Last night my 2017 MS unexpectedly "died" while I was about to make a right turn. At first I noticed the turn signal didn't work. Then I realized the accelerator didn't work and there were lots of alerts (GTW_w041, GTW_W104, APP_w009, GTW_w027, GTW_w037, GTW_w099, MCU_w012, and many more). The car was not drivable. Pressing the emergency flashers button didn't work. Pressing the physical open glove box button didn't work. I couldn't put it into Park (was free-rolling, but fortunately on level ground). The two-thumbwheel reset didn't work. "Safety > Power Off" didn't work (screen went black for a couple of seconds and then came right back to where it was before). At one point I left the vehicle while waiting for a tow, and it locked me out. Auto-present door handles didn't work. It was unresponsive to my key fob, unresponsive to Tesla Roadside Assistance remote unlock, unresponsive to unlock from my app. The lift gate didn't open. The tow truck driver managed to unlock the vehicle (they have cool tools, and do this all the time).
What did work: I could interact with the touch screen. I can view the location of the car through the app and see it update as it was being towed (on a flat bed). I could turn the headlights on and off from the touch screen. I could listen to the radio and change the streaming source.
The service center technician found an internal part failure in the steering rack, and replacing the entire steering column for about $4800 should fix it.
Question: Does it make sense that nearly everything, including door unlock, flashers, pressing the physical button to open the glovebox, all "goes through the steering rack"?
What did work: I could interact with the touch screen. I can view the location of the car through the app and see it update as it was being towed (on a flat bed). I could turn the headlights on and off from the touch screen. I could listen to the radio and change the streaming source.
The service center technician found an internal part failure in the steering rack, and replacing the entire steering column for about $4800 should fix it.
Question: Does it make sense that nearly everything, including door unlock, flashers, pressing the physical button to open the glovebox, all "goes through the steering rack"?