89 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2023 Tesla Model 3 cite steering, 21% of all 429 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 2 recalls on this component.
“Vehicle: 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD, VIN 5YJ3E1EA3PF556059. Since the FSD software update from V12 to V14.1 (Supervised v14.1 Lite) in early August 2026, the vehicle repeatedly issues false 'apply steering wheel force' warnings while my hands are on the wheel, followed by sudden disengagement of Full Self-Driving without apparent cause. This has happened multiple times, including at highway speeds, which I consider a safety hazard. The Tesla service center in Miami Gardens has been unable to fix the problem after multiple visits. I emailed Tesla's North America service team on September 23, 2026 (with a photo of the in-car warning) and sent a follow-up on September 30, 2026; I have received no response.”
“Steering becomes very stiff or notchy where you have to pull it out of position or correct it constantly. Doesn't want to return to center! When you stop it returns to normal feeling then as soon as you get up to speed it becomes stiff again.”
“OKC Tesla Service Center replaced the steering wheel due to delamination over the weekend. The car was dropped off on Friday the 4th of September 2026. I picked the car up on Monday the 7th. On Wednesday the 9th after getting on the highway and getting up to speed the steering wheel came out of the steering column and was physically disconnected from the car. I was able to temporarily get it back into place enough to get the car to a save location to be towed.”
“The steering rack in my 2023 Tesla Model 3 is defective and I can show it for inspection. 1.5 years ago it failed and the torque sensor in the rack is showing that there is a constant demand (even when parked and my hands off the wheel) to turn the wheel to the right that you can see in the cars diagnostics menu. I took it in and showed the service advisor the raw data and took a drive with the tech who both acknowledged the data and the car wanting to drive off the road. They did an alignment on the car but the issue still persists even after I told them the night I drove it home in their survey. I live on very narrow country roads with little run off room and often times less than foot between cars as they pass. Several times I would get the 'corrective steering applied' warning as the car falsely thinking I was turning to drive off the road on the right and applied steering to pull the car left. A few of these times it was right as a oncoming car was approaching almost causing me to run into other cars multiple times because you have to get close to the edge of the road to make room for other cars to pass. I took it to a independent service center who…”
“While making a right turn from a near-stopped position, the steering wheel became stuck or extremely difficult to turn. The vehicle initially turned right normally, but when I attempted to steer back left/counterclockwise to complete the turn and straighten the vehicle, the steering wheel did not respond as expected. This caused the vehicle to continue in the wrong direction and resulted in a collision. I believe the electronic power steering assist system malfunctioned or failed. My concern is that the power steering assist experienced an overstress condition, causing a loss of power steering assist after the vehicle almost reached a stop and then accelerated again. This put my safety and the safety of others at risk because I was unable to steer the vehicle as intended during a low-speed turning maneuver.”
“The contact owned a 2023 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on the third floor of a parking garage, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to full speed unintendedly, and the steering wheel and the brake pedal were inoperable, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed into a wall and crashed into the vehicle in front, and the vehicle stopped. No further information was available. No warning lights were illuminated. The front driver's side air bag deployed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. A police report was filed. There was no injury sustained. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.”
Showing 6 of 89 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating software prior to 2023.38.4. The printed circuit board for the electronic power steering assist may experience an overstress condition, causing a loss of power steering assist when the vehicle reaches a stop and then accelerates again.
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or pending installation. The FSD Beta system may allow the vehicle to act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution. In addition, the system may respond insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits or not adequately account for the driver's adjustment of the vehicle's speed to exceed posted speed limits.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.