The issue began during the week of April 10, 2023. I started to experience significant steering wheel resistance in 90 degree intervals. My initial assumption was the power steering was starting to fail. The amount of force required to turn became progressively worse towards the latter half of the week. However, there were no warning lamps or messages indicating there were issues with the car. On the morning of Friday, April 14th after dropping my kids off at school, I was using the vehicle's Autopilot function while turning on an eastbound interstate on-ramp and noticed the car began to veer off course towards the concrete ramp barrier, forcing my to immediately grab the wheel to prevent a collision. It felt as if the wheel was stuck again at one of the 90 degree intervals mentioned above. I've driven this route countless times utilizing the feature and have never had an issue. It's worth noting that the resistance was felt regardless of whether or not the Autopilot feature was turned on. That afternoon I took my vehicle to the local Tesla service center and the representative immediately said it sounded as if the u-joint was going bad. They took the car in and had the part replaced within 24-hours. That evening I browsed numerous forums and learned this is a common issue due to the u-joint's lack of protection and exposure to the elements. I have never submitted a safety complaint before but the fear I experienced that morning combined with the lack of any warning lamps or notifications from the vehicle compelled me to share. I do believe this is a broader issue that needs to be reviewed.
2015 Tesla Model S steering complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 51, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving my car around town and heard a slight knocking sound. It didn't seem to be a significant issue. Within a few hours, the knocking turned into a grinding sound. It seemed like the wheel was getting stuck in the wheel well. It didn't appear to be a significant issue, so I drove the car home. There were also no warning lights or indicators. As I drove home, the problem got worse and worse to the point where I was concerned about not being safe, but also didn't want to tow my car for a short distance. When I got home, I removed the tire and discovered that the fore beam on the right side had broken and was no longer connected to the wheel. Further research has shown that this is a known issue and there was a recall for the same issue in China. Tesla states that this happens due to driver abuse and bad roads. I can assure you that this isn't the issue in this case. When I brought it to the shop, Tesla insisted on replacing both sides, which indicates a concern for this to happen again. I have requested the broken part to be returned to me so I can inspect what happened.
This appears to be a common problem as seen in the forums. But suddenly my steering locks at intervals when turning. Feels like the power steering went out and is very jerky. Requires a lot of force to turn the wheel. Sticks and then is loose. Apparently cause by a steering column or Lower U-joint when exposed to salt roads in northern snow climates. Also it appears Tesla has replaced this part with a covering preventing this from rusting and filling up with dirt and grime. My car does not have this feature. Hopefully the car does not lose steering completely or fail before my next appointment on June 9th. I called roadside assistance and they said to try a reset. That didn’t work.
when backing out of my garage, I heard some loud metal breaking sounds from the front of the car on the passenger side. I drove the car a short distance and heard grinding sounds ... at which point I had the car towed. The part that broke was one of the Fore Link Assembly parts (or else the Front Suspension Aft Link Assembly .... the Tesla service department replaced both) .... these are the components that control the direction of the right front wheel when turning. I will upload a picture of the parts that were replaced ... showing the broken part. To the best of my knowledge, there was no apparent precipitating cause for the failure.
The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel stiffened while turning. There was a loud clanking sound while turning the steering wheel. The eMMC center display screen inadvertently turned off while the contact was driving. The eMMC screen was also slow to start up while starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the failures started after receiving the vehicle back from a collision repair shop. The vehicle was involved in a collision where another vehicle had crashed into the driver’s side door. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 115,480.
Today, I encountered what I now know to be a common problem with the U Joint in Steering Rack binding heavily at 45 degree, 90 degree, and 180 degree positions. This resulted in my steering wheel being stuck in position while driving and nearly caused me to crash into another vehicle today as a result. Luckily I was able to unbind the steering but it got really stiff. I drove to a safe area with steering continued to show binding/seizing behavior. I got a profession who inspected the U Joint and found a lot of debris. Teflon lubricant was applied and cleaned to their best ability but the part is really hard to reach and requires removal of the front drive unit for the dual motor cars. The binding is still occurring but not as strongly as before. This is already a flagged item and should be considered a recall. This issue could have killed someone today. The U Joint should have a boot over it and not be exposed to the elements. Posted below is a related bulletin for RWD Model S. I have a dual motor Model S so this issue is not only RWD S. The steering U Joint issue is not something to take light hearted. I did not know the steering could potentially bind until it occurred and it was so sudden. With so many occurrences with other owners, there will be an increased chance someone may crash and cause injury to themselves or others. If this happens during a lane change, it can cause the steering to bind and in the wrong situation, a pedestrian can get killed. I beg for the federal safety agency to take a deeper look and announce a recall. Please see other owners who have this issue: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/steering-u-joint-lower-shaft-issue-and-my-solution-so-far.212604/ Thank you. Best Regards, James
While backing out of the driveway I heard a loud crack and grinding noise when turning the wheel to pull out into the street. Upon stopping a checking where the noise was coming I found that the left lower fore link completely sheared/ cracked off and the wheel was up against the back of the wheel well. ***The area where the wheel was backed up against (Completely tore the liner) has the cooling tubing (now leaking) & a high voltage wireline. This could've resulted in serious issues if we were traveling at higher speeds. Tesla has failed to reach out and call back regarding the issue and the vehicle is rendered completely useless/ undrivable. I've owned many vehicles and this is most certainly NOT NORMAL WARE AND TARE! This is a big safety issue and needs to be addressed ASAP. Thank god my family wasn't on the highway or any road above 5MPH when this happened. The damage would've been catastrophic.
Please note: the VIN of the actual car that is the subject of this complaint is unavailable therefore I have used the VIN of another tesla of the same year and model in order to be able to make this submission. This complaint is about suspension failures in teslas. Here is a tesla in a salvage auction in england. Https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/37735131/clean-title-2015-tesl-model-s-p8-wolverhampton the only damage to the car is that the front wheel and suspension has been wrenched off. No air-bags have deployed and there is no impact damage anywhere on the bodywork. Photographs attached with this submission show the broken suspension and detached wheel. I believe that the cause of so many teslas having wrenched off wheels is very simple. Circumstances can occur in which full braking is applied to a wheel but the motor is still at full power. The electronics are not infallible. Glitches can occur. Even if power to the motor is shut down there is still massive stored energy in the rotor of the high RPM electric motor which acts as a massive flywheel. The suspension linkages are not strong enough to withstand the torque which is then applied. It is even worse if the ABS or traction control pulses the brakes because this then gives a hammer blow effect. This failure can affect either the front wheels or the rear wheels. There have been many similar cases of torn-off wheels. You can see examples here https://www.flickr.com/photos/136377865@n05/albums/72157719033036968 please take action. It is obvious that tesla is refusing to remedy the situation.
On saturday may 30, 2020, I was backing up our 2015 tesla model s in a parking area in ann arbor, mi, at a very low speed, when I heard a sudden 'jolting' noise. After driving about a mile further, when turning to park elsewhere, the right front tire began rubbing the rear side of its cavity (the wheel liner), and became unstable. We had to have it towed from that location 48 miles, to the tesla service center in clarkston, mi (covered largely by our insurance). Tesla diagnosed the problem as a failed right front fore link on monday, june 1st, and fixed the vehicle on the same day--(replacing both left and right front fore links). I was charged $323.75 for labor, but did not have to pay for the fore link parts (2 x $205 = $410). For some unknown reason, the right front wheel liner was not replaced as part of this repair. I called tesla clarkston about this when I noticed it and scheduled a road service repair for june 15th. I was charged an additional $167.00 (parts, labor, and $4.50 tax) for that service.
I was turning into a parking lot on friday, oct. 2, 2020, when suddenly I heard a grinding noise from the front right wheel. After parking, I couldn't see anything wrong. When I left, the noise continued, and although the car was driveable (less than 25 MPH), the grinding noise continued whenever I turned the wheels at all. Fortunately, I was only about a mile from the local tesla service center so I drove the car directly there. Although the car did turn, it was not turning as sharply as it should. But it was enough to get me there and into the parking lot safely. At that point, the right front tire looked like it was pushed back against the rear of the tirewell. We looked under the car and saw a detached control arm on the right side. They fixed the part and returned the car to me the following week.
Pulling my car out of my driveway, I attempted to reverse the car into the garage to charge it. After putting the car in reverse I heard a loud pop noise and the steering wheel refused to turn. Attempting to turn the wheel at all resulted in a grinding noise that made the car undriveble. After a tow truck was called, we noticed that the entire front driver side wheel was shifted backward and was resting on the rear of the wheel well liner. The air suspension controls would not allow me to move the height of the vehicle and instead were locked at "very high".
Hi, I have severals issue with the car which are known issues for the manufacturer and for which service center says "yes it's an known problem on all these 2015 model s car" but you have to pay to get it repaired because the car is over 4 years old and more than 100 000km, so not under warranty anymore. Theses issues are : * two doors handles 1042845-00-b (one I paid for being repaired 60.83) one actually broken so right front door can't be opened from outside. Nearly all customers from model s from 2012 to 2015 have this problem for doors. In my case two times were when childs closed the door from outside a bit stronger, so it can happen anytime you close a model s door ftom this generation. The part 1042845-00-a has been versioned 1042845-00-b (the "a" is less resistant). * two windows can't easily be closes (the two on right side) even more when temprature is more tha 20c, anti-pinch system don't work well so the window reoppen. So sometimes you let the car with windows opened with rain risk if you don't check it. In this second case, service center says this is also a known problem and say they can change whole part with payment ! * more important is computer issue with emmc failure where 8gb nand memory is getting by the time with read/write error because of use cycles, making so many issues on computer : screen hangs (nned reboot), autopilot issue, entertainement media loading or use issue, maps fot GPS slow or locked, long time before starting car (more than 2 minutes sometimes) until the time memory is definitly deas so the car remains unusable. In this case again, this is an problem from origin and should be replaced for free even after the 4 years warranty because problem comes with time. Tesla asked 2500 for whole replacement with computer, screens, 4g chip... Whereas they don't built it correctly ! * wheel broken no airbag, horn, commands...
Earlier today I sent in a complaint about steering rack/power steering qassembly failure. I made an error on the tesla service bulletin #. It should have read correctly:sb-18-32-002 r3 january 11, 2019 (not sb-18-21-003) my error was in suggesting the tsb last 3 digits changed from 001, 002, and 003. They are actually all sb-18-32-002 r1 (and r2, and r3) sb-18-32-002 r3 january 11, 2019 the final tsb has vertical lines on the left margin to identify the revised note sentence. Additionally, I erred in the bulletin changing from 18 pages to 38 pages. All were in fact 18 pages. Revisions on sb-18-32-002 r3 were notated with a vertical line in the left margin. Please add this information to my complaint. Also, I can forward a copy of the email sent to tesla on this issue, that was not answered by tesla.
Steering on the interstate highway was somewhat unfamiliar to me, it stayed in one lane but would wander more than I recalled. I assumed it was the studded snowtires (hakkepellita) and pulled over to check tire pressures. I carefully drove on to the supercharger, noticed as I bacaked into the supercharger position the steering was difficult, as if the power steering was compromised. Drove home carefully, found the electrified garage which specialized in tesla repairs, in seabrook, nh. The tesla was flat-bed transported to them. They reported that during the many weeks they had it, that the steering box had to be replaced. I contacted tesla customer service of the problem, and they did not respond. As a result, I cancelled a new 2020 model s during the summer of 2020, and bought a new lexus instead. I was too uncomfortable with the engineering of the tesla, and that the steering box should not fail in 7,690 miles since new. I found a service message that discussed a potential problem with the 5 power steering mounting bolts. They came to my home to replace them. I looked up the 38 page service bulletin and found several warnings in it about not taking more than one bolt out at a time. Since they had come to my home to replace the bolts, I theorized perhaps the technician did not follow the bulletin content exactly. Bulletin warned that if you remove more than 1 bolt at a time you must replace the steering box. See bulletin sb-18-32-002 r1 (and revision 2 and rev. 3) . Mine is submodel p85d (awd) and please note first version of the bulletin and revision 2, and 3rd revision are different. They reference service manual procedure 32010102 to replace the steering box on page 4 of sb 18-32-(001) see also: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/ where the steering box/ps failures are discussed by tesla owners.
Mcu failure. Scheduled appointments are several weeks out. Received update on 7/20 that mcu failed and tesla would need to order parts.
I went to tesla service center on 6/26/2020, notify them the problem for slow response on the touchscreen and also rattle sound coming from the steering wheel area, tesla stated the steering buttons need to be replace and the touchscreen is due to the older chip on the model, so it's normal. I picked up the car two days after after the replacement, on 7/4/2020 while I m charging at the tesla super charge station the car screen is complete dead, I can't play radio, no navigation, signal lights not working and back up cameras failed etc. I went on research and it seems like this issue is known now with the federal safety agency and is investigating. Today tesla said my mcu needs to be replace.
In 2018 tesla notified me of needing to inspect and replace 5 bolts securing my steering box and power steering units. They did that and left. I had serious medical issues, so my tesla model s had only 7,590 miles. In 2020 within just a few miles but nearly 2 years from that 5-bolt replacement, I was driving on i89 towards a tesla supercharger, I felt the car was wandering ever so slightly within my lane, so I was uneasy, but attributed it to my 4 studded swedish snow tires. Arriving at the supercharger, noticed much steering effort to back into charging position. When leaving, it had more effort to steer, and it didn't bother me much once I was rolling along. Same wandering problem on the interstate. Looked on the internet and found the 38 page service bulletin from tesla. #sb-18-32-002 r1 several times in it tesla warned that if at any point more than 1 bolt is removed at a time, the steering box must be replaced. They did not elaborate as to why. It seems now we know. Another issue I mentioned to electrified garage in seabrook, nh is the rear of the car settles down to nearly touching the rear wheels overnight. I suspected an air leak and they reported that I needed two rear air shock assemblies and a new steering box. They said tesla offered no rear shock rebuild kit containing new improved seals. I am in shock over both these problems at 7,600 miles and sent 2 email letters off to tesla, and no reply from either letter. Perhaps the federal safety agency sees this as a repeating issue on low mileage 2015 tesla model s p85d electric cars? My 2015 tesla is still sitting at the electrified garage 10 dows lane - seabrook, nh 03847 after almost 7 weeks. I love the safety aspects of the model s, but after struggling over the pain of poor engineering & supplier problems, I am looking elsewhere until they work out the bugs. Sb-18-32-002 r1 attached.
In 2018 tesla notified me of needing to inspect and replace 5 bolts securing my steering box and power steering units. They did that and left. I had serious medical issues, so my tesla model s had only 7,590 miles. In 2020 within just a few miles but nearly 2 years from that 5-bolt replacement, I was driving on i89 towards a tesla supercharger, I felt the car was wandering ever so slightly within my lane, so I was uneasy, but attributed it to my 4 studded swedish snow tires. Arriving at the supercharger, noticed much steering effort to back into charging position. When leaving, it had more effort to steer, and it didn't bother me much once I was rolling along. Same wandering problem on the interstate. Looked on the internet and found the 38 page service bulletin from tesla. #sb-18-32-002 r1 several times in it tesla warned that if at any point more than 1 bolt is removed at a time, the steering box must be replaced. They did not elaborate as to why. It seems now we know. Another issue I mentioned to electrified garage in seabrook, nh is the rear of the car settles down to nearly touching the rear wheels overnight. I suspected an air leak and they reported that I needed two rear air shock assemblies and a new steering box. They said tesla offered no rear shock rebuild kit containing new improved seals. I am in shock over both these problems at 7,600 miles and sent 2 email letters off to tesla, and no reply from either letter. Perhaps the federal safety agency sees this as a repeating issue on low mileage 2015 tesla model s p85d electric cars? My 2015 tesla is still sitting at the electrified garage 10 dows lane - seabrook, nh 03847 after almost 7 weeks. I love the safety aspects of the model s, but after struggling over the pain of poor engineering & supplier problems, I am looking elsewhere until they work out the bugs. Sb-18-32-002 r1 attached.
Tesla have the vehicle for quite a while but they haven't given a reason why they haven't completed the recall.
Excessive corrosion on steering u-joint causing lockup and excessive force to turn wheel, requiring repair. Excessive corrosion on control suspension arms, requiring repair.
Tesla will not respond to request to repair recalls the number provided goes in circles it ask to go through app we are a dealer and car do not have app I have made several request
I was driving my tesla model s slowly on a busy downtown street lined with parking spaces. Speed was less than 25 miles per hour. I braked to allow a car to pull out of a parking spot and my car made a loud noise. I tried to continue driving but the noise continued so I pulled into the parking spot that had been vacated by the other driver to see what happened. There was windshield wiper fluid leaking from the front wheel well and a visibly broken control arm at the front left wheel. I think that is what the part is called but I am not certain. There is a picture of the broken part attached. The wheel well was damaged and the trim at the bottom of the door was loose. There appears to be no cause for this failure as there was nothing in the road, no pot holes, no objects, no bumps. The car was driving fine before this occurred. The failure occurred about 3 minutes after I started the trip. Speed was low the entire trip as I was leaving a restaurant in a downtown area full of pedestrians, stop signs and parking spaces. The car was not drive-able following this failure since the front wheel was no longer supported. Tesla sent a tow truck to take the car to their nearest service center.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 tesla model s. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v204000 (steering); however, the part was not available. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available for the recall remedy. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
On aug 13, 2018 I went to the tesla service center in seattle and requested an appointment to have several recalls done, including seatbelts, takata airbags, and aluminum steering bolts. I was told in no uncertain terms by service manager kasi smith, that my car is blacklisted by tesla since it has a rebuilt title. That in order for the recalls to be done I must get the car "recertified" at a cost of between $5,000 to $32,000, depending on whether repairs are needed. So I called tesla's national customer service line (877.798.3752) and reached louis escobar at tesla's burbank, ca location. After he checked with the seattle service center (which I'd already told him refused me) and with his supervisor, hunter carlson, mr. Escobar informed me that my car is blacklisted by tesla since it has a rebuilt title, and in order for the recalls to be done I must get the car "recertified". My car was professionally rebuilt, and has been registered with the state of washington and I've been driving it for two years. If we can all agree that wrecked cars are -going- to be rebuilt, then what should tesla's policy be? I should think they'd want to protect their reputation and ensure the safety of their customers. So for recert do they charge high fees and take away all benefits that were paid for on purchase of the car, like navigation, autopilot, and supercharging? Well the cost alone forces those of us with rebuilt cars to drive around with no inspections, except those done by the state patrol, which are only checking that we did not use stolen parts. So clearly their goal is not to protect their reputation and ensure the safety of their customers. What is the goal then? Make money?
Here is a forum post from today where an owner reports that his electric steering motor has fallen off: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/page-15 **cvrcv, today at 1:58 am my power steering motor fell off while attempting to pull out of my garage this morning. 12/2015 delivery, 15k miles. I was going to replace the bolts myself on the saturday after the recall announcement, but I decided not to given tesla was doing a recall. Was almost impossible for me to steer it. You never realize how heavy the model s steering is, because the power steering turns on as soon as you open the door. Also I don't see fsd is going to work without dual redundant power steering motors. Single point of failure. ** there is already a "voluntary recall" issued for this problem but tesla describes it as non urgent and not a safety issue. That is ridiculous. Just on that forum thread alone there have been dozens of cases of the steering motor falling off completely and the car being near impossible to steer. Pointing out the bleeding obvious - the tesla autopilot relies on this motor. Please issue an immediate recall. Thank you. Concerned citizen.
Here is another tesla in the junkyard:https://www.iaai.com/vehicle?itemid=27797817&rownumber=76&loadrecent=true it has not been in a crash except that another car seems to have given it a very slight bump up the clacker. What is very interesting is that the lh front wheel is pointing straight ahead but the lh wheel has gone all whompy. This probably caused the tesla to slow down unexpectedly causing the car behind to boink it up the rear quite vigorously. Please be so kind as to investigate this. Thank you
There is a thread running on tesla motors club forum in which at least 5 different owners report that their steering box has completely fallen apart. Https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/page-3 the latest complaint from an owner provides detailed pictures that show snapped bolts and damage to the steering box making it unsafe to drive. This particular owner lives in canada and has tried unsuccessfully to file a complaint with the canadian authorities. Here is a link to more photographs posted by that owner. Http://www.teslazoom.com/power_steering.htm - message: power steering reduced function when turning the steering wheel it made an awful grinding noise and no power assist available. All they could do for me is to patch me in to service to make an appointment for the next day. I decided to take a look for myself and removed the frunk tub. Voila!, the electric steering motor had separated from the steering rack. All 3 aluminum bolts holding this motor to the steering rack had sheared off. Here is one that I found. There was massive corrosion due to road salt getting into it web research shows at least five other instances of the same failure on a pre facelift car. Post face lift cars have a redesigned steering motor with coated steel bolts holding it. ** many owners are under the impression that electric cars are almost maintenance free and they can save money by skipping routine maintenance. The owners on the power steering failure thread state that they were unaware of the problem until the steering failed completely. The number of wrecked teslas showing up in salvage car auctions is extremely high in proportion to the number of teslas sold. It is time for these cars to undergo a mandatory safety inspection by a qualified non-tesla authority. Please take urgent action. Snip**
Here is a tesla in the junkyard: https://www.copart.com/lot/44784947/photos it has been in a major collision and judging by the condition of the wreck it is almost certain that occupants have been killed. Given the many reports that have been made already it is highly likely that mechanical failure played a part in this crash. The attached photograph of the front tire appears to show the tread worn away over most of the width of the tire. This is consistent with a suspension component failure causing the tire to rub up against the wheel well whilst the car was travelling. It would be impossible for such tread wear to occur post collision as the wheel would need to have rotated hundreds of times to cause the tread to be worn smooth. Please take action to prevent more deaths and injuries being caused by these teslas. There have been so many crashes in which mechanical failure appears to be a probable cause of the accident that an investigation is overdue. Any mechanical engineer can confirm that the alloy suspension parts do not have sufficient margin of safety for such a heavy and powerful car. Details of injuries, speed etc. Are estimations based on the severity of damage to the wrecked car. Thank you. Concerned citizen.
Here is a discussion thread in which multiple owners complain and post photographs of tesla power steering racks that have completely fallen to pieces: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/ the first post was over a month ago and many other owners have joined in with similar complaints. However none of those owners have made a report to the federal safety agency because of misguided loyalty to tesla. Photographs of failed steering componemnts are attached. Here is a clip from the thread **parked my car in the driveway at noon today. Entered the car at 6pm and immediate message "car needs service", "auto park not available", "power steering " accompanied by awful noise and jerking when touching the steering wheel. Removed the tub and voila! The same problem as the original poster. View attachment 263444 cleaned it and got 8mm bolts and did a beautiful re-attachment job and no more messages but when turning steering wheel, awful grinding noise. So the gear is worn. View attachment 263446 okay. That's it. These are no longer "one offs" but a pattern of serious problems affecting a key safety component: steering. Worst case, the oldest model s is just over five years old. This kind of wear and damage--major steering problems--is unsat for cars at ten or fifteen years old. Tesla: please get on this problem with a plan to recall the cars and replace these components proactively, before the inevitable bad press which will result from doing nothing, not to mention the safety implications should there be accidents. Obviously, this is very much a supplier issue and the supplier needs to step up and open their checkbook, and open it wide.** please take immediate action. Concerned citizen
Here is a 2015 tesla in the salvage yard. It does not appear to have been in a collision but the front lh ball joint has popped apart causing the wheel to skew over at an angle. This failure could easily have caused multiple fatalities. There have been over a hundred reports of tesla suspensions failing. Please take action to prevent further death and injury.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2015 Tesla Model S?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history