2015 Tesla Model S Steering Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  2267%
• 25k–50k
  26%
• 50k–75k
  515%
• 75k–100k
  13%
• 100k–150k
  26%
• 150k+
  13%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2015 Tesla Model S owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel stiffened while turning. There was a loud clanking sound while turning the steering wheel. The eMMC center display screen inadvertently turned off while the contact was driving. The eMMC screen was also slow to start up while starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the failures started after receiving the vehicle back from a collision repair shop. The vehicle was involved in a collision where another vehicle had crashed into the driver's side door. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 115,480.

The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the limited steering warning light illuminated, and the power steering was inoperable. The contact was able to take the next exit to find a safe location on the side of the roadway. The contact reset the computer and the power steering became operable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the vehicle was being inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

I was driving my car around town and heard a slight knocking sound. It didn't seem to be a significant issue. Within a few hours, the knocking turned into a grinding sound. It seemed like the wheel was getting stuck in the wheel well. It didn't appear to be a significant issue, so I drove the car home. There were also no warning lights or indicators. As I drove home, the problem got worse and worse to the point where I was concerned about not being safe, but also didn't want to tow my car for a short distance. When I got home, I removed the tire and discovered that the fore beam on the right side had broken and was no longer connected to the wheel. Further research has shown that this is a known issue and there was a recall for the same issue in China. Tesla states that this happens due to driver abuse and bad roads. I can assure you that this isn't the issue in this case. …

A few times the steering control has shut off while I am driving. Steering failure lasts a few seconds and then returns to normal function. The car makes a VERY loud alarm sound when the steering is inoperable. I have not seen any failure messages on the screen or in the Service menu. I took the car to Tesla for service yesterday. They did some sort of remote scan of the fault codes and told me that there is nothing wrong. They told me to continue to drive the car and record when the steering stops working again. This sounds like ridiculously bad advice to me. While the steering control has always returned in just a few seconds, that does not mean that it will in any future failure. I am concerned about driving this car. Tesla wants $275 an hour to investigate the problem, which also seems ridiculous to me. …

While backing out of the driveway I heard a loud crack and grinding noise when turning the wheel to pull out into the street. Upon stopping a checking where the noise was coming I found that the left lower fore link completely sheared/ cracked off and the wheel was up against the back of the wheel well. ***The area where the wheel was backed up against (Completely tore the liner) has the cooling tubing (now leaking) & a high voltage wireline. This could've resulted in serious issues if we were traveling at higher speeds. Tesla has failed to reach out and call back regarding the issue and the vehicle is rendered completely useless/ undrivable. I've owned many vehicles and this is most certainly NOT NORMAL WARE AND TARE! This is a big safety issue and needs to be addressed ASAP. Thank god my family wasn't on the highway or any road above 5MPH when this happened. …

This is the 3rd time a control arm on the car has cracked. I see tons of people online complaining about the same issue with the fault aluminum control arms. I have no damage and no rust and it just cracked on its on as i was backing out of a parking spot. I could have been seriously injured or my daughter had this happened on the highway. My dad is an issurance adjuster for 30 years and has never heard of any cars control arms cracking on their own. Please help as this is a huge safety issue and it seems Tesla has been putting the blame on the drivers. There was a grinding noise in reverse and the wheel was tilted inward. Multiple control arms have cracked in the car. A car that has no damage or accidents. This car is less than 10 years old and this doesn't happen with any other cars. It's a fault control arm part made out of cheap aluminum.

While driving and mid-turn, 2 alerts were announced (park assist not available; steer assist reduced) and I immediately lost the ability to turn the steering wheel (it was 100% stiff) mid turn and was almost t-boned by a vehicle in on-coming traffic. I was able to make the turn widely and pull car to the side while blocking the only lane of traffic. I had ZERO warning and ZERO ability to turn the wheel even into a simple driveway. There was a parking lot near and I couldn't turn the wheel just to turn into it. This almost caused a huge accident which I could have been killed in. Luckily my children were not in the car. If the car can just stop working with no warning, it is not safe to drive in my opinion.

This appears to be a common problem as seen in the forums. But suddenly my steering locks at intervals when turning. Feels like the power steering went out and is very jerky. Requires a lot of force to turn the wheel. Sticks and then is loose. Apparently cause by a steering column or Lower U-joint when exposed to salt roads in northern snow climates. Also it appears Tesla has replaced this part with a covering preventing this from rusting and filling up with dirt and grime. My car does not have this feature. Hopefully the car does not lose steering completely or fail before my next appointment on June 9th. I called roadside assistance and they said to try a reset. That didn't work.

when backing out of my garage, I heard some loud metal breaking sounds from the front of the car on the passenger side. I drove the car a short distance and heard grinding sounds ... at which point I had the car towed. The part that broke was one of the Fore Link Assembly parts (or else the Front Suspension Aft Link Assembly .... the Tesla service department replaced both) .... these are the components that control the direction of the right front wheel when turning. I will upload a picture of the parts that were replaced ... showing the broken part. To the best of my knowledge, there was no apparent precipitating cause for the failure.

My car has intermittently given me the alert "steering assist decreased." When this occurs, the wheel is a little stiff at street speed but drivable, but at very low speed, to park, for example, the wheel becomes nearly impossible to turn. It usually occurs when the car is already in motion. When the alert is not on, the steering is fine. It does seem to be happening more frequently since it first started about a month and a half ago. A Tesla technician looked at it today and stated the steering rack would have to be replaced as the power steering is what is impacted. I understand you already have an investigation ongoing into this problem.

Related recalls

Steering complaints in other Model S years