While driving and making a left turn the wheels pulled hard to the left and a major grinding noise started and at the same time the steering wheel locked up. I was just shy of crashing into a curb area and sitting in oncoming traffic lane. I pulled on the steering wheel and it broke free but still had a grinding noise and this happens a handful of times. I took to Tesla service and they said the lower steering link was completely hanging free. No advance notice just major failure.
2023 Tesla Model Y: steering wheel locks up
19 of the 1,198 complaints about the 2023 Tesla Model Y describe steering wheel locks up.
- owner complaints
- 19
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 3
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls and 2 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Steering wheel locks up by model year
- 20263
- 20251
- 20243
- 202319
- 20224
- 20216
- 20201
What owners say
The Autopilot/Active Safety sensor system and automated emergency braking (AEB) component failed. The vehicle experienced an uncommanded, severe "phantom braking" event and simultaneous steering lock. The vehicle is currently [State if it is at a tow yard, repair shop, or totaled, e.g., at an insurance-designated salvage yard] and is available for inspection upon request.
We experienced an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation with Tesla Y model on [XXX] around [XXX] and would like to report to the federal safety agency. We were driving on [XXX] going towards Nashua and my TESLA-Y car when the steering wheel froze and I got message that front camera was not working. When I tried to steer the car in the lane, the car suddenly braked and took two 360 degree spins (turns) on the highway with cars streaming at high speed around us. We went from the left lane to the right most lane after two 360 degree spins and ended in the right lane. Luckily, no other autos hit us and I was able to take control of the car and pull over in the right lane. The incident is recorded int the Tesla's harddrive which we can make this available to you. the car started working normally so we drove back home. We have had minor control incidents with the lane assist and auto pilot systems of this car in 2023 and 2024. We have complained and showed the problem to Tesla dealer in Watertown, MA. However they said there is nothing wrong with the car. We request you to investigate this incident with Tesla and find out the cause for the car to take this dangerous breaking and spinning incident on a highway. Thanks, [XXX] and [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Power steering occasionally cuts out during low speed manoeuvres, such as parallel parking, parking, and turning while stopped. When trying to forcibly replicate the issue (by moving steering wheel lock to lock while doing parking manoeuvres) computer showed codes EPAS3P_a122_olpActive and EPAS3P_a074_overHeatProtect. Tesla says this is "working as designed" and will not fix. I have asked the car to be serviced for this issue twice now. Safety is a concern as the issue is unpredictable and I believe the steering could become difficult suddenly in a situation where it is necessary to move out of the way quickly. (Ie. Stopped in traffic with emergency vehicles incoming)
My vehicle beeps liberally when parking in tight spots, anywhere near a line of any sort, etc. A few weeks after getting my vehicle in late November (I don’t remember the exact date), I was driving through construction at night and without warning, the steering “corrected” itself and I hit a cone causing 2 scuffs on my new vehicle. The steering locked, but thankfully I was able to get the vehicle back into the lane. When I called Tesla a few weeks later they asked for a specific date and time which I didn’t have. They said they were unable to help without that. Thankfully there was nothing more serious, but I would like my scuffs and steering fixed.
During the week of October 09 2023, I started receiving two failure alerts on my 2023 Model Y. The first is that lane keeping assist was unavailable. In spite of this alert, the system continued to function properly. The second warning was a Steering Assist Reduced warning. At first, this also seemed to not corollate to a noticeable issue with the vehicle. On the evening October 15, when leaving a supercharger station, I noticed a momentary stutter in the steering wheel that accompanied the above mentioned alert. No other issue was observed. On the afternoon of October 16, when leaving from work, after putting the vehicle in gear, I had no steering ability at all, it was a similar feeling to the steering wheel lock on older vehicles. The wheel would move approximately 1" in either direction. I immediately shut the vehicle down and performed a reset by holding in both scroll wheels on the steering wheel. This did not clear the code, but did return steering ability. Since I could not predict when the steering might go out again, I contacted Tesla and had the vehicle towed to the nearest service center.
Steering wheel locks frequently, especially when driving on busy road. Very dangerous.
I was driving my car, and the steering wheel locked while driving and pushed me into the oncoming lane. We were lucky there were no other cars coming the other direction. I had to reboot the car to get it to drive again. The steering locked up again while getting the car home and also in the driveway. Tesla towed the car and replaced the entire steering rack of the car. I then saw an article about this exact issue and wanted to add my car to the other complaints. My car is only six months old.
The steering wheel locked and stiff, wasn't able to turn. The was very dangerous as my wife and kids could have gotten into a serious accident. We are no longer comfortable with driving this vehicle even if Tesla repairs so we would like a refund
Steering wheel locked up while driving and making a turn
Steering wheel locked after only 9k miles on the car. Won’t turn so cannot drive the car. Brand new car. God forbid this happens while driving the car on road.
While driving the steering locked up and driver was unable to turn in either direction
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating software prior to 2023.38.4. The printed circuit board for the electronic power steering assist may experience an overstress condition, causing a loss of power steering assist when the vehicle reaches a stop and then accelerates again.
- Risk
- A loss of power steering assist can require greater steering effort, especially at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 25, 2025. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-25-00-004.
Recall number 25V092000 · Recall details
Steering: critical fasteners
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2022-2023 Model Y vehicles. The steering wheel fastener may be loose.
- Risk
- A loose fastener may allow the steering wheel to disconnect from the steering column, which can cause a loss of steering control and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla Service will inspect and replace the fastener as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were be mailed July 28, 2023. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-32-001.
Recall number 23V385000 · Recall details
Steering: automated/adaptive steering
- What is wrong
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or pending installation. The FSD Beta system may allow the vehicle to act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution. In addition, the system may respond insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits or not adequately account for the driver's adjustment of the vehicle's speed to exceed posted speed limits.
- Risk
- FSD Beta software that allows a vehicle to exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Tesla will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 15, 2023. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1‑877‑798‑3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-23-00-001.
Recall number 23V085000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2023 Tesla Model Y steering lock-up
Is steering wheel locks up a common problem on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
19 of 1,198 owner complaints about the 2023 Tesla Model Y (2%) mention steering wheel locks up. The model year with the most reports is 2023.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2023 Tesla Model Y?
There are 3 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2023 Tesla Model Y
Adaptive cruise 251Phantom braking 128Ball joint 76Collision warning 60Power steering loss 45Wipers 42Sudden acceleration 36Lane assist 35Jerking 24Harsh shifting 22Loss of power 18Grinding brakes 16Seat belt 16No deployment 15Headlights 15Backup camera 11Stalling 10Steering noise 10Brake failure 8Screen failure 7ABS 6Tire blowout 6Fire or smoke 5
VIN decoder
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