There are 1 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2012 Tesla Model Sin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
NOTICED THIS PROBLEM AFTER I WAS BACKING UP AND TURNING MY WHEELS AND WOULD HEAR A LOUD METAL ON METAL "CLUNK" OR "GRINDING" SOUND. IT WAS COMING FROM THE FRONT-LEFT SUSPENSION AND WOULD OCCUR CAUSING MY WHEEL AND STEERING TO FEEL LIKE IT WAS SKIPPING. I NOTICED AND MY STEERING FELT "LOOSE" OVER BUMPS AND WOULD PULL TO THE LEFT. AGAIN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND THIS WAS FELT THE MOST WHEN TURNING FULL MOTION AND/OR BACKING UP AND TURNING. WHEN LOOKING AT ONE OF THE CONTROL-ARM JOINTS AFTER I NOTICED A VERY LOUD CLUNK AND COMPARING IT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF OF THE SUSPENSION, IT LOOKS LIKE EITHER A BOLT FELL OUT OR THE BALL-JOINT TO THE CONTROL ARM WAS JUST GRINDING FREELY. I'VE SINCE BROUGHT MY CAR TO TESLA AND THEY HAVE CONFIRMED THAT I HAVE A DEFECTIVE BALL-JOINT TO MY CONTROL ARM THATS ALSO DAMAGED MY STEERING KNUCKLE. IF I DIDNT CATCH THIS OR IT WAS BROKE AT GREATER SPEEDS WHATS THE LIKELY HOOD OF ME LOOSING CONTROL? I'VE ASKED IF THEY WILL REPLACE ALL THE OTHER PARTS IF THEY HAVE UPDATED PARTS BUT THEY SAID ONLY THE ITEMS THAT ARE DEFECTIVE IN THIS CASE WILL BE WARRANTIED. I SIMPLY DO NOT FEEL SAFE ANYMORE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026