NHTSA Ends Investigation Into Tesla Model 3/Y Steering Failures

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded a safety investigation involving 376,241 Tesla vehicles, closing its review into reports of power steering loss in 2023 model year Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The closure follows an over-the-air recall issued last year to address the problem.

The probe began in July 2023 as a preliminary evaluation covering roughly 280,000 2023 model year Teslas after 12 owners reported being unable to turn the steering wheel or a sudden increase in the effort required to steer. By early 2024, NHTSA expanded the review to include more vehicles and upgraded it to an engineering analysis to further examine the alleged hardware behavior.

The Software Fix That Closed the Case

According to a report from Reuters, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation ended the engineering analysis because Tesla had already implemented a remedy. Early last year, a recall was issued for roughly 376,000 vehicles in the U.S. to address a potential failure of the power steering assist feature. The defect could make affected vehicles harder to steer at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.

Tesla indicated the recall was not a direct response to the government investigation, which was still open when the recall was released. The remedy was delivered via an over-the-air software update designed to prevent overvoltage breakdown and overstress of motor drive components on the printed circuit board.

A String of Regulatory Wins and Ongoing Scrutiny

Earlier this spring, NHTSA closed a separate investigation into 2023 Model Y steering wheels detaching from the steering column while driving. Around the same time, federal regulators also officially cleared Tesla’s Actually Smart Summon (ASS) feature, a parking lot tool that received a big boost in speed and performance with the latest Full Self-Driving software updates.

NHTSA is still conducting an active investigation into the low-vision performance of FSD (Supervised), which was recently upgraded to an engineering analysis to assess how the software handles foggy or low-visibility conditions. With the latest action, power steering concerns for 2023 Model 3 and Model Y have been formally closed.