2013 Tesla Model S: loss of power steering

Filed Dec 1, 2021 · Steering · CA

I lost power steering with 64,850 miles on the odometer. I was told the steering rack ($2750) and the front left body harness assembly ($525) needed to be replaced because of corrosion. These figures do not include labor and taxes. While I'm aware of the recall related to replacing the steering bolts to fix a corrosion problem (already fixed), this fix was not covered. I was very annoyed that this fix also included replacing the harness assembly, because the labor charge was 3 times the price of the harness assembly. This problem occurred in the morning after the car was parked in the driveway overnight and as soon as I turned the wheel, I head a slight pop and had NO power steering. The two line fault was "Steering assist reduced" "Steering may require increased effort". I'm glad this did not occur while negotiating a turn at speed because it's extremely difficult to manually steer a 4750 pound car without any power assist. I asked to keep the old parts, but I was only given the old steering rack and not the old harness assembly. The old steering rack looks slightly dirty, but other than that it appears fine and is available for inspection.

Filed Jan 13, 2021 · 47 miles · MO

I don't recommend driving beyond the distance you can travel to and get back, I've seen a car that lost ability to charge to max, and actually limited to about 30% after mcu went black drive after a 30 second timeout no aeb (advanced emergency braking) no controlling suspension height no manual control of headlight lights no blinker sounds steering mode defaults to some setting (e.g. If I have it set to sport, during reboot of mcu is changes to standard or comfort, not sure but I can feel the steering wheel take less effort to turn than my normal sport mode) no HVAC (heat, cool, vent) no defrosters no seat heaters no steering wheel heaters no radio/streaming no app connectivity to control the car no ability to see the car charge status from app trip a/b profiles user settings homelink bluetooth pairings no rear view camera metric areas may have speed shown in MPH and not kph so be careful do to a few strange reported charging issues, be careful driving beyond the ability to get home without charging, (range) since I have seen a car that continued to get less max available range in capacity I have almost been in several accidents due to no defrost. I feel very unsafe when driving.

Filed Nov 30, 2020 · Steering · 111,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Jun 24, 2020 · Electrical, Lights · 98,200 miles · CO

The center media touchscreen (mcu) in my vehicle stopped functioning and several functions ceased working. Initially I received a "touchscreen unresponsive" message while driving so when I stopped at a stoplight I attempted to reboot the mcu using the steering wheel controls. The screen started the reboot process but everything that was on including HVAC and radio turned off for the remainder of my drive and were inoperable until after the screen was replaced. The touchscreen never turned back on. Many functions did not work when the mcu died with the oddest one of all being that I had no turn signal sounds which I think are created by the cars audio system and the mcu. With the loss of the mcu, I lost the use of my backup camera and my HVAC which was stuck in an off state so I had to roll down my windows in order to have any airflow in the cabin. Thankfully I did not need the forward or rear defroster between when my screen stopped working and it was replaced as both are controlled via the mcu and were unavailable. Charging at home was extremely limited and maxed out at very low amperage and I was unable to change the charging amperage due to the inaccessible touchscreen. I did not try a dc fast charger. Mobile app control was unavailable so I was not able to use it to adjust my HVAC or charging settings. The controls for adjusting the active air suspension were also not available however the car appeared to set itself to a normal ride height. No steering wheel controls (HVAC, radio, sunroof, voice commands) worked and my headlights were stuck in auto mode that was the second mcu in my car, previously being replaced about 14 months earlier due to the screen adhesive failing which caused air bubbles to form within the touchscreen. I think the cause of the mcu failure was emmc flash reaching its maximum write lifetime despite the prior replacement.

Filed Aug 21, 2019 · Electrical, Steering · 79,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed May 16, 2019 · Steering · 33,000 miles · CA

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.