There are 15 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2025 Tesla Model 3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
On March 14, 2026, at 20:54:21 UTC, while the Autopilot system was engaged, the vehicle malfunctioned by initiating a sudden, unprompted right-hand steering command within 0.3 seconds, resulting in a collision with another vehicle traveling in the adjacent right lane. Telemetry data from the event confirms the system failed to maintain the lane despite the Primary Steering Torque Sensor measuring 0.00 Nm, proving no driver input caused the maneuver. This unintended steering event at cruising speed created an immediate safety risk to myself and the occupants of the other vehicle. To date, the manufacturer (Tesla) has declined to perform a technical or remote diagnostic review, redirecting the case to a collision center instead. No warning lamps, audio chimes, or system messages occurred prior to the failure; the vehicle is currently available for inspection and raw CSV telemetry logs can be provided to investigators upon request.
Lately I keep getting the following concerning message on the dashboard of almost brand new 2025 Tesla 3 car, even after reset the screen : Steering Assist Reduced Steering may require Increased Effort See the attached picture of this message, I took this photo On Dec 25, 2025 at 12:56 pm with parked car. I am pretty concerned with potential safety issue with the important steering-function while driving on highway and other roads. The car has only 804 miles as of Dec 26, 2025. The new car was picked up on May 31, 2025 with 15 miles. I have the FSD on monthly subscription. I have sent a message to Tesla. It has provided me with a service appointment at its West Bloomfield Township Center in Michigan on Jan 26, 2026 at 10:30 am. At the time of setting the appointment an estimate of about $450 was provided. It is concerning since the new car is under warranty. I am submitting this concerning safety related issue to NHTSA - to please investigate.
I am submitting this complaint to report a safety issue with the turn-signal buttons on my steering wheel of the 2024–2025 Tesla Model 3 Highland. The turn-signal buttons are located on the steering wheel surface instead of a traditional stalk. When the steering wheel is turned at any angle, the buttons are difficult to locate by feel, often requiring the driver to look down to activate them and take his eyes off the road. Trying to signal during turns, lane changes, or roundabouts is not intuitive, and I have nearly had several collisions. This design presents a potentially dangerous safety hazard and could increase the risk of collisions. Tesla should be required to recall and retrofit these vehicles with turn signal stalks on the steering wheel column.
The steering was hard to turn, and the fully supervised driving mode didn't work. This has happened twice, and both times the issue went away on its own after a few minutes. I performed a soft reset both times, but it did not resolve the issue. The first time, the steering was very heavy, i.e., hard to turn. The second time was less difficult, but in both cases, FSD (Full Self-Driving) did not function. General Guideline questions: 1. The steering system malfunctioned. The car is available for inspection. 2. The car was very difficult to drive. I was able to turn the wheel, but I won't let my wife drive it. 3. No. The nearest service center is 90 miles away, and so far, they want me to bring the car to them. I am still working to resolve this, as I believe this issue requires mobile service. 4. No inspections have been done. 5. Yes. An alert message on the main display stated: "Alerts - Steering & Braking - Steering assist reduced/Steering may require increased effort."
It threw an error that said “Steering assist reduced” and the power steering no longer functioned. It was very difficult to turn the wheel. The vehicle was stopped when the error popped up, but was driving fine up until that point.
I drove car for about 15 minutes and pulled into a parking space. There was no bumping or other incident. I left the vehicle for about 10 minutes and returned. The screen on my return showed 2 warnings, 1. Steering assist disabled, and 2. Collision avoidance system currently inoperable. Dealing with warning number 1: On starting to back out of parking space, i discovered there was no assist for steering, and a high degree of force was needed to turn the steering wheel and guide the car. This required considerable force. I tried a "system reboot" twice to no avail (this is done by holding 2 steering wheel buttons for about 10 seconds). I called Tesla for service and they towed to car to their service center. I do not know what steps were taken to diagnose or repair the problem. Warning number 2 disappeared from the screen when I started trying to back up..
Turn signals buttons occasionally don't work. Brought in for service and was told through a message that this is a firmware issue. Tesla then releases the vehicle back to me without a fix.
On my 2025 Tesla Model 3 Highland, the right-turn signal button on the steering wheel fails to activate approximately 25–30% of the time. The issue is random and unpredictable. This has occurred while changing lanes on the freeway and when turning into shopping centers or side streets, leaving drivers behind me unaware of my intent and creating a safety hazard. The problem is worse when lane assist is active, as the vehicle resists the maneuver when the signal doesn’t engage, interpreting it as lane departure. The problem started happening at around 3,000 miles on the odometer and continues intermittently. I have not had Tesla service confirm the issue yet, but other owners have reported that replacement of the steering wheel does not resolve it, suggesting a systemic or software-related defect. No warning lamps or messages appear.
The contact owns a 2025 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating while driving at 60 MPH, and the vibration was going to the contact's head. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local Tesla service center, where it was diagnosed with needing the four tires balanced, and the passenger’s side rear tire was replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to another local Tesla Service Center at 9950 NW 25th St, Doral, FL 33172) on four occasions. The dealer determined that the tires were unbalanced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the Tesla Service Center, where the suspension torque was adjusted. The tires were rebalanced, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the Service Center, and it was determined that the failure was related to the front suspension. The vehicle was taken to the same Service Center, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering column was the cause of the failure. The electric steering column and steering wheel were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,434.
2025 Tesla Model 3 the follow distance is too close to front vehicle (only 1 to 2 car lengths) while in full self driving mode and there is no way to adjust it like in cruise control mode. Also, while in auto cruise control or full self driving the forward collision warning has too many false alarms from overhead tree branches to nothing in front of car for more than 500 feet. Finally, the car takes turns too late and at unsafe speeds when autosteer and cruise control are both activated. This also happens during Full Self driving.
While making a wide right turn at an intersection I heard three warning beeps before the steering wheel locked. I was unable to correct the steering. When I realized it wasn’t allowing the steering to correct, I began to brake, causing me to drive over a curb, ultimately stopped by a fence and cactus in someone’s yard. This is a huge safety concern, as children could’ve been playing in the yard, or farther up the road where a curve has a 30 foot embankment I could have rolled into. I have scheduled a service appointment with Tesla to have it looked at. I have had this issue occur multiple times before and am sure it can be reproduced.
Steering assist reduced, traction control disabled, stability control disabled. When trying to drive steering heavy and car coasts unless holding brake pedal, which is unusual for a Tesla at it normally auto holds. Traction control and stability control also disabled, unsafe to drive.
The indicator buttons randomly disable and also disable if the user rests their finger lightly on an indicator button for some number of seconds. The car is available for inspection on request. Tesla looked at it and said it's "normal" and "expected" for the buttons to disable if you simply rest your finger on the button for too long prior to clicking it in. When this occurs, BOTH indicator buttons will be disabled for upwards of 12 seconds. Neither button will physically click, and the indicators themselves will not activate no matter how many times you try pressing the button. This put the safety of others (AND MYSELF) at risk three times in my one month of owning the car. Tesla did nothing the first time I tried to get it fixed and said it's "normal", and wanted me to leave the service center with nothing done. I refused, so they replaced the entire steering wheel for me. The new steering wheel exhibited this same behaviour this morning - nearly resulting in a car smash as I was trying to navigate around an existing car smash on the highway. No warnings, messages or anything. I've only owned the car for a month.
The contact owns a 2025 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the turn signal switch failed to function as intended. The turn signal switch located on the steering wheel was stuck while attempting to indicate a left turn. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering column control module had failed. The steering wheel and steering control module were replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who refused to repair the vehicle and stated that the vehicle was already been repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Autopoilt/FSD had a failure and malfunction, the car speeded up on its own and hit the divider while driving on a highway exit road, which is a u shaped road. - Everyone in the car could be dead if I didn't pull the steer wheeling at the last minute to aviod fatal accident, it was horrifying - I have reported the claim to Tesla right after the incident, but they were not responsive in providing a solution, for more than month, they just kept me waiting - No, it has not been inspected - no warning or messages before the crash and the failure, the system all of sudden speed up on its own, causing the crash This is a seriously malfunction and faulty on Tesla's FSD system, they must recognize this issue and take responsibility over it. Yet they keep failing to take any responsibility on it.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026