Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2022 Tesla Model Y submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 53 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 53, in the owner's own words
During normal driving on roadway the vehicle pulled to the left and driver was not able to steer right to avoid travelling into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle from opposing traffic. The vehicle gave no notice prior and was not in automatic mode.
While operating my 2022 tesla model y, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic hardware failure of the onboard vehicle control computer. This total computer failure resulted in an immediate, sudden loss of electronic power steering assist while the vehicle was in motion. The steering wheel became incredibly stiff and heavy, creating a severe and hazarders driving situation. the vehicle was towed to a tesla service center, where technicians confirmed the onboard computer hardware requires a complete replacement. A vital computer failing prematurely on a 2022 vehicle presents an extreme safety risk of crash or injury due to sudden loss of vehicle control.
I was backing out of my residential driveway when I suddenly noticed the steering wheel required much greater effort than normal, indicating a loss of power steering. There were no prior warning messages or symptoms before this event. As I began driving, multiple warnings appeared on the display, including “Steering Assist Reduced,” “Stability Control Disabled,” “Traction Control Disabled,” and “Vehicle Hold Unavailable.” The steering immediately became extremely heavy, making the vehicle difficult to maneuver safely. Because the failure occurred without warning, I did not feel it was safe to continue driving except to move the vehicle as necessary. The vehicle was subsequently inspected by a Tesla Service Center, which confirmed that the steering rack and Front Vehicle Controller required replacement. The repair was performed by Tesla after diagnosis. I am submitting this report because a sudden loss of steering assist without any prior warning presents a significant safety risk. Although this occurred while pulling out of my driveway, the same failure could occur while a driver is traveling at higher speeds or in traffic, where maintaining control of the vehicle could be much more difficult.
The vehicle pulls or "snaps/clicks" when wheel is moved at all speeds while driving manually. It is more prevalent at higher highway speeds. Tesla stated steering gear mechanism may need replacement and it is considered normal wear and tear. There are no alignment, nor wheel, problems. The steering issue has become a hazard on the highway due to the sudden "jerk" reaction from steering wheel input. I am concerned the steering wheel input may become completely unresponsive in the near future when vehicle is being driven. Steering components should be a safety problem and not a typical "wear and tear" component. Car has never been in an accident or incident.
"I have a Tesla Model Y that experienced what looks like a steering malfunction, with documented data and repair records already in hand. "While driving our 2024 Tesla Model Y when the steering wheel suddenly turned itself, hard left, and driver couldn't regain control. The car went up a hillside, between a utility/ electricity pole and an electrical box, coming to a stop just inches from the pole. No injury, but real vehicle damage." "I pulled Tesla's own vehicle data log for that exact moment. It shows the steering angle went from +362° to -358° — basically two full wheel rotations — in about 1.5 seconds, while the torque sensor barely registered any force. Then the wheel stayed pinned at full-left lock for about 8 seconds while the car was actively accelerating in Drive." There was a fault code 14 mention in the data file right before the incident. "Tesla told us their review of the data showed 'no malfunction.' But afterward, Tesla's own repair records show they replaced the steering gear assembly and the drive unit — after we complained the steering felt stiff once we got the car back from the first repair."
Bolts for front lower lateral links in suspension backed themselves out over time, eventually causing the suspension to suffer a total collapse and trigger a complete loss of steering authority.
Following a 25-day repair at a certified collision center due to an earlier accident, the vehicle's Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Active Safety Systems began failing. The vehicle repeatedly failed to keep speed and failed to stay centered in the lane. On March 25, 2026, while traveling at low speed on a public roadway with FSD actively engaged, the system failed to maintain a stable path and incorrectly steered the vehicle into a curb, causing property damage to the wheel. This failure put my safety and the safety of surrounding traffic at risk by executing an unpredictable steering maneuver that the active safety systems failed to prevent. The vehicle was taken to the manufacturer's service center twice with this specific complaint prior to the curb strike. The service center investigated and officially concluded that this was not a software issue, stating that they could do nothing else. They deferred the resolution back to the collision shop, citing likely camera/sensor physical misalignment from the 25-day body repair. The collision shop is now refusing to review the vehicle or inspect the hardware, claiming lack of visible exterior damage despite the internal service team stating this is a latent hardware alignment defect. The vehicle is currently in the same failing condition and available for inspection upon request. No warning lamps or error messages appeared on the screen prior to the failure or the curb strike. The symptom of unpredictable lane tracking first appeared immediately upon receiving the vehicle back from the collision repair earlier this year. Note: I have a formal data privacy request pending with Tesla to pull the exact chat logs showing their refusal to service this hardware defect. I will provide these to the investigator upon follow-up.
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that the steering wheel material had been unraveling. The contact received notification of TSB Number: SB2332003. A Tesla Service Center was contacted via the Mobile App Chat feature, and informed the contact that the vehicle would be repaired at the owner's expense because the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
The contact owned a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while the contact’s daughter was driving at approximately 70 MPH under significant rainy weather conditions, with autopilot mode engaged, the auto pilot became inoperable. The contact stated that the driver attempted to steer the steering wheel; however, the steering could not be steered, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle subsequently collided with a concrete wall and might have collided with another vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that all the air bags of the vehicle deployed during the crash. As a result of the incident, the driver sustained a nose injury and facial lacerations. The driver was transported to a local Emergency Room for medical treatment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and deemed a total loss. A Tesla service center was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance had been provided. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
I am reporting a repeated safety defect that happens only in rainy conditions. My 2022 Tesla Model Y repeatedly shows critical safety warnings including “Automatic Emergency Braking unavailable”, traction and stability control disabled, and “Vehicle Hold unavailable”. This has occurred during normal driving in rain every rainy season for 3 years, despite 4 service visits and parts replacement including the inverter. It started when I was pregnant and is now ongoing with my newborn in the car. The system failures happen while driving in normal wet/slippery conditions and greatly increase the risk of a crash. This appears to be a systemic safety defect, not driver error, and Tesla has not fixed it after multiple service attempts. Events & Dates: •First occurrence: Feb/2024 •Service visits: 02/01/2024 1. Verified customer's concern via vehicle log data. Technician reviewed the vehicle's logs and found that the vehicles communication system was faulted. Technician was not able to duplicate the concern at this time. Performed diagnosis and found no issues present at this time. Verified vehicle's communication system is operating as designed at this time. No further repairs are recommended at this time. Recommending customer to continue to monitor situation at this time. 2. Updated vehicle to latest available firmware version per service bulletin. •Most recent occurrence: 01/01/2026 fyi today is the 4th time I’ve indicated this issue , and this is during my pregnancy again, I feel extremely stressed and helpless
On [XXX], while using Full Self-Driving (FSD) to drive to a hospital in Oak Park, Illinois, the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration during the disengagement of FSD. As the vehicle approached the hospital area, I initiated disengagement of FSD to manually enter the parking area. During—or immediately after—the disengagement, the vehicle suddenly accelerated at full power without warning, causing an immediate loss of control and a collision with a nearby fixed structure. No system warnings or alerts were issued prior to the event, and the acceleration was so abrupt that manual intervention was not possible. This occurred in a low-speed, street-level environment where no acceleration was intended or expected and does not correspond to any normal driver input. Based on review of preliminary incident data provided by Tesla, there appear to be irregularities during the FSD-to-manual control transition, including missing or invalid input values, gaps in accelerator/brake/steering signals, and speed readings inconsistent with the crash severity. These indicators suggest potential instability in the real-time control system during disengagement. This report is submitted due to concern that sudden unintended acceleration during FSD disengagement may represent a safety defect with potential risk to drivers and the public. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
After installing the most recent Tesla software update, my vehicle immediately displayed multiple alerts: traction control disabled, stability control disabled, and reduced steering assist. Cameras were disabled, navigation was disabled and my vehicle location was wrong. The vehicle lost core safety systems that are critical to safe driving The car functioned normally before the update. Immediately afterward, these safety systems were disabled. Tesla Service has since diagnosed and confirmed, They state “an internal short within the drive assistance module (computer). The internal short is causing excessive current draw, resulting in loss of driver assistance features. The latest software has revealed the underlying root issue within the car computer.” This indicates that the vehicle was operating with a latent defect that Tesla’s diagnostic update exposed. The update did not cause wear-and-tear failure; it surfaced a hidden safety defect inside Tesla’s own hardware. Why This Is a Safety Concern Loss of traction control, stability control, and steering assist creates a significant risk of loss of vehicle control. If this had occurred while driving at speed, the sudden loss of these systems could have led to an accident. Attempting a reboot while driving (Tesla’s standard troubleshooting suggestion) would have created further distraction and risk. luckily when the car catastrophically failed and was unable to turn, I was in my driveway and not on a highway or any other roads.
accident involving my Tesla while the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature was engaged. Vehicle Information: [2022, Model - Y, ] Incident Summary: While driving with FSD engaged, the vehicle hydroplaned and the steering wheel started spinning uncontrollably and despite attempts, couldn't regain control of the car, and it spun while crossing lanes. A truck hit the front of the car and ended up on shoulder.
[XXX] [XXX] When I entered [XXX] from Los Angeles Airport using the [XXX], I was going about 30 miles per hour when I finished entering and was climbing the left curve to return to the sharing lane, when suddenly the steering wheel turned to the left by itself and I almost hit the wall. If I hadn't turned the steering wheel back hard, I think the car would have crashed into the wall. The dashcam footage is also available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Steering consistently made rattling/clicking noises, coming from under near the steering column. Car was taken to Tesla Service Center, and service center replaced the front lower lateral and compliance link assemblies due to worn bushings. For additional context, this car has only 38,000 miles on the odometer, driven primarily in Southern California.
The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model Y. The contact stated that while washing the vehicle, the contact became aware that the entire inner sidewall of the tires were warped and damaged, and the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that a cause for failure could not be determined; however, the tires were replaced and the front-end aligned. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted, and the contact became aware that the tires displayed inner sidewall damages. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 21,000.
The car will continue losing power steering while driving making it very hard to steer. It has happened at all levels of speed.
Driver side control arm while driving separated. I heard a loud thump and then the front driver side portion of the vehicle drop down. After further investigation, I have seen numerous vehicles have this exact same issue on multiple forums. I’m glad that I was going slow when this happened because it could’ve been catastrophic if I would’ve been going faster. How is this not a recall?
Model: Telsa Y 2022 AWD Long range What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Control Arm bolt fell from Driver side front Wheel. Not available for inspection. Bolt got fixed by Tesla Service Center How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Yes I imagine. Since I was driving in community driveway with less < 10 MPH. I was safe. If this happens in Highway, it would be big risk since Steering gets locked and only one wheel rotates. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This same issue has been reported mulitple times by other car owners over internet. As per dealer, this issue cannot be produced by him. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Component has been inspected only by the Tesla Service center. No one else looked into it. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warnings or indications. Car still doesn't know that it has a problem with front wheel or steering.
Hello, My name is [XXX] and I had the 2022 Tesla Model Y performance. I had an accident on [XXX]. Car just took control itself, we hit the tree. It was in a residential area, it happened so fast that I could not react to prevent it. After we hit the tree, the car caught fire, It was a nightmare for me, I had my best friend with me at the time of the accident in the front passenger seat. Both of us were unconscious, by the time I got awake, the car was in flames, my friend was still unconscious but then he got awake after I tried with the local neighbor to pull him out from the car. Unfortunately my friend passed away after an accident in 5 hours. I had autosteer assistance on my car as a subscription. Plus my car had a problem with the side cameras, from time to time it was giving me errors - Door Pillar error message. Cops were trying to get information from the car, but according to Tesla representative my car was out of network from June 30, 2022. And I never got any notifications that my car is out of network. I have a case against me VS State of New Jersey, the prosecutor's office charged me with vehicle manslaughter, at the time of accident i gave a statement to the police officer, in December 12, 2023 it was Nationwide recall on Tesla cars, and this recall it was exactly for the same problem what I described to the police officer at the time of accident, so my problem is, I can't retrieve any information from Tesla regarding what happened at the time of accident, DUE TO TESLA had my car out of network for 25 days prior. I can't prove my innocence because of that I'm facing serious charges right now. My complain is about my car being out of TESLA NETWORK FOR 25 DAYS, WITHOUT PROPER NOTIFICATION ON THE APP OR EMAIL, WHILE MY CAR WAS OPERATED EVERYDAY ON THE DAILY BASIS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
When driving home and try to make a left turn, the steering doesn't work and car suddenly speed up even though try to brake, the whole car is out of control, and the car hit my neighbor, and it's extremely dangerous! Thank god that no one is hurt. Police came and did a report but didn't say anything about Tesla. After that, I checked the alert history, nothing special, the only alert is remind me that window cleaner is running low. I tried to contact Tesla but failed, no one answer the phone call, no where to report. Everything is too bad
Two incidents: 1) Non-accident: My wife was slowing to make a right turn at a stop light and the steering locked up for about 3 seconds, where she wasn't able to regain manual steering control. We did not have full self-driving mode at the time. Luckily, she was only going about 10 mph, and was able to brake before running into oncoming traffic. 2) Accident: Our son was driving on a country road, along a section with a slight curve. We had a free trial for full self-driving mode during the previous month, but it ended two weeks before the accident, so he could not have had it in self-driving mode. It appears that he didn't make the curve, but as evidenced by a single long tire skid mark, continued almost perfectly straight, across the oncoming lane, and ran into a redwood tree. The car rolled and ended up upside down, against the bank back on the right side of the road, with the lithium batteries on fire. Our son and his passenger sustained severe injuries and neither has a memory of what caused the accident. Naturally we suspect the possibility that the steering locked up again. But it also seems likely that the AEB and ABS were not functioning correctly, as if they were, there should have been several short skid marks for the tires on both sides of the car, rather than only a single long skid mark. Additionally, there's no shoulder on that road, and there is a clump of bushes that come very close to the white line, so it's possible that a steering auto-correct initiated the incident. We have not yet been able to recover EDR or log data from the vehicle.
•Water leak from under the dash (potential electrical hazard) (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) •Window regulator malfunctions (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) •Front suspension noise (potential handling issue) (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) •Persistent rattle or squeak (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) •Autopilot failures and power steering issues (including excessive vibration and unexpected braking) (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) •Constant noise and vibration (AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION) *Autopilot failures and power steering issues (including excessive vibration and unexpected braking): This can lead to a loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of an accident. *Water leak from under the dash (potential electrical hazard): If water damages electrical components, it could cause the car to stall or malfunction while driving. *Front suspension noise (potential handling issue): A failing suspension system could compromise the vehicle's handling, making it more difficult to control during maneuvers or emergencies. **has been submitted for repairs at a Tesla maintenance center on multiple occasions." This suggests Tesla has acknowledged the issues and attempted to fix them. ***For Concerning Behavior: Autopilot Failures: The Autopilot system unexpectedly disengaged or made erratic maneuvers while engaged. False Object Detection: The Autopilot camera system falsely detected objects on the road, leading to unnecessary braking or swerving ***For Warning Lights: It is particularly concerning that these issues were not accompanied by any warning lights on the dashboard.
Incident Report: Model Y Autopilot Anomaly Incident Details: Date and Time: April 18th, 2024, approximately 11:44 AM PST Location: I-405 Northbound Vehicle: 2022 Model Y Autopilot Setting: Full Autopilot engaged at 65 miles per hour Description: While driving my Model Y on I-405 Northbound, I experienced a sudden and unexpected event. As I reached for a bag containing an apple, the car abruptly veered left toward the middle concrete divider that separates the Southbound and Northbound lanes. The impact resulted in a noticeable scratch sound as the car brushed against the divider. Challenging Autopilot Behavior During this incident, I felt like I was wrestling with the Autopilot system. It took approximately 7 seconds of back-and-forth struggle before I regained control of the vehicle. Fortunately, there were no other cars nearby, and both the car and I remained unharmed. The outcome felt like a true miracle. Summary In summary, the Autopilot system executed a sudden maneuver without any prior warning. The experience left me shaken, and I continue to have nightmares about what had happened. I have saved 4 videos which recorded the accident.
My vehicle encountered a severe loss of control, resulting in a collision with a concrete wall on I-90 west towards Seattle at 19,877 miles. This critical event, leading to non-deployment of airbags and subsequent hospitalization, occurred shortly after two prior services addressing a Rear Drive Motor unit malfunction, first at 14,768 miles and again at 14,820 miles. These incidents underscore a troubling pattern of safety concerns. Inspection Details: Front Suspension: Replacement of Stabilizer Bar Link (1188391-00-B). Steering Gear: Replacement of Steering Gear Assembly (1044831-00-H), essential for control. Sub-Frame & Steering Components: Reinstallation of the sub-frame and replacement of the tie rod end (1044841-00-E), indicating significant structural and steering issues. Safety Risks: The sequence of malfunctions, particularly the recurring issues with the Rear Drive Motor unit followed by a severe loss of control and airbag system failure, presents an extreme safety risk. The absence of warnings prior to these failures compounds the danger, suggesting systemic safety and reliability flaws. Conclusions & Reporting: The vehicle's history of critical malfunctions within a short mileage interval demands an in-depth examination by the manufacturer and safety regulatory authorities. The objective is to uncover root causes, evaluate if these issues are widespread among similar models, and implement corrective actions promptly. This report aims to highlight the critical nature of the encountered safety issues, advocating for immediate interventions to safeguard vehicle occupants and the public.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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