Power steering has gone and its going to cost me to get it to Tesla Service...

[justinhow]

The power steering on my Tesla Model 3 has gone and I am getting the error UI_a020 "Steering Assist Reduced". I have tried a reboot to no avail.
I have contacted Glasgow Tesla Service and they say if I will not drive the Tesla in then I am liable for any tow charges over a 50 mile limit (they will pick up up to 50 miles).
The official Tesla Roadside Assistance policy says "Towing: For vehicles that cannot be driven as a result of a malfunction attributable to a warrantable issue, Tesla covers
transportation services for the first 500 miles (800 km)* to the nearest Tesla Service Center.". My car is within warrnty
I guess the issue is that they think I can drive it in and I am choosing not to.
As they are 80 miles away from me I think this is just very unsafe (the steering is incredibly heavy without power assistance).
What are my rights here - are they correct with the 50 mile limit - their policy document suggests otherwise.

 

[brkaus]

Does it should steer fine when it is moving? I’d personally just drive it. I hate watching my car get put in a truck and however they end up tying it down.

 

[justinhow]

Steering seem very very heavy - this would be a 80 mile journey.

 

[brkaus]

Call them and argue safety, that doesn’t work, pay for it or just drive it.

I’d personally just drive it. I’ve driven many cars that never had power steering. Sure, it’s not great.

 

[justinhow]

I am on the line to them now and they appear to be accepting the 500 mile limit (once I pointed them to their own policy document!).
I don't think they would argue that safety is not a real issue for an 80 mile trip on motorways and driving through the city of Glasgow.
I may well try and drive it locally - but the Tesla is so damned heavy (without) PS it is a really heavy and am a bit nervous in case I run into difficulty.
Have you driven a Model 3 without PS?

 

[Fursty Ferret]

Stick another few psi in the front tyres.

 

[justinhow]

This post seem to suggest it is verging on dangerous to drive with PS

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/15kzhj1/my_tesla_model_y_2023_lost_steering_control

"I was driving on the street yesterday when suddenly the steering lost control. The screen displayed "steering assist reduced," but the steering became extremely heavy to the point where it couldn't be turned. This was a dangerous situation as I found myself in the middle of a road without side shoulders, with oncoming traffic from both directions."
and
"I have driven MANY cars without power steering over the years as a collision repair center owner and repair garage owner. My 2022 M3LR had Steering Assist Reduced yesterday and I had the same expectation as you - that when I started moving it’d get easier to steer. Nope - requires same heavy effort (more than with a combustion vehicle) regardless of speed. It’s a huge safety issue."

 

[brkaus]

You have made up your mind and they will tow it. Go for it!

 

[justinhow]

Just as an FYI for anyone else it a similar position - I tried moving it from my drive and at low speed it is almost impossible to turn the steering wheel other than very very slowly. It is incredibly heavy at low speed. Around towns and cities I think it would be simply dangerous.

 

[MrBadger]

Glad it seems like it’s going to sort itself but, not that it should be needed in this situation, this is another example why having a proper breakdown service (with recovery) is a useful fallback.

 

[Durzel]

If its anything like older cars without power steering, or on ones where it has failed, it gets progressively easier the faster you are moving.

I wouldn't risk driving it though either.

 

[Rustybkts]

The problem with the Model 3 steering rack is that it is very quick and not much over 2 turns lock to lock hence very heavy when stationary.
Old non power steering was far more turns lock to lock and indeed most are like that even now.
My brothers Leaf steering required far more rotation when driving.

 

[init6]

As they are 80 miles away from me I think this is just very unsafe.

Yeah, but it's a straight road

But seriously, why did you contact Glasgow SC and not go straight on to Roadside Assistance?

 

[Adopado]

I have driven my Model 3 without the power steering. Yes, when making slow manoeuvres it is incredibly heavy of course but once you get on the move it’s much more manageable… in fact at dual carriageway speeds it’s not that much different to normal. However you need to be fit with good arm strength for those few occasions when you need to make a sharp right angled turn at a junction. I wouldn’t suggest it unless you are confident (I have done it with another car in the past so was “up for it”.)

 

[stopcrazypp]

The problem with the Model 3 steering rack is that it is very quick and not much over 2 turns lock to lock hence very heavy when stationary.
Old non power steering was far more turns lock to lock and indeed most are like that even now.
My brothers Leaf steering required far more rotation when driving.

Perhaps it's a bit easier, but even for older cars, when the power steering is off, it's still very heavy. I tried it before in my old Camry to turn it while stationary to straighten the wheel (just with wheel unlocked with engine off) and it takes quite a bit of effort.

 

[Rirawin]

It's also a reminder in ensuring you have proper road side assistance that includes home assist. It's been said many times in this forum before the standard Tesla one that comes with the car isn't fit for purpose. For an extra £40~ a year for cover within the UK (I use Smartrescue as recommended by a few here) it provides you with a peace of mind.

 

[justinhow]

Well today the PS is working fine again! Rather nervous to drive it in case it goes wrong again whilst driving, away from home etc
One part of the Tesla service that is frustrating is that it seems almost impossible to speak directly to the Tesla Service centre (Glasgow in my case) that you would take your car to, so trying to sort out timings, loan cars etc is so much more difficult as you have to use the messages thru the service option on the app and responses to each new message can take many hours.
The fact this fault appears to be intermittent perhaps suggest a dodgy electrical connection somehwhere (some other people reporting this problem seemed to say that a connector had been the cause of their problem).

 

[Dangerous Fish]

It's also a reminder in ensuring you have proper road side assistance that includes home assist. It's been said many times in this forum before the standard Tesla one that comes with the car isn't fit for purpose. For an extra £40~ a year for cover within the UK (I use Smartrescue as recommended by a few here) it provides you with a peace of mind.

It's Startrescue I think?

 

[yessuz]

Steering seem very very heavy - this would be a 80 mile journey.

Steering will be heavy on non-rolling tyres. once it is rolling - it will be easier... but still not nice...

drive 30 miles and then call tow?

 

[Adopado]

Well today the PS is working fine again! Rather nervous to drive it in case it goes wrong again whilst driving, away from home etc
One part of the Tesla service that is frustrating is that it seems almost impossible to speak directly to the Tesla Service centre (Glasgow in my case) that you would take your car to, so trying to sort out timings, loan cars etc is so much more difficult as you have to use the messages thru the service option on the app and responses to each new message can take many hours.
The fact this fault appears to be intermittent perhaps suggest a dodgy electrical connection somehwhere (some other people reporting this problem seemed to say that a connector had been the cause of their problem).

The old problem that affected me soon after getting the car (water ingress to loom connections that were apparently repositioned due to RHD changes). This should have been sorted for your car but the behaviour described is the same. When I drove without power steering to the Service Centre it did come back a couple of times en-route. (back in 2019 I didn't contact the SC I just drove directly there and told them I had already read about this issue on this forum so knew that it was a fault they could fix quickly ... which they did. This level of access to Service Centres is clearly different nowadays when they have several hundred thousand more customers to deal with ...)