Regulators Close Case on Tesla Steering Defect

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officially announced on Saturday that it had concluded its investigation into Tesla vehicles. The investigation, conducted as a technical engineering analysis, involved approximately 376,241 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2023 model year.

The agency began a preliminary review of the situation in July 2023 based on complaints from owners who reported a sudden loss of steering control, an inability to turn the steering wheel or the need to exert significantly more effort to maneuver the vehicle. In early 2024, the NHTSA escalated the investigation to a more in-depth engineering analysis to thoroughly examine the technical defect.

The federal agency definitively closed the case after Tesla recalled 376,000 affected vehicles from the US market in early 2025. The power steering failure significantly impaired vehicle control, particularly at low speeds, thereby increasing the risk of a traffic accident.

Although the company stated that the recall was not a direct response to the investigation, which was still ongoing at the time, it promptly resolved the issue by releasing a wireless software update. This update successfully prevented voltage spikes and overloading of the motor drive components on the printed circuit board, which were causing the steering malfunction.

(Reuters, Max)