The steering rack motor failed causing the steering to become incredibly difficult. Turning the wheels at no or low speed takes great force and turning the wheel at faster speeds takes moderate force. The motor died mid trip, causing a very dangerous situation for myself and other motorists. The motor worked perfectly fine while driving to my destination and failed, thankfully, while I was stopped.
2013 Tesla Model S steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 29 of 29, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power steering not working
Back and front suspension issues, tire blow while driving and caused unsafe operation.
We own a 2013 tesla model s 85, rear wheel drive, no autopilot. As vehicle aged, the steering was noticeably vague and the vehicle became "darty" on the highway, seemingly wanting to drive out of the current lane on its own. This dartiness became worse and worse over time, and also was worse when accelerating or decelerating. We first alerted the dealer of the problem in aug 2019, and they replaced few components in the front suspension (both upper control arms and the right forelink) and charged us $1571+tax for parts and labor. The steering seemed a little better for a while, but in jan 2020 we brought the car back in with concerns about vague steering and the dealer recommended a wheel alignment, which we paid for. The alignment yielded no improvement and the car became increasingly difficult to drive on the highway, requiring constant steering adjustments to keep in its lane. We brought the car back to the dealer in may 2020, and by this time the dealer verbally agreed that the car was not safe to drive in its current state. They replaced both rear lower control arm assemblies and charged us $1382+tax, but this still did not resolve the dartiness. We returned to the dealer later in may 2020, and they recommended replacing nearly every other suspension part, including both rear toe links, both rear upper links, both front aft links, the front fore link that wasn't previously replaced. The cost for this was a $1870+tax. Fortunately, the steering issues did not result in any accidents. Since this last repair, the car now drives relatively normally for a 7 1/2 year old car. We are reporting our experience after we learned that the federal safety agency is investigating a series of other suspension-related concerns with tesla model s cars. We believe it is unreasonable for a car to become unsafe to drive in 7 years subjected only to normal personal use.
I made an appointment with tesla through the app and they assigned me at a place in berkeley to get the bolts in the steering rack housing replaced (a recall) along with another recall. After dropping off the car they said service was complete. I also have been having an issue with the mcu and they said they ran a diagnostic but couldn't find anything wrong. When they said service was complete I came to pick up my car. They gave it back but when I saw the invoice I noticed they hadn't completed the steering bolt recall. I asked why and they stated that because there was an aftermarket stereo amplifier in the frunk they couldn't access the bolts to replace them. If I hadn't inquired or looked at the paperwork I would have assumed the repair was completed. I am there asking for paperwork from my service advisor 'matt' who has been completely unhelpful in resolving the issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 tesla model s. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The power steering assist system disabled message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to tesla inc (9850 west broad st, glen allen, va 23060) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering gear and mounting bolts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was like the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v204000 (steering) which was previously repaired under recall. The manufacturer was sent an email however, failed to respond. The failure mileage was 111,000.
Corrosion to the lower steering shaft with u-joint caused power steering to fail.
Mcu (center screen) failed in my 2013 model s. I returned to the car after it was parked all day in an outdoor parking lot at work and it would not turn on. Rebooting, other troubleshooting did not remedy. As a result of mcu failure, turn signals did not work (exterior turn signals and audible indication of turn signals), air suspension could not be adjusted, climate control could not be adjusted, headlights could not be manually controlled, steering settings could not be adjusted, charge level could not be adjusted, media/entertainment could not be used, backup camera could not be viewed in addition to other functionality for the car. Leading up to the complete failure of the unit, the mcu would occasionally reboot itself during driving causing loss of turn signals and change in steering dynamics.
During all electrical fault failures the vehicle was stationary. I've had 6 service visits related to electrical faults causing mechanical failures. The steering rack failure was the most recent problem. Tesla replaced the entire steering rack. The tesla owner's forum and teslamotorsclub.com owners say they've replaced only the steering motor and that 1 part fixes the power steering fault. The electrical charging port failed because of electrical faults. The 12-volt battery has failed twice during the last year. 5 door regulators have been replaced in the front 2 seats due to electrical faults. 3 window regulators have been replaced due to electrical faults. The power steering failed due to an electrical fault. I've paid $6,500 for electrical faults during the last year. The tires I buy are rated to 55,000 miles, but they keep wearing out unevenly, and often blowing out, at less than 30,000 miles. The service center cannot tell me why the tires are continually blowing out and wearing out unevenly after minimal use. I went to a tesla service center for help resetting my touchscreen and installing a firmware update when I was thousands of miles from home. The service center forced me to get nearly $2,000 of new regulators. Parts were incorrectly replaced that were not malfunctioning. Parts that malfunctioned once or twice were replaced. Parts that were replaced the previous month, and were covered under the tesla parts warranty, were replaced again. The battery pack that powers the vehicle instantly lost 50-miles of range, 16% of total available range after visiting a service center. During 5.6-years of ownership, I lost less than 7% of total available range. I paid a $10,000 upgrade for range. I'm concerned it's a fault or that my vehicle was damaged or the battery was replaced with a defective battery without my knowledge.
Intermittent loss of electric power steering assist, leaving the steering wheel almost immobile, and very hazardous driving under the wrong circumstances. The problem started after an over-the-air software update from tesla. Car has 33k miles on it. Tesla service says not their problem, please have it towed here (90 miles) and pay us to look at it. Power steering rack itself failed one year ago and was replaced under recall.
My steering failed at 27000 miles and 5 years. The failure occurred one week before tesla issued a recall for this issue. The service center says that the recall covers replacing the bolts that fail and not the broken steering rack that occurs because of the failed bolts, so they think that I should pay ~$3000 to repair a known defect and obvious safety hazard. I was lucky that the failure happened when the car was stationary.
Here is a tesla in the junkyard. Https://www.copart.com/lot/19512447/photos the air suspension has collapsed and all the wheels have gone whompy. I think this might make driving difficult.
This is the car which swerved over a cliff and killed the driver. Https://www.easyexport.us/vehicle-finder/lot-16405175/2013-tesla-tesla-non-repairable-ca-san-jose http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3318773-181/pd-default-story-headline-xy?gallery=3314901&artslide=0 I have attached photographs that show not only that the steering knuckle has snapped but the tread is worn off the tire. This can only have happened while the car was driving on the road. This was almost certainly the cause of the crash. This same effect of snapped suspension with worn tire can be seen in many other tesla crashes.. Since about 2015 tesla has redesigned the steering knuckle to a solid h-section instead of the hollow die-cast original. There should be a recall to replace all of the earlier fragile versions. Many more images of snapped knuckles can be seen at https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@n05/sets/72157658490111523/.
Here is a tesla for sale at a salvage auction. Http://www.copart.com/us/lot/30119166?searchid=695877385 the air-bags have not been deployed and there is only minor damage to the front rh side. The car shows signs of collapsed suspension. The two rear wheels are skewed sideways in opposite directions. All wheels are jammed high up in the wheel wells. This would tend to make that car rather difficult to steer. There have been several reports of the air suspension failing and that since the car does not have limit stops on the suspension it can lead to dire consequences. Please investigate this problem.
Here is an auction listing of a tesla that has caught fire. Http://salvage-bid.com/result.php?VIN=[xxx] the pjhotographs show that the lh top ball-joint has pulled out from the steering knuckle. This is not the result of the fire because those parts are solid metal and neither the steering knuckle nor the wishbone have melted. The suspension failure is consistent with the pattern of similar failures that appear to have been the cause of crashes. Please investigate this recurring failure information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Here is a report of a tesla crash at an intersection. Http://insideevs.com/tesla-model-s-gets-wrecked-owner-says-vehicle-saved-his-life-images-owner-testimonial/ the report blames the other driver and credits the tesla with saving the owner from injury. The claim that the hyundai hit the tesla and then rebounded and hit the tesla once more is quite unusual. The photographs are high resolution and if they are blown up and examined close up you can seethe that tip of the steering knuckle is broken off (close up photograph of the actual part -which was purchased by a rebuilder- here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@n05/22799472895/in/album-72157658490111523/ I think it is possible that suspension failures are causing many crashes. The date of the incident is an estimate. The owner says that tesla have been very helpful. "?tesla called my home shortly afterwards saying that they received multiple alarms from the car and wanted to make sure I was ok. They picked up my car free of charge and transported it 50 miles to the nearest service center. They are also arranging a loaner model s. Can I ask for more? Please note that I am not the owner just a concerned citizen please include this crash in any inquiry into the tesla suspension issue.
My front wheel hub assembly came loose from the upper control arm causing a lose of steering.
Some tesla owners are alleging that there are tesla service bulletins for modifications on tesla's that are being kept secret. Ie: some tesla owners are reporting occasional poor brake performance under some circumstances. Many tesla owners have reported that brake discs and other brake parts easily become wet, then rust. Rusted rotors can cause grabbing, and uneven braking (swerving on brake application). Allegedly sometimes rusted parking brakes won't disengage. It seems sometimes brake parts become rusted, sticky and unreliable. When the brake pads become wet, there is poor brake performance with longer stopping distance. There are some tesla owners reporting that there are tesla service bulletins to prevent poor brake performance, by adding dust (splash) guards, replacing rotors and brake pads; yet doing internet searches I haven't been able to find any tesla model s. Service bulletins on the brakes. Tesla seems to be keeping safety problems like poor braking performance and the related service bulletins secret. Allegedly some teslas have been sold without brakes dust shields (splash shields) thus making them more vulnerable to water. Tesla's regen braking can be so efficient, that it seems some customer's friction brakes are not being used enough to squeegee away the water or generate enough heat to dry out the brakes. Shouldn't service bulletins, especially ones regarding safety be readily available to the general public? Automotive manufactures like tesla are dropping the ball.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 tesla model s. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the steering wheel abnormally tightened as it exhibited an unusual cracking noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated to the contact that the sham and racking pinion nut needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 200.
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