Tesla has issued a new recall to address a power steering issue affecting a small percentage of 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. Like most of Tesla’s recalls, this one is fixed with an over-the-air (OTA) software update, but in an unusual turn, the software update that fixes the issue was released in October 2023.
According to the recall documents on the Transport Canada and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) websites, the recall impacts 38,671 vehicles in Canada and 376,241 in the United States, but only an estimated 1% of these vehicles are expected to have the defect.
Tesla says the issue stems from a potential overvoltage breakdown that could overstress motor drive components on the electronic power-assisted steering (EPAS) circuit board. Under normal operation, if the overstress occurs while driving, steering functionality remains unaffected, and a visual alert notifies the driver. However, once the vehicle reaches a complete stop, EPAS may be lost, requiring manual steering effort.
Tesla’s safety design ensures that EPAS loss does not occur while the vehicle is in motion, minimizing immediate safety risks. The issue was resolved over a year ago with a software update 2023.38.4, first released on October 19, 2023.
However, despite this, concerns from regulators in a non-U.S. market led to Tesla voluntarily classifying the fix as a recall in North America to avoid customer confusion.
As of January 23, 2025, Tesla reports that 99% of affected vehicles in the U.S. have already installed the necessary software update.
In Canada, Tesla is notifying owners of vehicles still operating on outdated software via email to ensure they install the latest update.
You can read the full NHTSA recall notice below, or the Transpor Canada recall here.
