NHTSA drops Model Y steering probe after reviewing 120,089 vehicles

U.S. auto safety regulators have closed a three-year preliminary evaluation into the 2023 Tesla Model Y, identified as PE23-003, without ordering a recall or other action against Tesla. The review covered 120,089 vehicles after two drivers reported that their steering wheels detached while the vehicles were in motion.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started looking into this problem in early 2023. Later, investigators found out that the vehicles left the factory without the required retaining bolt.

That specific part secures the steering wheel to the splined steering column, and without it, the wheel was only held on by friction. The mistake traced back to “end-of-line” repairs at the company’s assembly plants in Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas. There, workers removed the wheels to fix other things and forgot to put the bolts back.

Regulators find no wider defect

Both known failures happened very early in the cars’ lives. In fact, records indicate the wheels detached before the vehicles even reached 400 miles on the odometer. Fortunately, no crashes or injuries occurred from these two incidents. Tesla confirmed the mistake and fixed the two cars under warranty. Then, after checking the rest of the 120,089 vehicles, regulators found no other missing bolts. As a result, they closed the review without forcing any “manufacturer action” from the automaker.

Around the same time, Tesla ran a tiny recall for 137 different Model Y units. That separate campaign involved a loose fastener rather than a completely missing bolt. Workers at service centers inspected those specific cars and tightened the parts to the correct torque specs. That smaller recall had nothing to do with the main review into the missing bolts.

The agency noted it can reopen the case later if new reports surface. But for now, Tesla avoids a massive recall for its popular SUV. Owners of the 2023 Model Y do not need to take their cars in for service right now, and they can just keep driving normally.