased effort".
Lost power steering while driving. Luckily this occurred while I was going less than 5mph and near a parking lot, so was able to muscle the steering to a safe place. Received a warning from the car that “steering assist is reduced” randomly. Luckily we were going slowly and able to find a safe place to park, so my wife and kids were safe. Could barely turn the wheel enough to park safely. Once restarted a few hours later power steering worked again. Car has now been in a manufacturers shop for a week to try and figure out the issue.
Steering is very jerky/choppy - vehicle is hard to keep straight while driving on freeway.
After 1.5 months of ownership (I purchased the car end of May 2023) the steering wheel appeared tilted to the right, and car pulling to the wright when driving. I have taken the car to Tesla service centers for 4 separate service appointments. They have conducted numerous alignments, adjustments, replaced front lateral links, retorquing but this has not resolved the issue. The car still pulls to the right. The car currently has 3000 miles. There were no incidents or car accidents.
I parked the vehicle. When I returned to it and was about to drive, the steering wheel became too stiff and I had to apply extreme manual force to turn. The code UI_a020 appeared and the message “Steering assistance reduced. Steering may required increased effort.” It happened twice on the same day. I had to stop driving the car.
Power steering stopped working when the car starts up, Cannot steer the wheel at all in PDNR. Basically cannot steer the car at all and it is not drivable.
The power steering failed while I was backing out of a parking space. I was unable to turn the wheel and almost ran into another car. I was able to use all my strength to turn the wheel and took it to the dealership Tesla said "there was a fault within the steering rack that caused the power steering to go out, therefore we had to replace this part" There was no warning messages about the problem before, during or after the steering went out. If this were to happen to anyone that did not have significant strength, it could have caused a major accident. If it went out while I was driving on any other road, I would have been in an accident for sure.
I received an error message while driving that the steering assist was turned off, and I was unable to the car. This has happened twice in the last week.
On 09/11/2023 at approx. 6AM CST, my wife went to a nearby Walmart store for groceries. As she was parking the car in the parking space, the car started to accelerate by itself and went around the parking lot in random directions. She couldn't control the steering and brake despite the continuous tries. It was such a traumatic experience, and the car went on to hit couple of other parked cars and the cart return stations in the parking lot. After few seconds of random self-drive in multiple directions of parking lot, it finally came to a halt as it got on a curb that flattened the tires. By God's grace, the car stopped right before entering the main busy road due to flat tires and also no pedestrians at that time. Otherwise, the situation could have been worse as the car was going in an uncontrollable manner. The incident was reported to 911 and they got the car towed to a towing garage. We got the incident report from the police department. They also have the CCTV footage of this incident. We also have the dashcam videos recorded by TESLA and pictures taken after the incident. I will provide any supporting documentation you might need to understand this incident and address the issue. We are trying to come out of the trauma from this incident and would like to bring this issue to the attention of all concerned parties for next steps.
Steering wheel froze while attempting to turn across opposing traffic into shopping center nearly resulting in an accident. Was able to forcefully turn into a parking lot and turn off the car. Steering notification came on. After ten minutes car seemed to resume back to normal. This caused insurmountable anxiety and I was unable to return to work. Car was towed to service center and estimated repair will take 2-3 days. This was a brand new car I bought for safety yet the safety of me and my children were jeopardized!
Power steering is intermittently and unpredictably failing. The issue has occurred approximately 10 times in total and has occurred both while exiting parking spots and while driving on the road. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request and has been given to Tesla Service Center for review. The service representative was not able to reproduce the issue and the vehicle was returned. Especially while driving, loss of power steering could force me into an accident, as I'm not able to control the vehicle in a reliable manner. When the issue occurs, I receive an error that says "steering assist reduced, steering may require increased effort."
Loss of power steering. Car started normally, but with no warning from the car, the steering wheel could be turned only with extreme effort. I tried to make a circle around the house, but barely avoided hitting other parked cars and called Tesla service.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model-3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently drifted into the left and right lanes. The contact then stated that while attempting to make a left or right turn, there was a clicking sound in the steering wheel. The contact also stated that the steering wheel failed to align with the front wheels. As a result, the vehicle failed to drive straightforward. the contact was concerned for his safety while operating the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack failed and need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,387.
I picked up a new Tesla Model 3 on July 29, 2023. On July 31, I received a steering reduced alert as I was backing out of my driveway and could not move the steering wheel. After I did a hard power off, the alert went away. I called Tesla service, and was told that this was not a typical issue but to schedule a service appointment and cancel if the issue did not recur before the next available date (Aug. 23). Two days later, on Aug. 3, I saw news articles about an the federal safety agency investigation into the same steering issue in 2023 Model 3s. I called Tesla service again, and now was told that they could not say that my car was safe to drive, and that there was no "official" response from the Company. I was directed to emergency assistance, which told me that the car was safe to drive at least to the Milford, CT service center, and noted that had I waited until Aug. 23, the alert would have been deleted from the system. I brought the car to the service center on Aug. 4. I was told that my steering rack needed to be replaced, and they gave me a loaner because the repair would take a few days. Soon after I drove back home (which is 30 min. away), I received notice saying that the service was complete. The service center did not give a coherent explanation for why they did not replace the steering rack and the correction codes did not line up. I told Tesla that I wanted to return the car, including bc it seemed like Tesla was trying not to perform an expensive repair they had listed themselves in their own documents with the federal safety agency scrutiny on this issue. I received no response, but was told by TD Bank that Tesla had agreed to a flat cancellation on my auto loan as of Aug. 9, with title to be reverted back to the dealership, and to discuss next steps with Tesla. I then contacted Tesla to return the car and obtain my deposit, and received no response. Then TD told me that Tesla reapplied for the loan on Aug. 22, without my consent. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare.
Lots of power steering. Unable to move vehicle…extremely unsafe.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to drive straight. While releasing the steering wheel, the vehicle would either veer to the left or the right. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer five times, where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was out of specification. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was concerned about a possible crash due to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided for over thirty days. The failure mileage was approximately 12.
Steering wheel could not turn after after parked and tried to drive again. Car could only go straight forward or backward. Also tried to restart the whole car computer, problem still persisted. The car screen displayed error message UI_a020 Steering assist reduced, Steering may require increased effort.
Steering wheel locked up while operating not allowing me to turn the wheel. Loss of power steering and control. Screen displaying error "Steering assist reduced" when in reality was completely unable to steer. Vehicle still powered and accelerated however no control over steering.
Car lost power steering without warning
Steering wheel got jammed while driving on highway. Stopped vehicle on rode side and called for Tesla road side assistance. Tesla towed my vehicle and replaced steering rack. Invoice attached for details
While driving yesterday night, I lost steering control. I stopped the car in the middle of the street and tried again but the steering wheel was very stiff. It took so much effort to change the lane and find a safe place to park. It was a scary moment for myself and my 2 kids. I was about to crash into other cars. A message appeared “ui_a020 - steering assist reduced”.
I was driving and the power steering stopped functioning. The car had just over 1000 miles and both the lane departure avoidance and steering assistance cut out. Restarting the start would bring it back on temporarily but it would cut out again after a minute or two.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized, and excessive force was required to steer the vehicle to the left. The "Steering Assist Reduced - Steering Require Increased Effort” message was displayed on the contact's smart phone, but not on the radio home screen. The contact sent a message to Tesla through the app; however, the contact had not yet received a response. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 4,369.
The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a right turn, the steering wheel became firm with the message “Automatic Steering Unavailable” displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted and provided towing service to tow the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,859.
After charging my car at a charging center, the steering assist reduced message appeared on the screen. Then the power steering gave out and i couldn't turn the steering wheel. I had to get the car towed to a service center.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2023 Tesla Model 3?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history