Two Tesla drivers lost their steering wheel mid-drive, prompting an investigation

[nosaj]

Well played!

Clarke and Dawe - The Front Fell Off

[nosaj]

Turns out the problem has to do with a missing bolt. In both cases where the Tesla steering wheel came off, a bolt attaching the wheel to the steering column was missing, according to CNN. And 120,000 Teslas could be affected.

Pretty sure they can fix that in the next firmware update. /s

[jme]

[KathyPartdeux]

[anon52120741]

Does “keeping your hands on the steering wheel” in order to use self driving still work when the steering wheel is no longer attached to the car?

[ficuswhisperer]

@awfulhorrid

The steering wheel off the rod with a good pull, but it was attached with a very prominent cotter pin (cabled to the wheel to make it much harder to lose) to keep it from doing that!

I mean, I’ve seen someone use a Vise Grip to replace a steering wheel, so that doesn’t even phase me.

(Well, shit, I hadn’t even seen @KathyPartdeux’s post before writing that.)

[catsidhe]

[KathyPartdeux]

We’ve all been there.

[teknocholer]

@anon52120741

Does “keeping your hands on the steering wheel” in order to use self driving still work when the steering wheel is no longer attached to the car?

Unfortunately the steering wheels don’t have Bluetooth. It’s now considered unnecessary, since you can pair your iPad with your Tesla and steer that way. Just be sure that the iPad has auto screen rotation enabled and the latest version of the Tesla app.

[smulder]

 

[ficuswhisperer]

Not wrong. I mean all those irritating “pick the matching squares with the things” CAPTCHAs are just training AI models behind the scenes.

[snigs]

Maybe the drivers hadn’t updated their credit card info, and their subscriptions for steering wheel service was disconnected for non-payment.

[euansmith]

Tesla, “If you won’t let our AI driver the car, then we’re not going to let you to!”

[euansmith]

It isn’t the 3000+ loose bolts that are the problem; it is the one big nut.

[knoxblox]

@ficuswhisperer

I mean, I’ve seen someone use a Vise Grip to replace a steering wheel, so that doesn’t even phase me.

(Well, shit, I hadn’t even seen @KathyPartdeux’s post before writing that.)

(Remembering the days when you had to use the Vise Grip to roll down the windows, too.)

[smulder]

@ficuswhisperer

“pick the matching squares with the things”

[MrProtocol]

Waaay back in the 1950s my grandfather owned a Nash whose brakes were so stiff that he had to haul back on the steering wheel to get enough leverage to stop the car. (Hydraulic what now?) And then there’s my uncle, who hated back-seat drivers so much that he took the gland nut off his steering wheel, and inserted two pins in the exposed steering column (no, not the Nash) so he could steer with his knees. If someone started hassling his driving, he’d pull the steering wheel off the steering column, hand it to them, and say, “Here! YOU drive!”