SLVRon got back to me (guy who had the steering replaced under warranty) Yes, I had the steering rack replaced about a month ago and that seems to have resolved the issue.
Owner reviews for steering rack
Looks like the guy on the other thread had steering stuff replaced by the dealer.
New reman'd steering rack from German auto parts installed Saturday, took about 7 hours...Pump is silent, steers nice, doesn't rattle on center, doesn't grab the wheel out of your hands anymore.
Put a used w8 rack in that had 66k on it. Tested it out before I buttoned it all up, seemed great. Buttoned it all up, drove a few miles on a test drive, no issues or noises at all.
For those of you replacing your steering rack with a Meyle Brand manual steering rack you might want to take note. If you follow the bentley procedure for centering the rack and then setting the length of your tie rods it will not work. The passenger side measurement is off.
Within the first 2,000 miles it has had two major issues. The first issue occurred when the front electric steering failed and I couldn’t move the front wheels without extreme effort. I brought it in and the Tesla service center replaced the steering rack. After this repair it felt back to normal until last night when I went to drive my car and the ability to steer is completely gone. I tried to drive it a short distance but when one wheel is faced straight the other is turned out 45 degrees making it basically in-drivable.
I had a mechanical issue with steering wheel. It felt stiff and bumpy/haptic. Turned out to be the steering rack.
Same issue with steering rack needing replacement and power steering going out WHILE DRIVING.
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. My Tesla was towed to a service center where they replaced the steering rack. However, they used the same model of the previously defective steering rack and were uncertain if it was from the same batch. I have lost faith in driving my car and am apprehensive that the same problem might recur.
If there's a lot of play or you can see visible leaks, you may need a new steering rack. It happens around that mileage on a lot of these, including mine at 174k. Replacing it requires dropping the subframe and is a PITA for whoever is doing it. 1.5k-2k for a shop to do it.
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