Tesla Model S, model years 2012 to 2016. Filed by Tesla, Inc. and reported to NHTSA on 29 March 2018. 70,421 vehicles potentially affected.
What the notice says Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist.
Is your vehicle included? Check with your VIN at NHTSA, or ask a dealer. This page is an independent copy of the notice, kept so you can see what changed after it was published. It is not the authority, and the authority’s own text is the one to act on.
Tesla's own number for this recall: SB-18-32-002. That is the number on the owner letter and on the dealer paperwork. 18V204 is the number NHTSA gave the same campaign, and the number this page is filed under. They are one recall, written two ways.
What owners ask about this recall
- Which vehicles does recall 18V204 cover?
- Tesla Model S, model years 2012-2016.
- What is wrong with them?
- Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2012-2016 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with Bosch steering racks. The aluminum bolts that attach the power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and fracture causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist.
- What can happen if it is not put right?
- Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may increase the risk of a crash.
- Is there a fix yet?
- Yes, and it is free. Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-18-32-002.
- What should I do now?
- Check your own vehicle by its VIN with NHTSA, which is the record to act on. Tesla calls this recall SB-18-32-002, which is the number on the owner letter and the dealer paperwork.
Answered from the register this site holds. NHTSA is the record to act on.
What the authority says can happen if this is not fixed: “Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may increase the risk of a crash.”
affected
in the notice
caught
| Campaign | 18V204 |
|---|---|
| Filed by | Tesla, Inc. |
| System at fault | Steering:Electric Power Assist System |
| Reported to NHTSA | 29 March 2018 |
| Model years | 2012-2016 |
| Vehicles named | TESLA MODEL S |
What the notice says today
The consequence
Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Tesla will notify owners, and Tesla Service Centers will replace the steering gear mounting bolts and add a corrosion-preventative sealer, free of charge. The recall began May 7, 2019. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-18-32-002.
What it said before
This campaign is in the register but not yet in the dated wording archive, so we cannot yet say whether its text has moved. It enters the archive on the next pass.
This is one of 745 notices in the record whose component field names steering. Across that group the median wait before owners were written to was 39 days.
Last checked . No change has been recorded in the wording.
The models named here, across their whole recall history
How to cite this record
Quoting the wording on this page means quoting a version, so the date belongs in the citation:
CarsMultiverse, recall 18V204, wording as read on 16 September 2026. https://carsmultiverse.com/recall/18v204/
The cross-border matches used on this site are deposited as a citable dataset: doi:10.5281/zenodo.22087136. The recall wording itself is published by the national authority named above and is theirs, not ours.
The recall record and its wording are published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and are US Government public domain. The dated archive, the comparison and any before-and-after above are CarsMultiverse. How fresh every engine behind this page is, is public on the status page. To check a specific vehicle, use NHTSA’s own VIN lookup.
Other Tesla notices we hold
- 26V558: 2026 Model Y
- 26V507: 2017-2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y
- 26V445: 2026 Model Y and 2024 Model 3
- 26V315: 2025-2026 Model Y
- 26V283: 2017, 2021-2023 Model 3, 2020-2023 Model Y, 2021-2023 Model S, and Model X
- 26V255: 2024-2026 Cybertruck
- 25V735: 2024 Cybertruck
- 25V699: 2024-2026 Cybertruck
All 94 Tesla campaigns we hold · Every manufacturer in the record
The fingerprint of this notice
We take a SHA-256 of each of the three blocks of text the authority publishes and keep the first eight characters. As we last read campaign 18V204 on 23 August 2026, they were:
- Defect summary
6b90d056 - Consequence
6fedc517 - Remedy
9900540c
We first read this notice on 21 August 2026. It has not moved since. If it ever does, these characters will not match, and the change will be dated here.
The wording we hold for 18V204 · how the whole register is watched
This notice names one vehicle among several registers that have written about it. Every notice this site holds for the Tesla Model S, in all seven, is kept on that vehicle's own page, with the newest in each.
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