Tesla Model X Steering Problems

Steering complaints by model year

Which parts fail

• Hydraulic power assist › Power steering fluid
  1
• Electric power assist system
  1

Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  2648%
• 25k–50k
  1120%
• 50k–75k
  1120%
• 75k–100k
  59%
• 100k–150k
  12%
• 150k+
  00%

What owners report

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding ongoing safety and service issues with my 2024 Tesla Model X. This is the third Tesla vehicle we've owned, and while our previous two vehicles performed excellently, this one has presented serious and recurring problems with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Since the second service visit, we have experienced four separate incidents in which the vehicle has either driven off the road or abruptly slammed on the brakes without warning. Despite two prior service appointments at the Tesla Service Center in Sarasota, FL, these issues remain unresolved. We also scheduled a third appointment, which Tesla later cancelled.

Vehicle GPS self driving is malfunctioning. GPS shows the route driving through houses and buildings The assisted self driving is extremely unsafe to use and the same goes for the GPS guided navigation The GPS is untrustworthy giving multiple unsafe routes.

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.

On Tesla's site, it says to report safety concerns to you vs to Tesla so that's what I'm doing since Tesla doesn't have any options to write to them about these problems. 1) I got into a parking lot accident on 7/7/2023 because of the "slide bar" on the Tesla Model X. I have had problems with it and complained to people about it before. If your hand has lotion on it, when you "scroll" up with your finger, it doesn't always "take". That's what happened earlier on 7/7 as well as in the parking lot. I scrolled to go forward, but it didn't scroll so when I hit the "gas" (its electric), it went backwards into the car in back of me. What if the car behind me was a person instead - that would have been awful. Tesla should fix this. 2) Tesla's horn is a small button on the right side of the 1/2 steering wheel. You can't even reach it with your right fingers when you are driving. …

The contact owns a 2022 Tesla Model X. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH with the Auto Steering feature deactivated, the message "Auto Steering Unavailable" Suddenly displayed. Approximately three seconds later, the steering wheel erroneously made a sharp turn to the left causing the vehicle to drive into the opposite lane. The contact was able to forcefully turn the steering wheel to the right to avoid colliding head-on into oncoming traffic. The vehicle was later towed to the local service center who confirmed that the failure was caused by an internal fault in the steering column. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,000.

The contact owns a 2021 Tesla Model X. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to steer while entering a parking lot. The contact stopped and restarted the vehicle before driving back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.

Alerts: UI_a020 - Steering Assist Reduced APP_w264 - Lane Departure features unavailable This incident happened suddenly during a normal commute from work to home. It caused the steering of the vehicle to be very heavy and difficult to control which could have potentially led to an unwanted accident on the road. There root cause seems to be a failure in the steering rack component of the car. It is a very common and prevalent issue with Tesla vehicles, and complaints on various Tesla forums and Reddit threads about this same issue. There also has been NHTSA investigations in the past regarding this. The failure caused the loss of safety functionality such as Lane Keeping Assistance, Lane Departure Assistance, Autopilot and FSD. Tesla Service Center diagnosed the alerts as a steering rack hardware failure and is charging almost $5000 to replace the part. …

Related recalls (5)