2023 Tesla Model X Steering Problems

Mileage when the problem started

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2023 Tesla Model X owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The touch sensitive horn button on the right side of the steering wheel is dangerous. It cannot be located and used in time to avoid a collision, and may cause an accident by requiring the driver to take eyes off road in order to look down and locate the small half inch area to press in order to engage horn. This is a DANGEROUS design defect I cannot safely operate vehicle without a Center push horn on the wheel. I have asked Tesla for a replacement to a safer steering wheel and they refuse.

The contact owns a 2023 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while accelerating up an incline, an abnormal grinding sound was coming from the steering wheel while making right turns. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a Tesla Service Center where the mechanic informed the contact there was no issue with the vehicle and the noise was normal. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 300.

I have driven this model x a few months now and there are many time I wasn't able to put on turn signal and honk the horn due to design . The turn signal is activated by turn buttons in a very small area right next to each other. When needed , the button would cause a lot of confusion , for instance , if I want to put on left blinker I would accidentally put on right, it is especially true when trying to put on signal when the steering wheel is already turned, the only way to avoid false input is to physically looking at the turn signal buttons before put on the blinker , but it is very dangerous for you driving because you are taking your view from the road. …

I took an exit form the highway on [redacted] towards Bothell. As Soon as I did and ended up coasting towards the first red light, all the warning signs came on on the car and my steering wheel locked up. And my braking also got reduced. Only thing that worked was the Acceleration pedal. I struggled to get the car towards any safety. There was a message on the dashboard saying that assisted steering is reduced will require more power. however it was locked. I tried with all my might to steer the car in any direction but it would not budge. I was super scared I was going to be in an accident. With the limited braking as well I had to find a curb in the road to be able to safely park the car or a slope where the car could slow to a halt. Luckily I was able to do that and slowed down. on a curb like area and then I was able to turn on the parking brake. …

Issue is with Tesla Full Self Driving subscription for $199/month and is available for inspection. No warnings or symptoms were indicated. The vehicle recommended I re-enable the service every time the vehicle restarted after it was shut off. Tesla's phone support stated the following is normal expected behavior, so an inspection isn't needed: 1. Automatically changed lanes on interstate into the space occupied by another vehicle multiple times. Thankfully, crashes were avoided by attentive drivers of involved vehicles. 2. Confused "40 MPH Minimum Speed" signs for speed limit, resulting in over 30 instances were speed was drastically and suddenly reduced, without warning, every time the sign appeared. 3. Automatically changed lanes on interstate from rightmost lane to center lane despite no traffic present. This seems to be a default behavior that cannot be adjusted. 4. …

I own a 2023 Tesla Model X and I am reporting a steering-related safety concern. When making hard left turns, the steering wheel/front end shakes or shudders and makes a LOUD sounds. This does not feel or sound normal and appears to be related to the steering or front suspension system. The issue happens during low-speed turning/maneuvering when the wheel is turned sharply to the left. I contacted Tesla Service regarding the issue. Tesla advised that this is a known issue and that there is currently no available fix. Despite acknowledging that it is a known issue with no repair available, Tesla still wants to charge me a diagnostic fee. I am concerned because this involves the steering system, and I do not believe a vehicle should have steering shake or shuddering during normal turning, especially on a 2023 vehicle. …

I'm not sure why NHTSA let Tesla remove the horn from the center of the steering wheel. Its now a button on the steering wheel. This is literally something Tesla is trying to fix that i'snt broken. The horn is a critical safety feature. Now that its a button its next to impossible to honk the horn while turning. There are certain tactile features that we drivers have all grown accustomed to and now they are being taken away and making the driving experience more dangerous for the driver, passengers and other vehicles/ pedestrians/ bikers. Please mandate that Tesla keep the horn in the center of the wheel so that we can hit it when its really needed instead of miss critical (mili)seconds looking for the button. I would also encourage you to consider mandating that the buttons on the wheel for signaling also be mandated to stay on a stalk. …

In dense rush hour traffic at approximately 7:20pm EST [redacted], a bus started merging in my lane just on my side on [redacted] . The horn in the 2023 Tesla Model X is a tiny button located in proximity of the right hand scroll button on the wheel right spoke. It's difficult to hit in an emergency and in attempt to signal the bus I probably hit the scroll wheel several times instead. Pressing the scroll wheel once activates the autopilot ("full self driving" in my case). The car shook and lurched likely due to the conflicting inputs of activating autopilot and braking (my guess) or for some other reason. The location of the horn as a tiny button on the steering wheel close to other buttons affecting the car steering response is extremely dangerous. I failed to signal the bus and I almost crashed my vehicle in confusion of the wheel shaking response.

On my 2023 Tesla Model X, the horn button is a capacitive touch button among several other buttons and it is difficult to use on a daily basis and impossible to find in an emergency. Yesterday, another car was drifting into my lane on the highway traveling at 70 MPH and I could not locate the horn in time to alert them. I had to drive evasively to avoid a serious accident. This has happened at least 7 separate times already. 2024 Tesla Model Xs now have the button in the center of the steering wheel where it is on every other car I have ever driven. Yesterday, I contacted Tesla service about this critical safety issue and demanded the replace my steering wheel with a center horn button because of the document safety issues. They refused. There needs to be a recall forcing Tesla to replace these defective steering wheels with the new and safe design before people get killed.

The steering wheel in the 2023 Tesla Model X is perhaps the most unsafe design in any modern car. There are absolutely no physical buttons or stalks, with everything relying on the capacitive touch buttons located by the left and right scroll wheels. On countless occasions, the left turn signal capacitive button has failed to register a press, leaving me in the hazardous condition of being unable to safely indicate a lane change. In addition, the horn being located on a capacitive button instead of the center airbag like every other car on the market has lead to multiple near misses. On many separate occasions, I have been in a situation necessitating the use of my horn to warn another motorist of a hazardous condition or imminent collision, but have been unable to do so due to the boneheaded and unsafe placement of the horn on this touch button.

Related recalls

Steering complaints in other Model X years