Steering would be for the front, correct? Maybe the front suspension is off and no one has noticed yet. I don't notice any differences in the steering modes, no
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Hit potholes during road trip, and steering wheel started to feel floaty/loose. Can the front right camber be fixed by local wheel adjustment people?
- Thread starter fredjan
- Start date
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
Wheel alignment absolutely changes the steering feel and response around center, and even the rear alignment has a noticeable effect. Your alignment may be better or worse now than it was before, but it’s not surprising that it’s different.
Regardless, the alignment they did was not very good so it makes sense that it doesn’t feel right.
Regardless, the alignment they did was not very good so it makes sense that it doesn’t feel right.
Sure, but how can you explain that the three different steering modes feel the same, and that the steering feels loose and floaty?
I know how my car is supposed to feel. When I took delivery, it was very responsive and stable at 80 MPH. Right now I'm afraid of going above 75 because at that point the car starts to feel unstable. I know there's something wrong, but no one has even looked at the suspension.
The last thing I want is to pay $215 more for a diagnosis, but then the Tesla SC tells me there's nothing wrong with my car's steering and that they didn't even look at the suspension components that could be damaged or that likely were defective, which is why I am seeing these issues so early on.
Gauss Guzzler
Safety Score = 42
Well first, they didn't even touch your front suspension so if there was a problem, they wouldn't have seen it. Considering your concerns, they should have made an effort to adjust the front camber. Especially since you paid for a "full" alignment which includes front camber, which is out of spec.
Second, your rear alignment is sloppy. It's within spec but the L/R wheels are at opposite ends of the acceptable range. Only a lazy moron would align a car like that.
Third, you may have had more toe before the incident and therefore more stability, or maybe the rear wonkyness is your issue. Steering modes are just a subtle change in the power assist and won't have any effect on stability.
That's all the internet can do to help you. Go to the same or different alignment shop, explain your concerns, ask for a better alignment, and tell them about the floaty feel. Most shops will hear you and adjust the toe for better stability, often even letting you take if for a quick spin and return for immediate readjustment if needed. They're charging you $215 for 10 minutes of unskilled labor so it's not like you're putting them out by requesting decent work.
Second, your rear alignment is sloppy. It's within spec but the L/R wheels are at opposite ends of the acceptable range. Only a lazy moron would align a car like that.
Third, you may have had more toe before the incident and therefore more stability, or maybe the rear wonkyness is your issue. Steering modes are just a subtle change in the power assist and won't have any effect on stability.
That's all the internet can do to help you. Go to the same or different alignment shop, explain your concerns, ask for a better alignment, and tell them about the floaty feel. Most shops will hear you and adjust the toe for better stability, often even letting you take if for a quick spin and return for immediate readjustment if needed. They're charging you $215 for 10 minutes of unskilled labor so it's not like you're putting them out by requesting decent work.
Just had my S aligned at a small shop in Kyle, Tx. Drive nice after. Not sure if this is good measurement or not for an S
Scheduled service for "suspension diagnosis." At the SC, went on a test drove with the SC person, and expressed concern for a loose/unstable wheel at high speeds. The vibrations were noticeable after about 63 mph or so.
SC performed wheel balancing on my car and found nothing unusual. No comments on damaged suspension. I do not think the SC actually performed a thorough suspension diagnosis apart from what is visible once the wheels are removed. I did not mention anything about hitting potholes. The SC found no damage on my rims or wheels
The steering wheel still feels a but loose compared to before the incident(s), but the car drives much better (and straight) compared to right before I took it to Firestone. I'm wondering if, upon delivery, my Tesla's steering was unusually stiff compared to regular Teslas. I'll have to test drive a friend's Tesla and possibly test-drive some other Teslas (ex. From Carmax) to figure out how they feel vs. How much car currently feels and how my car used to feel.
I'm confident that, with all the wheel work that's been done on my car, I can get back to VA safely.
SC performed wheel balancing on my car and found nothing unusual. No comments on damaged suspension. I do not think the SC actually performed a thorough suspension diagnosis apart from what is visible once the wheels are removed. I did not mention anything about hitting potholes. The SC found no damage on my rims or wheels
The steering wheel still feels a but loose compared to before the incident(s), but the car drives much better (and straight) compared to right before I took it to Firestone. I'm wondering if, upon delivery, my Tesla's steering was unusually stiff compared to regular Teslas. I'll have to test drive a friend's Tesla and possibly test-drive some other Teslas (ex. From Carmax) to figure out how they feel vs. How much car currently feels and how my car used to feel.
I'm confident that, with all the wheel work that's been done on my car, I can get back to VA safely.
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yup, I have it on sport!
At this point I don't know why the steering feels a little bit different from delivery. I guess it's whatever, and the lower control arms will be replaced once the upper control arms inevitably fail
This will sound odd, but...what software version did your car have when you picked it up?
Did you get a software update at any point around this saga?
About a year ago a bunch of us on these forums noticed increased power assist / reduced steering effort on our Model 3's after a software update. And reduce difference between steering modes. The change was most apparent at lower speeds though, where the steering became (and still is) overboosted to the point where it feels *lighter* at low speeds than at high speeds - which is the exact opposite of how steering naturally feels (in the absence of power assist).
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/sports-mode-steering-feels-significantly-lighter.265076/
I complained to my local service center when it happened but of course they couldn't do anything about it. Tesla has never fixed that. To this day, my 2021 M3P still has the new overboosted steering. A 2020 M3LR loaner I had recently, which was running recent software too of course, was no better. (Actually it was worse because its suspension and tires were worse than mine, but that was expected.)
After a while the acute memory of my car's previous power assist programming began fading, and eventually I began questioning if the car really ever had the better power assist that I remembered. Then recently I took a 2023 (or maybe late 2022) MYLR for a very brief, very low speed spin only inside a parking garage - and it still had the old, better power assist programming. The difference was obvious. To be clear, my Model 3 has vastly better steering response than that Model Y - but the Y still had the better power assist programming from before Tesla messed it up on the Model 3. (Now that MYLR also had much heavier wheels than those on my Model 3, and wheel weight directly affects steering effort, but I'm pretty confident the difference was from much more than just the heavier wheels.)
And then I test drove a Palladium Model S (the current Model S). It too had power assist programming reminiscent of what my Model 3 used to have. So I'm back to feeling very confident that Tesla really did mess up the Model 3's power steering programming.
Like any electronic device with software, when Tesla manufactures a car, they will use a software revision or branch that has been thoroughly tested for use as the software that ships from the factory. That software version will often be much older than what is currently being served in automatic updates. It is plausible to me that your Model 3, as new as it is, came with the old power assist programming. And now you have the newer, worse power assist programming.
Edit: All that said, the change for worse power steering was (is) most apparent at low speeds, not so much at high speeds. And it did NOT make the car feel unstable. It was just a power steering change, no change to actual suspension behavior of course. (There is no software control over the suspension in this car.)
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That's a very good question. I picked up my car back when it had the old navigation UI (before the 2022 Holiday update?). Got the new navigation update and then went through a few updates (park assist, etc) with no change in how the steering felt. The night before I started observing all my steering/alignment problems, I updated my car to 2023.12, which is the update with the bigger font sizes and steering wheel scroll button customizations.
I can definitely echo what everyone said in that thread. Before the most recent update, the steering wheel felt very responsive and I barely need to turn it a few degrees to steer my car in standard mode. Sport mode felt like a brick. Now I have to turn the steering wheel a lot more to get any kind of response from the car even in sport mode.
Sport now feels floater than how standard used to feel. I guess that's just how the car is meant to feel....
Sport now feels floater than how standard used to feel. I guess that's just how the car is meant to feel....
The ratio in the steering rack is fixed, so it’s always going to move the wheels the same amount unless you have a worn out tie rod or something else. Steering effort can certainly be changed within the EPAS though.
A worn out tie rod would have been noticed during the alignments/balancing, though, no?
I went ahead and set up yet another service center visit. The car just doesn't feel planted on the road, but instead like if it floated. That just doesn't feel right. Something is messed up, but no one has caught it yet.
It could very well be a tie rod in the front suspension that no one has inspected.
It could very well be a tie rod in the front suspension that no one has inspected.
Yeah I've heard that the rear control arms are supposed to be reliable, so damage there could indicate manufacturing defects. I'm guessing the issues with my steering are all due to the front suspension, which even after several alignments/service visits I don't know if it's been inspected properly. Maybe just the steering rack is off, but that probably hasn't been looked at either
Update: SC didn't find anything wrong with my car. I test drove a new model 3 RWD, and the steering wheel feels exactly the same.
I'm guessing my car was delivered wrong upon delivery (no electronic power assist?), and the update which introduced the new autopilot functionality to move away from semi trucks is what changed the steering feel of my model 3.
I'm guessing my car was delivered wrong upon delivery (no electronic power assist?), and the update which introduced the new autopilot functionality to move away from semi trucks is what changed the steering feel of my model 3.
