— A Tesla steering rack investigation has been upgraded following 2,388 steering complaints and one alleged crash caused when a Tesla driver couldn't make a right-hand turn.
The driver said the incident occurred at an intersection when the Tesla hit another vehicle.
"Steering wheel was locked up in the middle of driving. Driver was making a right turn at an intersection. Suddenly a "Steering Assist Reduced" UI_a020 warning appeared on screen, and driver was unable to turn the wheel. No autopilot in any level whatsoever was turned on. - Safety risk: Driver hit another car due to the loss of control of the vehicle." — Tesla complaint
The upgraded investigation includes more than 334,000 model year 2023 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, but when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first opened the investigation in late-July 2023, NHTSA was aware of only 12 Tesla steering complaints.
Tesla owners complain about the inability to turn the steering wheels or an increased effort to turn them. Customers report the steering problem can occur at vehicle start-up or while driving.
A third of the complaints indicated the vehicle was traveling less than 5 mph, with the highest reported speed at 75 mph.
Most Tesla drivers saw warning messages which said, “Steering assist reduced,” and some drivers described their steering began to feel “notchy” or “clicky” either prior to or just after the incident.
According to NHTSA, more than 50 Tesla vehicles had to be towed because of alleged steering rack problems, and multiple complaints allege the vehicles blocked the roads or intersections.
The government also says multiple Tesla owners claim the steering problems were fixed by power cycling the vehicles, but the problems continued to occur until the steering racks were replaced.
Nearly 2,200 of the complaints were associated with steering rack 1044832-00-A or steering rack part number 1188832-00-A.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Tesla steering rack investigation.
