NHTSA Closes Tesla Power Steering Investigation Covering 376,000 Model 3 and Model Y Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially closed its engineering analysis into power steering loss affecting approximately 376,241 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2023 model year on June 27, 2026. The closure follows Tesla's over-the-air software recall — issued in early 2025 — that addressed the root electrical defect and delivered a measurable decline in owner complaints thereafter.

The investigation, designated EA24001, had been running for more than two years. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation said it was closing the engineering analysis in view of Tesla's recall completion and the technical resolution of the underlying fault in the electronic power steering assist system.

What the Investigation Found

NHTSA's preliminary evaluation, opened in July 2023, began after a wave of complaints from Model 3 and Model Y owners describing a sudden loss of steering assist — particularly noticeable at low speeds and during parking maneuvers. Affected drivers reported either a complete inability to turn the steering wheel or a sharp increase in required effort without advance warning.

After upgrading the probe to a formal engineering analysis in February 2024, NHTSA identified the root cause: an overvoltage breakdown that overstressed motor drive components on the printed circuit board of the electronic power steering assist module. Under specific electrical conditions, the PCB's motor drive circuitry could fail, disabling the assist function and leaving drivers with manual steering loads the vehicle was not designed to require.

“The investigation identified overvoltage breakdown and overstress of motor drive components on the printed circuit board as the mechanism behind the power steering assist failures.” — NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, June 2026

Timeline of the Investigation

The recall covered all 2023 model year Model 3 and Model Y units — approximately 376,241 vehicles in the U.S. market. Tesla's fix was delivered entirely over-the-air: a software update designed to prevent the overvoltage conditions that allowed the PCB failure mode to trigger, without requiring any physical hardware replacement or dealer visit.

The OTA Fix Approach

Tesla's decision to address the defect through a software recall rather than a physical service campaign drew initial scrutiny when the recall was announced in early 2025. The vehicle's electronic power steering system is fundamentally a hardware assembly — a motor, a control PCB, and associated firmware. The OTA update works by adjusting the voltage management parameters in the EPS control firmware, preventing the electrical stress event that led to PCB degradation in the first place.

NHTSA accepted the OTA approach after reviewing Tesla's technical documentation and monitoring post-recall complaint data. The agency's decision to close the investigation suggests that the fix was effective at eliminating the failure mode in the field — a validation point for Tesla's broader strategy of resolving hardware-adjacent defects through software remediation where technically feasible.

Impact on 2023 Model 3 and Model Y Owners

Owners of affected 2023 model year vehicles who received the OTA recall update are covered. If you own a 2023 Model 3 or Model Y and are unsure whether your vehicle received the software update, the vehicle's touchscreen Settings menu displays the current software version and install date. Tesla's recall update was pushed automatically to eligible vehicles over a period of several months in 2025 — the vast majority of affected vehicles received it without any owner action required.

Vehicles that remain on older software versions — for example, owners who deliberately blocked automatic updates or who were offline for extended periods — should verify their current firmware and contact Tesla support if the EPS warning has appeared on their display. The power steering warning indicator is a yellow steering wheel icon on the instrument cluster.

The Bottom Line for Tesla Owners

NHTSA closing this investigation is a procedural resolution, not a surprise verdict. Tesla's OTA recall worked as intended: complaint rates dropped after the software update deployed, giving regulators the evidence base needed to close the file. For current 2023 Model 3 and Model Y owners, the practical implication is simply to confirm your vehicle is running a post-recall software version — anything from early 2025 onward will include the fix. The broader takeaway is that OTA software fixes for EPS defects now have an established NHTSA precedent, which may shape how similar issues are handled across the industry going forward.

Photo: Tesla vehicle interior touchscreen / Pexels