Tesla did not include all of the vehicles on the power steering recall from last week. Mine developed the problem right after the software download. They won’t push me the fix. The recall starts with MY17 but I have a late MY16 which is the same refreshed model s as the MY17.
2016 Tesla Model S steering complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 87, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving the vehicle car shutdown and went into park for unknown reasons. The steering wheel became almost impossible to turn. I also experienced the regenerative emergency braking and brakes malfunction. Car rolled off into the street nearly hitting another vehicled parked in front of it. The malfunction was initially reported to Tesla on January 5, 2022. Appointment was made for January 26, 2022, but was later rescheduled for a later date due to the service centers backlogged. This pushed my coverage outside the warranty periord rendering my warranty claim useless. Tesla refused to make repairs for free citing, "vehicle is out of warranty period"
To whom it may concern, On July 26, 2021, my Tesla was hijacked remotely and controls were overridden while I was on the highway (I almost crashed). This happened sometime between 11:30am and 4pm. I reported the issue to the NY State AG consumer affairs office. In December 2021, the car suddenly turned off and locked me out. It was then towed to another State and I’ve been unable to get it back in my possession. Regards, Gaetano
I was traveling on HWY 98 in Florida, headed home to Austin, TX from vacationing. I was with my wife and three young children. I stopped at a stop light, and when I went to reaccelerate, the car lurched. I pulled over and discovered I could barely turn and the suspension was making a terrible sound. I was able to maneuver into a parking lot and determined that my front driver's side fore link had cracked and was no longer holding. There is an existing Service Bulletin (SB-17-31-006) that should have covered this. My car is in warranty, and I have had it serviced before the accident, but after the publishing of the SB and Tesla never notified me that the links should be replaced. This was a tremendous hassle, and posed a very serious safety issue, because the broken link can protrude through the wheel well can cause the wheel to lock up.
Car was being pulled out of parking spot and front suspension failed. TESLA rode side service took car to TESLA dealer. TESLA said car was too heavy for parts and now the knuckles and the fore links for the front suspension need to be replaced. The car had a full alignment in February and everything was good. They said they were aware of a problem others are concerned about bit they can't do anything at this point as there is no open recall in the United States.
Over the course of 3 years, I reported that steering was "too loose". Often times any of the driver assisted functions would stop working, and the steering felt so loose that it was almost like the wheels felt like they would fall off. Often times it felt as though the car was out of alignment. I commented with the Tesla Service Center team members many occasions over the last 3 years that the steering did not feel right and starting happening after 2 years of ownership. I did purchase an extended warranty beyond the basic warranty. I asked on several occasions in writing if they thought the safety of driving with the steering so loose would be in question, and they would never respond in writing. They would only tell me verbally that safety was not an issue. After pushing them to determine what the root cause of the loose driving was about and the loss of assisted driving functionality, they said that my steering column needed to be replaced. I was only informed of this after my warranty had lapsed. The cost to fix it was $3500, and I have no other options on places to get it fixed other than the Tesla Service Center(s). Needless to say, I was not very happy about this considering that I paid over $80K for the auto in July of 2017. I also purchased AutoPilot software in 2020, but it did not work very well considering the steering problems. My hunch is that Tesla is trying to avoid this problem and wait for folks to go beyond their basic warranty and have them pay for new steering columns. I would appreciate your investigation into this and help me with my concerns. Also the safety of the car seems to be in question, and not sure if they are trained to tell customers not to worry about this issue that I have discovered. Thank you.
Steering became progressively stiffer over the course of a few days as the steering wheel turned to about 15 degrees. Turning the wheels became erratic, almost causing me to lose control on the highway when changing lanes and entering or exiting the freeway. It felt like there was no power steering. I felt it was unsafe to drive and putting me and others at risk of an accident. I had the car towed to the Tesla dealership and the STEERING I-SHAFT LINK LOWER (1060802-00-B) was replaced. It was completely rusted and stiff. There was no evidence of any lubricant on it. The dealership told me that this was a known issue and said they had replaced it with an improved part that would not fail again. A search for "STEERING I-SHAFT LINK" on the Tesla Motors Club forum (Teslamotorsclub.com) reveals that numerous other Model S cars have had the same problem.
Failure of L front fore link resulting in unstable wheel, contact of wheel with wheel well, difficult steering and inability to drive vehicle.
Update to complaint # 11418220 May 22nd 2021: I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion. May 25, 2021 Tesla service department informed me that they were not able to find any issues with steering. I insisted that they look at the vehicle logs to identify the root cause. After further investiagation they informed me that they have located a "loose wire". I am concerned that "loose wire" may be indicative of a larger safety issue.
I stopped the vehicle to make a turn. The steering wheel locked up and was not able to drive the car. I contacted Tesla, I was instructed to reset the computer. However this did not resolve the steering issue. I was then instructed to completely do a power shut down using the LCD control panel. This resolved the issue. It took several minutes to regain control of the steering and I was able to drive to a safe location. I am very concerned about the loss of steering and the vehicle requiring computer reset and power shut down before being able to safely drive the vehicle. I am also concerned that this issue may arise while the vehicle is in motion.
Car suspension felt loose and weird. Under normal driving (city streets and highways), changing lanes or going over roads with slight crown or ruts caused the car to suddenly pull and shift erratically (above and beyond that experienced in other cars). It felt as if there's something not right with the front suspension. When this happened on highways while using autopilot (experienced at least three times), the car swerved left and right erratically (after changing lanes) in an effort to re-center on the lane without success, and I had to take over manually in over to avoid from flipping over or an accident. Tesla service center inspected the car in late 2019 and said everything is normal. They performed a 4-wheel alignment but did not improve the behavior. This behavior has gotten worse over the past year and is very concerning. I only have a little over 30k miles on this car, and therefore do not expect suspension failure at this low miles.
I was backing up slowly, 1-3 MPH, and the front driver tire got buried in the back of the wheel well. I was only turning slightly, and the ground was relatively flat. There was no sound or anything, the car just stopped because the wheel was jammed in the wheel well. I came to find out the lower control arm/forelink had failed. It cracked and separated at the steering knuckle. Tesla was ok about fixing it, thank goodness the car is under warranty or it would have cost thousands to replace both sides for something that should never fail. I couldn’t leave the other side in place knowing this is common defect and that my family’s safety was in jeopardy. Thankfully this didn't happen while doing 65 MPH on the freeway. Tesla begrudgingly replaced both sides under the warranty. But, they didn’t repair it correctly. I’ve repeatedly told them the tire rubs against the front wheel well, and it didn’t before, but they said it doesn’t rub. Even though, I have pictures showing the tire against the wheel well, with no space in between. I also had to ask them to put all the retaining clips in place repeatedly, but they still left at least 4 out. All this happened at the service center in buena park, ca. Their customer service is terrible and there is no way to escalate problems beyond the service advisor you deal with. So, basically I’m stuck not really knowing if it continues to be a safety hazard because tesla refuses to cooperate and there is no one else to complain to. I have another service appointment soon, I’m hoping it will finally get resolved. I used to be a huge fan, but this company is a black box when it comes to customer service. They need to be held accountable for dealing with customer complaints regarding very legitimate system failures.
While pulling my car out of the garage driveway on 1/8/2021, heard a metal cranking noise and I wasn't able to turn the steering wheel to the left. After inspecting the wheel, noticed the front wheel on the driver side was touching/stuck the wheel liner. Scheduled a service appointment with tesla and took the car to the tesla service center today, they identified both front forelinks need to be replaced. Shared this article https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/tesla-front-suspension-failures-investigated.shtml with them but their response is according to tesla service bulletin, this only affects model s and model x vehicles were built between january 19, 2016, and may 25, 2016, but mine was built in april 6 but I experienced the exact same issue reported by other tesla owner
The tesla model s purchased, has been received with multiple safety concerns. 1) supension fore links & alt links need replacement due to corrosion 2)power steer fault - right toe link has excessivw corrosion & wear replacement needed. 3) right axcel boot leaking, clevis mount, right & left axel replacement required. Total labour exceeds over $9,000. This vehicle originated and manufactured in USA was imported to canada. There are safety concerns beyond this, the vehicle is unsafe and features many concerns. Driving on residential roads the suspension drops unexpectedly, during high speeds the vehicle pulls to the side. Parking assist & parking break inactive. Various suspension concerns leave this "luxury" vehicle parked immobilized.
On 11/25/2020, at approximately 12:00pm, while in line for the drive through car wash of a mobil gas station (los serranos country club dr), my vehicle, a white 2016 tesla model s, partially turned off. I could no longer steer the car nor could I restart the vehicle. The screens were completely black. I exited the vehicle and had to wait several minutes before I was able to get my vehicle restarted. This is not the first time something like this happened (though I cannot remember the exact dates of the previous incidents), where the vehicle would not start after stopping and I would not be able to steer the vehicle.
The emmc flash memory is failing, leading to the main screen blacking out for several minutes happens randomly while driving and when at stop and when the car is booting up. This prevents adjustment of several components including climate control, manual lighting, cruise control/autopilot, music it has been happening for over a month, progressively getting worse. Service came out to just reset the 12v and update the software and said everything is good but it definitely is not because its getting worse day by day
Mcu blacked out while driving on highway and when parked (sometimes while in reverse). 'autopilot features unavailable' and 'center display unavailable' error messages. Rear view camera was not available. Car startup and reboots took excessively long time. Navigation and voice commands were inoperative or unusable due to delay / inaccuracy. Web browser and screen rendering were increasingly delayed. All happened the day after full self drive upgrade was installed on 6/26/2020 with 30k miles. Tesla replaced rear camera, wiring from rear camera to mcu (8/10/2020 with 31.4k miles) and, ultimately, the replaced the mcu with the same old mcu (tegra chipset, 8gb emmc on 8/26/2020 with 31.5k miles). Logs with dates, times and symptoms available, along with tesla service repair invoices with dates, mileage and parts replaced.
This is a complaint about tesla autopilot that applies to all models of tesla. I have used the VIN of a junkyard tesla in order to complete this form. Here is a discussion thread in which an owner complains that following a recent over the air update the car tries to swerve into oncoming cars or off the road even when autopilot is not engaged. Https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/warning-for-tesla-drivers-on-steep-mountain-roads.180781/ snip**in our case this results in the car swerving towards the side of the road or into the oncoming lane and only very quick reactions and overpowering the wheel (and so far, luck) keeps the car on the road.** please read that thread. To compound the danger many tesla owners drive the car with one hand or finger on the wheel or hold the wheel in a manner that makes it difficult to grab the wheel firmly in an emergency. Defensive driving schools teach that both hands should be holding the wheel whenever possible. In the event of a sudden glitch of the power steering it needs considerable force to prevent a disaster. Here is an example of someone holding the wheel in the wrong way. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_q-jwuqqzg consensus among tesla owners is that this is ok. Tesla autopilot considers this meets the definition of "hands on wheel" it is time to rein in this reckless experiment. Please take action. Thank you keef wivaneff
Autopilot feature is either not detecting road construction cones or detects but the software ignores them and follow the white lines. The dashcam video is available at [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Stiff steering wheel. Sporadically the steering wheel gets extremely stiff and making turns especially minor course adjustment very difficult on both directions. It maybe related to high speed but does happen when I drive about 30 - 40 miles an hour or even slower. It feels very dangerous because I just cannot make a smooth turn.
The vehicle was in service for warranty issue. Tesla burbank service center denied to done the recall. Regarding to them, the recall is unnecessary and did not need to be done until raining. However, this recall is in needed for the power steering gear assist motor may move, causing the transmission belt to slip, and result in reduced or lost power steering assist.
I am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate tesla's unexplained swerving on the highway, followed by its failure to respond to the driver's inputs to the steering, resulting in a single car crash. I was driving my tesla model s in the leftmost lane of the northbound florida turnpike around 8 pm. I was following the traffic and I believe my speed was around 70 MPH. I was in full control and the vehicle was not in self-driving mode. Suddenly, and without warning, the car started swerving. I tried to steer it, but the car failed to respond to my inputs to the steering (the steering was not locked). Within seconds, the car crashed into the median, and from that impact, cut across the highway and crashed next into the guard rails at the other side of the highway, and from the impact of that crash, turned around and stopped in the rightmost / center lane. The accident resulted in a total loss of the vehicle. The weather was clear but right around when the accident happened, a light drizzle started. Because the accident resulted in damage to the highway guard rails, I received a citation (which I am pleading 'not guilty' to). My husband and I bought this new model s vehicle in march 2016. The current mileage on it was almost 60,000 miles. With regards to the maintenance history of the vehicle, the following may be pertinent information: 1)we received a safety notice from tesla in march 2018 regarding the power steering component (email attached). However, the email did not require any immediate action on our part and simply advised us to wait for availability of parts in our region. We never received another notice. 2)in april 2018, after a heavy rain event, the car would occasionally shut off and not restart. It was serviced by tesla, and found to have no other concerns (invoice attached). Tesla was notified 9 days back and we are waiting for an explanation.
This sunday may 20 I was driving my tesla model s southbound on route 1 in rehoboth to work in autopilot mode. I had this feature of my vehicle set to 50 MPH. If you aren't familiar with autopilot in tesla's, let me explain how it works. Once the vehicle indicates the feature can be activated, you press a button as you would any other vehicle with basic cruise control, and the car will literally accelerate, decelerate, and steer itself without further input from the driver. While using this feature of my vehicle, I had a significant accident on route 1. As I said, my vehicle was traveling at a rate of 50 MPH. I was driving in the left lane southbound with autopilot activated. In turnabout in the median, a white pickup was perpendicular to my car with sticking out about 1 ft into my lane. The left side of my car skimmed the back of his car without slowing down. Autopilot failed to recognize the car was there. I am lucky I wasn't killed, and I am lucky no one else was hurt. This accident has shaken me up quite a bit. Now, I do not blame tesla 100% for this auto accident; I don't plan to file a legal claim against them or anything like that. In fact, I plan on replacing my vehicle with another tesla (without the said autopilot features) but I would be doing a disservice to anyone without trying to use this experience of mine to hopefully save lives in the future. I brought these exact issues up with tesla regarding my accident several times to several different departments and my concerns have been totally dismissed. If regulation for features like these in vehicles is not implemented, unfortunately I have no doubt in my mind people will be hurt and possibly killed,
Autopilot suddenly swerved vehicle out of the lane to the left toward a bridge abutment. I had to yank control away from autopilot to recenter vehicle in the lane. I provided a detailed written description of the incident along with the time of the recorded "bug report" to tesla's service center. Tesla wrote the problem in the repair order as "customer concern - auto pilot is inconsistent" rather than the more accurate and more serious description I provided in writing to them. Tesla's final paperwork said system is "operating as designed." a lane keeping system should be designed to keep a vehicle within a lane, a lane keeping system shouldn't suddenly steer the vehicle out of the lane. The way autopilot suddenly swerves out of the lane should not be considered normal. This problem has occured multiple times.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 tesla model s. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the auto pilot engaged on its own and the contact was unable to turn it off. As a result, the contact crashed into a barrier wall as he was able to place the vehicle back into manuel mode. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact did not sustained any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not towed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000.
At approximately 9am on the morning of 1/4/18, I was driving in autopilot on the 405 heading north to my office in santa monica in my tesla model s and the car simply ran into the barrier wall on the left side of the car pool lane at 75mph. It was absolutely crazy! I have contacted tesla about the accident several times, but they are simply not interested. I just read about an accident that the u.s. National transportation safety board is investigating where the same thing happened and the driver died. I believe my accident could have ended the same way and I think it needs to be taken very seriously.
Here is a discussion thread in which an owner complains that his steering has failed completely: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-s-steering-failed.109021/ ****snip*** I was driving home tonight (2016 70d)and it sounded like I had a flat tire. Pulled over to check and tires were fine. Started driving again and all traction control and stability control errors came up on the screen and said to call a service center. I have to hold the steering to the left to get the car to go straight. When parked the right front side steering makes a grinding sound and when the steering wheel is straight the right wheel is not. Obviously there has been a mechanical failure of some kind but I'm not sure what it is. I assume I should have the car towed? Anyone have a problem like this before? ***snip*** I had my wife turn the wheel in the garage and it was just grinding from the passenger side. Felt more like an issue where the rotor connects to the steering arm. I don't have a handyman bone in my body so I really have no idea *** I am reporting this problem myself even though I am not the owner because tesla owners rarely submit reports themselves. They are discouraged from doing so by a misguided sense of loyalty to the tesla brand and "mission". There have been many credible reports of steering and suspension failures with teslas but very few of theses failures have actually been reported to the authorities. I believe that these failures are being covered up by tesla and that owners are being discouraged from filing complaints. Please investigate. Concerned citizen.
Here is a thread on the tesla motors club forum in which several posters provide detailed photographic evidence that the electric steering motor is falling apart due to corrosion. Https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/ the thread starts in october 2017 and is active right up until the present time with owners describing diy repairs that will probably make the situation even more dangerous. This corroded bolts problem is identical to the problem found on ford and other makes of cars that resulted in a massive recall. Https://ford.oemdtc.com/1684/15s14-steering-gear-motor-bolt-corrosion-2013-2015-ford-fusion-lincoln-mkz-2015-ford-edge-2 why in the world has there not been a recall of these teslas? If the federal safety agency is not going to act then perhaps the canadian authorities will. Https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/power-steering-falling-apart.100951/page-6 snip** today at 5:36 pm I just got a call from transport canada today. They would like to hear of all canadian vehicle steering rack failures for their investigation. Please call darryl malone of transport canada at 1‑800‑333‑0510 they are especially interested in examining a failed part even if it is just a sheared bolt. Unfortunately I did not ask for the failed rack when I got mine replaced . ** many teslas are in use on roads that are salted during the winter. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Please act immediately. Outraged citizen.
Here is a report of a tesla crash in austria: http://www.tt.com/panorama/unfall/13565308-91/tesla-brannte-bei-unfall-in-pians-komplett-aus-lenkerin-verletzt.csp?tab=article **the 19-year-old driver from innsbruck was traveling towards bludenz towards 1 pm. Because of a construction site in the local area, the two-lane expressway from landeck west to the shortly before the pianner / quatratscher tunnel is LED in the fast lane and then diverted to the normal track before the tunnel. The 19-year-old changed from a previously unknown cause not as pre-determined the lane, but drove frontally against the oblique running concrete walls. The electric car immediately began to burn. The woman, who was still able to get herself safe, suffered injuries of undefined grade and was sent to zams hospital.***** attached photograph shows the wheel and suspension parts lying on the ground. It is highly likely that a suspension failure was the cause of the crash. Once again the car has burst into flames and the photographs show that it is the glycol coolant burning rather than the actual lithium batteries. The flammable coolant is easily spilled in a front end collision and there are many sources of potential ignition in this electric car. Having gallons of flammable liquid piped through fragile radiators at the front of the car is a very dangerous idea. Please take action. Concerned citizen etc. Etc.
This is a complaint about the tesla autopilot. This video has just been uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvokisddxyw in this video a tesla employee is demonstrating the autopilot to the passengers. She drives on undivided roads just inches from oncoming traffic with her hands completely off the wheel. She encourages the passengers to believe that this is safe and that it is only necessary to squeeze the wheel occasionally to keep the autopilot happy. Lives are being placed at at risk by the irresponsible marketing of this glitchy and unsafe contraption. Thank you. Concerned citizen.
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