Model 3 Highland Steering Issues

[wow400]

Had my M3H for a month now after a '72 MLR.
Love the cooled seats & swipe to drive (much faster than the old 'gear shift'.
No issues with the lack of stalks for indicating - got used to the buttons pretty quickly.
But...
apart from slightly dodgy wheel balancing which needs to be sorted, I'm wondering if I have bigger issues with the steering.
I know the rack has been changed from earlier models (a slower turn rate?) but the 'null' / centre point on the motorway seems really wide. The car can meander around this centre point and when you need to do something about it, it's a much harder 'nudge' to get it back to centre which then means (if you're not careful) that you can overshoot a bit and start a 'driver induced oscillation' about the middle!
Never had this on a car before and it's really not a relaxing drive - especially is any sort of cross wind.

Anyone else had this?

 

[Oxid8ter]

Had my M3H LR since Early Feb and not had any issues with regards to steering.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Had my M3H for a month now after a '72 MLR.
Love the cooled seats & swipe to drive (much faster than the old 'gear shift'.
No issues with the lack of stalks for indicating - got used to the buttons pretty quickly.
But...
apart from slightly dodgy wheel balancing which needs to be sorted, I'm wondering if I have bigger issues with the steering.
I know the rack has been changed from earlier models (a slower turn rate?) but the 'null' / centre point on the motorway seems really wide. The car can meander around this centre point and when you need to do something about it, it's a much harder 'nudge' to get it back to centre which then means (if you're not careful) that you can overshoot a bit and start a 'driver induced oscillation' about the middle!
Never had this on a car before and it's really not a relaxing drive - especially is any sort of cross wind.

Anyone else had this?

Get the alignment checked. Doesn't have to be by Tesla. Depending where you are in Herts I may be able to recommend someone who's very good near you. You can do an 'EPAS' check in the hidden servcie menu which will at least rule out a major mis-alignment first.

 

[wow400]

Thanks DF - unfortunately I'm in Herefordshire!
Will look at the EPAS check too...

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Thanks DF - unfortunately I'm in Herefordshire!
Will look at the EPAS check too...

Oh yes, my bad (eyesight)! Well, try the EPAS check first and see if that shows anything.

 

[Roger20]

Perhaps have a look at these?

I had this issue and arranged a service appointment but later cancelled it. Only really initially noticed vibration on very smooth tarmac at 70mph. On a subsequent drive on the same road it seemed barely noticeable so I cancelled the appointment.

I now think it was some flatspotting which seems to have more or less resolved itself although I have done little motorway driving since.

Given how widely it now seems to be reported I'll be a bit more critical next time I drive at speed but it was never bad enough to consider rejection.

Car is a Longe Range on 19" Novas

Rejecting my brand new model 3 Highland

 

[Pagemakers]

I wonder if that’s only the 18” wheels that could be affected.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

That vibration issue has been reported on several new Highland models and the theory is it's something to do with the way the cars are tied down in the transport ships when they're coming from China causing the flat spots which balancing isn't going to sort.
That's not going to be the cause of vagueness in the steering though. Almost certainly that's an alignment issue although there's a possibility something is not right in the steering rack/column.

 

[mikez10288]

Had my M3H for a month now after a '72 MLR.

How did the M3LR hold up after 52 years?

 

[FastLaneJB]

How did the M3LR hold up after 52 years?

72 was a good year for Model 3 in the UK, it was of course a V8 engine back then.

I feel like as an American you don't know how UK number plates work

 

[FastLaneJB]

I wonder if that’s only the 18” wheels that could be affected.

Maybe I was following it wrong but thought it was the other way around, the 19's get affected more than the 18's.

 

[BigWig20]

I have a M3H LR with 19's. The steering does appear to me to be more sensitive compared to my old M3 LR 20 plate on 19's. On my first trip on the motorway I also noticed I was wandering around the lane more than I did with the old one. Its more noticeable in standard mode obviously. Less of an issue in Chill. I've got used to it and don't really notice it so much.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Unless it's a high mileage car and some of the suspension components are badly worn and assuming your tyres are in good condition with the pressures set correctly, this is going to caster or toe not set correctly. Even a small adjustment will make a noticeable difference.

Get an alignment check done folks. You should get it checked at least every 12 months and do not assume it is correct just because the car is brand new!

 

[Pagemakers]

Unless it's a high mileage car and some of the suspension components are badly worn and assuming your tyres are in good condition with the pressures set correctly, this is going to caster or toe not set correctly. Even a small adjustment will make a noticeable difference.

Get an alignment check done folks. You should get it checked at least every 12 months and do not assume it is correct just because the car is brand new!

This is a Highland topic. The car isn't 12 months old!

 

[Dangerous Fish]

This is a Highland topic. The car isn't 12 months old!

Yes I know, in fact I am saying just that. A car can be a day old but still need an alignment done.
And Highland owners could find this thread in the future when they've done a lot of miles, so the first sentence is still valid.

Just because the car is a Highland doesn't mean the problem is unique to them or a common issue, but often when there's a change to a car's spec. or software version this is what owners might think. It's a form of confirmation bias.

The simplest explanation is alignment and until it's proven otherwise, that's what I'd be looking at first.

 

[Pagemakers]

I thought the whole point of the thread was an issue affecting new Highlands that alignment cannot fix as detailed in the video above.

 

[FastLaneJB]

I think OP is talking about a completely different issue than the vibrating steering wheel one that some have. This reads to me like he’s a bit of a dead in the centre spot with the steering.

I loved my Discovery but if I was to give my one pet annoyance with it then it was this. I assumed it was because it was designed also to off road they wanted a bit of play in the wheel however even on a straight road you’d have to keep correcting the steering a bit left and right to keep it straight. The initial small amount of movement in the centre wouldn’t do anything to affect the direction.

Minor in the schemes of what was a great car but I figure this is what the OP means. Which at least isn’t anything like my wife’s M3P which is pre-highland but the Tesla is extremely accurate steering at all points just like say a BMW would be.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I thought the whole point of the thread was an issue affecting new Highlands that alignment cannot fix as detailed in the video above.

No, the two issues are being confused by some. And alignment and balancing are two completely different things in any case.

 

[spdpsba]

Which at least isn’t anything like my wife’s M3P which is pre-highland but the Tesla is extremely accurate steering at all points just like say a BMW would be.

The 2019-2020 Q3 versions are even better than late 2015BMWs in terms of accuracy and chucking it around the corners.

 

[FastLaneJB]

The 2019-2020 Q3 versions are even better than late 2015BMWs in terms of accuracy and chucking it around the corners.

Considering at that time I think I had a F10 BMW M5 with hydraulic steering, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one