2018 Tesla Model S steering problems

Filed Feb 12, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · CA · crash · 2 injuries

I was entering my drive way waiting for the garage to open suddenly my car just accelerated and hit the wall.

Filed Feb 10, 2026 · Steering · AZ

Steering the vehicle is extremely difficult leading to major safety concerns. When making turns, right or left, where the steering wheel travels greater than 90 degrees, the steering wheel becomes hard to push past that 90 degree mark (I am 6' 200lb man). Once past 90 degrees, the wheel will stay at that turning angles without correcting to straight. A few times I have had to "muscle" the steering wheel quickly back the opposite direction to keep from running into parked cars on the right side on a right turn. I appears the lower steering column U-joint has rusted and is binding every 90 degrees making steering unpredictable, dangerous and difficult altogether.

Filed Dec 11, 2025 · Airbags, Brakes · CA

My 2018 Tesla Model S has a recurring safety-critical defect involving the steering system and the Chassis CAN communication network. On October 20, 2025, the vehicle had to be towed to a Tesla Service Center because it would not power on and displayed multiple safety alerts (traction control disabled, stability control disabled, ABS disabled, and reduced steering assist). Tesla documented that the steering rack was “bringing down the Chassis CAN” and stated the issue might require a new steering rack and coolant pump if it returned. The warnings have now returned, and the vehicle is again showing active alerts for disabled traction control, disabled stability control, and previously reduced steering assist. This is a repeat of the same unsafe condition that Tesla attempted to repair. The car is unsafe to drive and could cause loss of steering control. This is a recurring steering/Chassis CAN failure with major safety system disablement. I am reporting this because the defect affects vehicle control and increases the risk of a crash.

Filed Sep 28, 2025 · Steering · MD

On 9/27/2025 while driving my Tesla Model S, I received the error EPAS_w001 – “Steering assist reduced”. Immediately afterward, the steering became extremely heavy and nearly impossible to control, even at low speeds.

Filed Feb 22, 2025 · Airbags, Electrical · SC

The cable harness (slip ring) connecting the steering wheel controls including the vehicle horn, steering wheel buttons, scroll wheels, and potentially the airbag (according to the service technician) failed on this vehicle in January 2025. The vehicle was inspected by Tesla’s mobile service and they acknowledged that the cable harness had indeed failed. It is available for inspection. We have been forced to drive this car without a functioning horn and airbag. There were no warning signs or messages on the vehicle computer.

Filed Aug 12, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA

My car was left on the driveway for a weekend where I was out of town. Upon returning, as I got into the vehicle and started reversing to get out of my driveway; several alerts popped up on my car. The alerts included "Steering assist reduced", "Stability control disabled", "Automatic emergency braking unavailable" and lastly, "Parking brake Fault." Immediately the power steering was gone and it took several pounds of force to turn the steering wheel even a little bit. Then, the parking brake engaged. No matter how many times I put the car into Drive, it would engage the brake again. My vehicle was halfway out of the driveway and into the road and I was causing my neighbors angst. After several reboots, it still was not working. I was unable to even get the car into neutral to push the car back on to my property and out of the street. After nearly 20 minutes of trying and almost giving up; the parking brake disengaged for a few minutes and allowed me to get back to the driveway. However, when driving the brakes were extremely loud when the car was in motion. The car was completely fine with no signs of wear and tear or issues prior to the out of town weekend. The car was also fully charged so to not run into any batter issues upon my return. After some internet sleuthing, this issue is decently common and is caused by faulty housing in the steering rack. The nuts/bolts that were used by the manufacturer could not withstand more than a few years of wear and tear. I believe there was a recall on the previous years for this exact situation. I am afraid I will have to take it to Tesla service and pay several thousand dollars as the warranty expired last year.

Filed May 3, 2024 · Driver assistance, Steering · CA

Received and error message, Lane Departure Avoidance features unavailable and steering assist reduced simultaneously while driving between 65-75 mph. Steering will required extreme effort to turn. I was about 5 minutes from home exited the highway and took the backroads. Steering did require extreme effort. The following morning, car worked fine.

Filed Apr 23, 2024 · Electrical, Steering · TX

I was driving on the [XXX] to for a work meeting on Monday [XXX], 2024, at about [XXX] (central). My 2018 Tesla Model S shut down while driving on the freeway. The power steering went off and so did the hazard lights. I pulled over to the shoulder. Unfortunately, the shoulder is not too wide on [XXX]. I was driving at 70 mph or so when this happened. The only warning that popped on the Tesla Screen was “Vehicle Shutting Down Pull Over Safely”. The battery still had about 175 miles left to empty. So, this was an unusually unsafe incident that could have been life threatening. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 14, 2024 · Steering · TX

My vehicle did an update and after update I have received an error message “steering assist reduced”. I am unable to drive my vehicle and the wheel feels locked. I have reached out to Tesla and their soonest appt is over a week from now to even look at it.

Filed Mar 31, 2024 · Steering · CA

My vehicle suddenly displayed an alert saying, “steering assist reduced” and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. I became very concerned about my safety and the safety of other drivers, so I took the car to Tesla for service. It is currently being repaired.