2021 TESLA MODEL S Steering Problems

On October 17, 2025, while using Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode on my 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid, the car failed to stop at two red lights within a three-hour period. In each case, the car attempted to drive through the intersection even though the signal was solid red. I intervened manually and applied the brakes to prevent a potential collision. There were no prior warnings or alerts, and I have not modified the vehicle. This behavior endangers my safety and the safety of others. I am willing to provide the vehicle and any available data logs for inspection if requested.

The wrap on the steering yoke is peeling, already had a steering yoke replacement 18 months ago under warranty, and this replacement steering yoke exibiting same peeling issue. Could be a safety grip issue as the yoke portion is more slippery at the peeled section. Tesla refuses to replace this faulty yoke as a covered safety item.

4 months after warranty and only 42,774 miles, I am being hit with a massive bill of almost $2,700 from Tesla service in Lyndhurst, OH. This to correct right and left front end basic suspension issues that should not occur. Clearly the front end is not designed to handle the weight of car. The service manager told me that he sees this every day!! The car is not safe to drive until repairs are made. There was no trauma to the front end only normal wear and tear. The front end started making noise which had me take it to the dealer.

I am the owner of a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid (VIN# [XXX] ). At approximately 12,000 miles—well within the 4-year/50,000-mile Basic Vehicle Warranty—I began experiencing peeling on the yoke steering wheel. I reported this issue verbally at the time, but Tesla staff failed to document the concern, and the Tesla app provided no suitable method to submit the issue. Since then, I have made multiple good-faith attempts to schedule service for this defect. However, each time I have been met with out-of-pocket charge demands, including being told I must approve a $2,000 charge before Tesla would even address a basic light repair—effectively blocking my ability to have the steering wheel defect evaluated under warranty. When I explained that this issue is clearly a manufacturing defect and should be covered, I was told I did not complete the appointment. In reality, I was unable to proceed because of Tesla's unjust demand for payment for something that is not my fault. I have already reached out via email regarding this issue and received no meaningful resolution. I was also dismissed by Kennesaw store manager Hunter Moss during attempts to escalate. Public customer feedback suggests I am not alone—numerous Tesla owners have reported similar experiences with yoke steering defects and customer service dismissals. It’s frustrating and embarrassing to have friends and family see a visibly defective steering wheel in a premium vehicle like the Model S Plaid. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S. Code § 2301 et seq.), Tesla is legally obligated to honor express warranties and cannot deny warranty coverage due to internal miscommunication, technical limitations of the app, or improper handling of service requests. I am formally requesting a warranty-covered replacement of the yoke steering wheel without delay. Tesla has 7 days from receipt of this message to confirm a service appointment and warranty approval. If this matter is not resolved promptly, I will INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO

The horn button on the yoke steering wheel is a safety hazard. In a situation that requires quick responsiveness immediate reaction is to press the center of the steering wheel. Tesla has come out with a retro fit and the new yoke has it in the center. I am paying $1,000 for the retro fit for my safety and the safety of others. I expect the NHS to also look at this concern and address to assist with the prevention of accidents.

I have the yoke steering wheel. To activate the horn, you press on the right side of the steering wheel. I was driving at freeway speeds and a car did not see me and started to move into my lane. Due to the placement of the horn on the side next to windshield wipers, the wipers went on but not the horn. You have to take your eyes off the road to look down for the horn. Tesla is aware of the dangers of the placement of the horn and has a new yoke steering wheel with the horn in the traditional position, center of wheel. Unfortunately, Tesla has not on its own recalled the older model yoke although they have taken remedial steps to improve the design. I believe a formal recall should be initiated on this steering wheel.

Vehicle constantly overheats and causes charger to overheat. This causes the charging rate to reduce constantly. Home infrastructure has been checked and confirmed to be wired properly by multiple electricians. The suspension makes lots of noises and is a rough ride despite being constantly checked by the service center.

Due to the yoke not having a traditional horn button it is hard to remember to push the tiny capacative touch button... very dangerous. Also the yoke feels more dangerous than a normal wheel.

Front suspension has a popping and creaking sound when driving and turning steering wheel. Safety issue as sounds something is loose but Tesla says no issue it’s the body flexing which is even scarier to hear the panels rattling if this is in fact true. Tesla will not do anything about it. Additionally the brakes and rotors squeal when pressed at slow speeds coming to full hard stop. Both front and back. Both brakes and rotors have 90% life and according to Tesla shouldn’t need replacing until 90k miles due to the regen braking. The braking system does not engage as it should or how it is designed and car has 40k miles. Tesla uses the excuse that that they don’t cover this as it’s a wear and tear component. Which another issue because they don’t know the reason of why it’s doing this. They want customers to pay and replace the brakes and rotors. Many owners with same car experience this issue and is a design defect that can pose safety issues

Left turn signal button randomly stops working, have to click right signal then left again for it to work. Happens about 2-3 times per week

Went to a Tesla dealership to get my car aligned. 4 days later they told me that my car couldn’t be aligned because my fron lower control arm was bent or broken. I purchased the car from Tesla with 5700 miles. The cad had about 19k miles when it went in for alignment. Seen owning the vehicle I never had an accident or damage to vehicle that would cause such damage. Like always they like to blame the customer to we can cover the defects of there vehicles.

Dear Sir/Madam, I am highly concerned about the safety of the newest versions of Tesla Model S, Model X (without stalks), CyberTruck and Model 3 with the code name Highland. These models pose a significant danger when operated without intuitive direction signals, especially in the following situations: 1) Roundabouts: It is nearly impossible to correctly activate the signal lights. Please refer to the following example: [XXX] 2) Complete distraction of our focus from the road is required to operate signalling (eyes are EVERY TIME off a road), as shown in this example: [XXX] 3) In the event of a slightly dangerous occurrence, it is impossible to effectively and intuitively use the signals (or honk with the "Yoke" steering wheel). Please see: [XXX] Naturally, all of these points contribute to a significantly higher risk of accidents and undoubtedly impact the flow of traffic. Regards Alardo INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

After backing out of a parking space and turning the steering wheel, the steering wheel locked up. I could still drive forward and reverse but had no ability to steer the car. I left the car in order to turn it off and when I returned and turned it back on, the steering unlocked. I had this happen two times today.

The steering wheel needs a center push horn. This is not available in 2021 model s. On occasions when someone seerved into my lane or to alert anyone on the road in an emergency, driver can’t be scrambling to find a touch sensitive button on the steering. When palm is placed on right side, it just triggers the wiper instead of horn sometimes adding to the chaos of the situation. This is a major issue. Please get it fixed. Don’t recall the exact date. So selecting random.

The horn placement on the yoke steering is dangerous and problematic. It is illogical and useless in the prevention of accident avoidance. I have had several scenarios where I have needed to use the horn and could not find it because I was in a turn, or I intuitively slammed the palm of my hand on the center of the yoke, where the horn should be located. Also, when holding the yoke in the proper position my thumb is not long enough to reach the horn button. Just by luck and quick action I was able to avoid being hit in multiple scenarios. It is DISTRESSING and UNNERVING to be driving a vehicle where you CANNOT find the horn when needed! I cannot stress enough how important it is to recall these vehicles and place the horn in the center of the yoke/steering. How this design ever passed safety regulations and put into production is mind boggling!

I was recently nearly involved in a traffic accident when I wasn't able to blow the horn on the Tesla steering wheel. I was backing up out of a parking stall in a parking lot and at the same time another car in the stall next to me was also backing up. I tried went to blow the horn on the steeling wheel and I was not able to find it quickly enough because it is very difficult to find the button in an emergency. Fortunately, the other driver in the car saw me just in the nick of time and was able to stop. The problem in my opinion, and many others on social media, is that Telsa chose to not put a horn in the normal place on the steering wheel where most other car manufactures place their horns. Another area of concern about this Yoke steering wheel are the turn signals. Unlike most cars, the directional signals on this model Tesla are located in a small area on the steeling wheel. These buttons are hard to find and use when attempting to turn at a street corner or to change lanes on the roadways. Consequently, sometimes it's just easier not to use the turn signal. I personally believe that this is also a safety concern for this car.

The position of the horn button on the steering yoke is problematic. The horn button on the 2021 Tesla model S is operated by the right thumb. This position causes activation problems in various situations. One example is where quick horn use is required, the natural muscle memory is to push the center of the yoke , (where the horn button is located on all manufactured vehicles). The initial reaction to push the center of the wheel, causes an UNSAFE delay in horn activation, as the user then struggles to find the small horn button with the right thumb. Most of the time, the horn button is missed and the windshield wipers are activated, which causes more confusion in a stressful situation. Another problem with the position of the horn button is that when making a tight turn and the wheel is spun 180 degrees, the horn button is impossible to find or activate in a timely manner. It is surprising to me that the horn button placement was allowed to be installed on a production vehicle. While driving the vehicle there have been numerous events where quick horn activation was needed. One of the events happened recently while exiting a public garage. While the yoke was turned 180 degrees to make a right turn, another vehicle almost hit our vehicle and when my wife tried to hit the horn, it was impossible to find the button since the wheel was upside down, ( spun 180 degrees). Only luck prevented an accident. Another event happened two days ago. While driving on a 4 lane highway, a vehicle aggressively changed lanes toward our car. The action of the other vehicle caused a startle response, when my wife tried to hit the horn, muscle memory caused her to push the center of the wheel, instead of the small button that is activated by the thumb. By the time she found the button, it was too late to prevent the other vehicle from swerving into our lane. Also, the windshield wipers were activated instead of the horn. The horn position needs to be changed to the center of the wheel.

The yoke is DANGEROUS, stupid, offers no benefit. The horn is way off center, meaning it's always in a different place, depending on the turn position. This is criminally stupid, and almost caused 3 accidents already for me. When you need a horn, it's to prevent an accident, and everyone intuitively slams the middle of the steering WHEEL.... There needs to be a recall and provide us with a proper steering wheel, with horn in the middle.

In several potentially dangerous situations I was unable to locate the unusually positioned horn signal in time to reduce the potential for an accident. In these situations an accident did not occur but the situation could have been made much safer if the horn switch was located in the center of the steering wheel (yoke). This also applies to a lesser extent to the unusual position of the headlight high beam switch.

Tesla Sudden Acceleration Accident: I ordered a Tesla Model S on June 21, 2021 and received a Tesla Model S on November 10, 2021. On Monday, February 7th, 2022, at approximately 5pm EST, my Tesla Model S failed to stop in a parking lot. I was pulling into a parking lot at Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida. As I was turning into the parking spot, my Tesla accelerated and drove over the parking stop, crashed into a chain-link fence, and grazed the Honda SUV of a colleague. I tried to brake, but the Tesla did not respond. When the car finally came to a stop, I looked down and saw my foot on the brake pedal. The police reviewed the situation but did not issue any citations because, luckily, no one was injured, and the Honda SUV suffered almost no damages. I had the Tesla towed to the Tesla Service Department in Fort Myers, Florida, on the following day, Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, to check the vehicle. The Tesla Service Department charged me $175 for the service. It noted that "100% acceleration was recorded at approximately 4:55pm ET on February 7, 2022 and brakes were applied within three seconds: "Time stamp Monday 2/7 between 4:30-5:00pm Customer would like inspection he statedthe car wouldn't stop after he ran over a parking block and went through a fence. Requested vehicle log data for time stamp provided by customer to investigate collision event. Uponreviewing data, on February 7 2022, @ 16:55:59 / 100% acceleration recorded and on February 72022 @ 16:56:02 Brakes applied recorded. Upon reviewing of recorded data, 100% acceleration iscause of unwanted collision." The report does not indicate why the acceleration occurred.

Beta Autopilot was engaged, driver had hand on steering wheel, vehicle was traveling less than 35MPH (speed limit) and coming around a corner when it misjudged the road curve. The road curved to the left and as the car took the turn it took too wide of a turn and veered slightly off the road. Unfort the front right side of car went up and over the begining of a rock incline. The front right tire blew out and ONLY the side AIrBags deployed (both sides). The car traveled about 500 yards along the road and then turned itself off. I could not get the horn to work, nor put it in neutral. There were no warning signs before incident. In fact the I belong to a beta driving scoring rating and for that day Tesla rated me a 91/100. I called Tesla roadside assistance and they said they would not provide any help as it was viewed as an accident and not a self-driving issue. It was reported to Tesla and I have called several times to try and understand why the car didn't stay in the lane and why only the side airbags deployed. I reported this to Tesla Customer support and was now told they would not provide any information based upon their analysis, although initially I was told that it would take 5 weeks for engineering to review and get back to me. Vehicle is at repair facility and was told damage to car will be almost $28-30K. Car previously had issues with Forward Collision Warning system going off, although I was not aware there was a recall regarding this exact problem, back in October 2021

Power steering malfunction. On January 26, 2022 this brand new car, only 11 days old with 1,656 miles, suffered a malfunction with the steering mechanism and displayed the following warning: "GTW_w074 - Steering assist reduced - Steering may require increased effort." This is a safety issue that should be investigated by the NHTSA.

During afternoon commute in a residential area, driving at 19 mph, a cat running after some type of lizard run in front of my car. I have been driving for the last 40 years, safe driver designation on my license, and have more than 1,000,000 miles on my back without major accident. I instinctively went for the horn in the center of the steering and tried to catch the top of the steering wheel (absent in my car) to change course. Finding a little button among other little buttons to sound the horn is impossible when the driver is under stress and needs to use the horn. The consequence, sadly, was a severely injured animal that did not survive. Without diminishing the importance of an animal life, if that was a child the consequence would be catastrophic. The steering yoke and horn control pauses a serious danger.

I’ve reported a continually present rack and pinion issue.. FOUR times. Tesla techs claim they don’t experience it or that it is ‘normal’ for this car. The car emits an audible grinding sound plus a visible wheel skipping when turned hard left or right. Today, the right front wheel began to emit a loud whirring sound in addition to the steering issue. Tesla refuses to investigate the issue beyond test drives. The situation could deteriorate quickly resulting in my inability to control the car while driving. It is a very SERIOUS matter.

The Steering yoke is extremely poorly designed. It is very tiring to use, and doubtful that car could be controlled in an emergency. The directionals have no tactile feel. The switches for the horn, directionals, and wipers are flat, with no feel, and easily activated by error when my hand crosses their location. This is a very amateurish design. The standard directionals and shift lever need to be installed. I have been driving this car, with difficult, since 13 September and I hate it more each day.

The steering yoke is extremely difficult to use on congested city streets, or in an emergency maneuver. The yoke requires that you must cross your hands in a hard turn-a physically difficult action. It appears that Tesla did little or no human factors engineering, nor test driving in anything but highway driving. This vehicle should be recalled to fix this problem. The dealer personnel confirm a rash of complaints about the steering yoke.

My car has a « yoke » steering wheel that feels unsafe and should be illegal along with the touch turn signals and horn. I almost crashed today when I had to swerve to avoid a mother crossing the road with her child. I tapped on the honk, but unfortunately, it’s not in the middle of the steering wheel as one one would expect, but it’s a small touch button right next to the cruise control touch button. each time i need to engage it, I have to take my arms off the road and find this button. It’s very distracting, especially in emergency situations. The turn signals are also « touch » only and there’s no way to really know if you have them or not. When turning in a roundabout, the yoke steering wheel is almost upside down and trying to signal is nearly impossible. I think the yoke steering wheel and touch buttons are marketing gimmicks used to get people to talk about Tesla at the expense of the safety of the owners and other innocent users of the road. This is extremely dangerous in my opinion and I’m now officially scared to be driving my car. Please make Tesla recall these cars and retrofit a normal steering wheel with a regular horn and stalks for the turn signals. Thank you for reading you are our only hope. See more feedback from Tesla owners here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/model-s-plaid-delivery-and-first-impressions.235117/ Excuse typos I’m on mobile.

I recently took delivery of a Tesla Model S with the new steering "yoke" and lack of directional stalk. After having used this system for some time, I believe it to be extremely dangerous and ill-advised. First, Tesla eliminated the fixed-position directional stalk and moved directionals, wiper functions, high-beam functions and even the horn to small, poorly-defined "buttons" on the steering yoke. This change makes variable what should be fixed positioning for very important vehicle functions. In other words, these buttons become moving targets on an awkwardly-shaped spinning control surface that often requires the driver to take their eyes off the road in order to attempt even the most basic operations like signaling or using the horn. This is *extremely* difficult and *extremely* dangerous. For example, trying to signal when exiting a roundabout. In that maneuver, the yoke is nearly upside down and the buttons are backwards AND in the wrong hand. Or, operating the horn in an emergency situation. Rather than pressing the large center portion of a steering wheel, the driver must take their attention from the road in order to hunt for a small button in a random position on the yoke. Less critical but still important, the yoke itself is problematic in that it provides a reduced and awkwardly-shaped control surface, especially at low speed and in emergency situations.

This has to do with Tesla's new yoke steering wheel. I find myself awkwardly trying to make simple 90 degree turns. However, a more significant turn, such as a legal U turn, is altogether more dangerous. First you must twist your arms upside down to execute the turn, or you need to rotate grips but the wheel is only designed to be gripped while straight/upright. This causes a very real threat of missing your hold on the wheel. Then as you try to controllably/slowly straighten the vehicle the steering wheel rips through your hands before you can complete the turn. God forbid anyone attempts a hasty 3 point turn with a car approaching. In addition, I am a six foot tall male and my knees actually come in contact with the wheel as the lower outside corners of the trapezoidal shape protrude down and out. If I am gripping the outside of the wheel, at 9 and 3, my hands can also contact my knees. This is with the wheel tilted/moved up to its highest position. Then there's the turn signals which are much too easy to engage accidentally or engage incorrectly (touch left when you mean to touch right). The roll wheel which controls radio volume and track fwd is mm from the turn signals which are activated simply by touch, not depressing a button, which means inadvertently activating them happens commonly. To see if the turn signals are activated your eyes must find small blinking arrows at the bottom of Teslas 'videogame' display - what the car's cameras are detecting such as other cars, trucks, stop signs etc - the needlessly distracting display cannot be turned off. All of this made worse on a temptingly fast car. This wheel design is made for a track, not for consumer driving. People will die from this design, all in the name of "cool". Tesla has made other flashy design errors while trying to attract attention such as the model x's falcon wing doors, but they didn't pose danger. This one most certainly does.