The steering wheel remains a crucial component of any vehicle and you certainly want it to stay in place while you’re driving. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with two examples of the Tesla Model Y whose owners complained about the “complete detachment of the steering wheel from the steering column while driving”. Following the reports, NHTSA opened an investigation for approximately 120,089 units of the 2023 Tesla Model Y which could potentially lead to a recall.
According to NHTSA‘s official document, in the two known cases of Model Ys with detachable steering wheels, the incident occurred early on at a low vehicle mileage, as the EVs were delivered with a missing retaining bolt. As described by NHTSA: “A friction fit maintained the connection between the steering wheel and the column splines during operation until separation. Sudden separation occurred when the force exerted on the steering wheel overcame the resistance of the friction fit while the vehicles were in motion”.
Read: Tesla Doesn’t Consider A Steering Wheel That Falls Off A Defect
@elonmusk @teardowntitan @CorySteuben
I am not a tech person. I would greatly appreciate a response from a technical/ mechanical professional. What is missing and why did the steering wheel fall off? pic.twitter.com/TStQ1nveMV— Prerak & Neha Patel (@preneh24) February 7, 2023
One of the two owners that reported this unwanted feature of their Tesla was Twitter user @preneh24. In his case, the steering wheel fell off on the highway following the vehicle delivery but thankfully this didn’t lead to an accident. Interestingly, Tesla initially asked the owner to pay for the repairs, before offering to cover the costs and finally buying back the Model Y.
NHTSA’s investigation will include an assessment of the “scope, frequency, and manufacturing processes associated with this condition”. After the preliminary evaluation is completed, the agency will decide whether to close the investigation or move forward with a recall if there are any safety concerns with the affected vehicles. In any case, we hope that any potential issues will be fully resolved before more Tesla owners find themselves unable to steer their moving vehicles.
A couple of weeks ago, 362,758 Tesla vehicles were recalled because of potentially unsafe behavior of the FSD Beta system, while a few days ago 3,470 Model Ys were recalled due to a possible issue with the second-row seatbacks.
