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"Tesla said it has only seen this problem occur in "very cold climates" where road salts are commonly used." Ah, the usual "designed in the Bay Area" issue...

tarboreus 9y ago
I think about DitBA whenever Siri says "Brrr!" to 39 F weather. Put on a sweater, Siri.
- ethbro 9y ago
  "I'm sorry, I don't understand 'sweater'."
annerajb 9y ago
Does not only affect Tesla the part is made by Bosch and also affects daimler.
jshaqaw 9y ago
Seriously -like my Beats Studio wireless which turn off in NYC winter!
- kbos87 9y ago
  Get yourself some Massachusetts-designed Bose equipment :)
  - fgandiya 9y ago
    Mine sometimes struggle in the winter though, especially with my phone in my pocket.
raquo 9y ago
Not really, a lot of other manufacturers had recalls for various parts and even frames in excessive salt conditions. It's just that such challenging environments trigger the problems first.
- ethbro 9y ago
  Among others, Toyota Tacoma gen 2 frames for certain years were improperly factory coated and would rust straight through.
- walshemj 9y ago
  There's a famous example from the UK told to mech eng students. One make of car used the wrong type of fixing for the steering wheel and the wheel could come away in your hands :-)
  - raquo 9y ago
    Ha. That actually happened to my dad decades ago (Russian cars lol)
greglindahl 9y ago
Bay Area people are known to spend a lot of time in Tahoe when it's cold. So this is more, "Let's repeat that untrue joke about people in the Bay Area knowing nothing about winter."
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- soperj 9y ago
  hahaha average low in Lake Tahoe is -5 degrees C (23 F). When you think that's cold, then you truly do know nothing about winter.
  - greglindahl 9y ago
    Given that the flaw revolves around road salt, and not the absolute temperature, yeah, doesn't matter in this particular case.
    - beamatronic 9y ago
      Regardless of whether Tahoe winters are “real winter” or not, I don’t think they use salt in CA because of the environmental effects downstream - I believe they use sand instead.
      - grzm 9y ago
        This prompted me to look up which states salt and which don't, and I learned the term "Salt Belt": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt (And yeah, you're right: CA isn't one of them.)
      - greglindahl 9y ago
        California has a variety of climate areas, and a little googling tells me that they use various kinds of salt in the high Sierras, including the Tahoe area. Also, half of Tahoe is in Nevada, which uses salt. Sand only works when it's barely freezing. Which can be true at low elevations, but not at 10,000'.
throw7 9y ago
Honda recently moved to a capless gas filler that, in certain climates particularly, will collect water.
Scoundreller 9y ago
Heh, happens all the time when you bring your car from a northeastern state to a mechanic in the south. Why’s your car in such bad shape? It’s called rust.
- Vogtinator 9y ago
  Rebuild it in rust! Wait...
mirimir 9y ago
It's a little overkill to characterize this as "faulty" steering. Given that it's a durability issue. And in any case, they're being proactive. Not dragging their feet as manufacturers did over corroding Takata airbag units.
- alttab 9y ago
  And then we find out how a lack of power steering makes autopilot a death mode.
  - callesgg 9y ago
    It probably does, as the autopilot probably uses the power steering to steer. That is why they tell you to not stop focusing on the road as you use it.
    - mirimir 9y ago
      I've driven mid-sized cars without power assisted brakes and steering, and they were manageable at moderate speed.
      - bayjorix 9y ago
        The important difference is that those cars were designed for you to steer and brake it without assistance. Different gear ratios and such. I had to drive a modern car home once with the power brakes malfunctioning and I couldn't exert enough force (grabbing the steering wheel to give me leverage) to have safe braking power. I ended up going very slow in the emergency lane of the highway in second speed so that motor braking could help me stop. It was not fun.
        mirimir 9y ago
        No, this was a modern car, with power assisted steering and brakes. Steering required more force, but wasn't that hard. Braking was iffy, I admit, so I also used engine braking and the hand brake. And yes, standard transmission. I was coasting downhill in neutral, with the engine etc off. Testing the running start protocol, for dealing with battery failure.
Aloha 9y ago
Normally I'd be the first to beat up on Tesla for not actually knowing how to really design or build a car (they don't) - but in this case, its not as if they're the first auto manufacturer with a similar problem. https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-recalls-355000-vehicles-in-us-for-possible-steering-loss.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-recalls-355000-vehicle... (To be clear, my issues with Tesla is that they do not have the internal manufacturing expertise - or the design expertise for automobiles, and this shows thru parts availability, several recalls, and their slow pace of production - you can't design components with the same tolerances you'd build a MacBook Pro with, and use them on a car, and expect it to work well for manufacturing at scale)

tarboreus 9y ago

I think about DitBA whenever Siri says "Brrr!" to 39 F weather. Put on a sweater, Siri.

ethbro 9y ago
"I'm sorry, I don't understand 'sweater'."

annerajb 9y ago

Does not only affect Tesla the part is made by Bosch and also affects daimler.

jshaqaw 9y ago

Seriously -like my Beats Studio wireless which turn off in NYC winter!

kbos87 9y ago
Get yourself some Massachusetts-designed Bose equipment :)
- fgandiya 9y ago
  Mine sometimes struggle in the winter though, especially with my phone in my pocket.

raquo 9y ago

Not really, a lot of other manufacturers had recalls for various parts and even frames in excessive salt conditions. It's just that such challenging environments trigger the problems first.

ethbro 9y ago
Among others, Toyota Tacoma gen 2 frames for certain years were improperly factory coated and would rust straight through.
walshemj 9y ago
There's a famous example from the UK told to mech eng students. One make of car used the wrong type of fixing for the steering wheel and the wheel could come away in your hands :-)
- raquo 9y ago
  Ha. That actually happened to my dad decades ago (Russian cars lol)

greglindahl 9y ago

Bay Area people are known to spend a lot of time in Tahoe when it's cold. So this is more, "Let's repeat that untrue joke about people in the Bay Area knowing nothing about winter."

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
soperj 9y ago
hahaha average low in Lake Tahoe is -5 degrees C (23 F). When you think that's cold, then you truly do know nothing about winter.
- greglindahl 9y ago
  Given that the flaw revolves around road salt, and not the absolute temperature, yeah, doesn't matter in this particular case.
  - beamatronic 9y ago
    Regardless of whether Tahoe winters are “real winter” or not, I don’t think they use salt in CA because of the environmental effects downstream - I believe they use sand instead.
    - grzm 9y ago
      This prompted me to look up which states salt and which don't, and I learned the term "Salt Belt": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt (And yeah, you're right: CA isn't one of them.)
    - greglindahl 9y ago
      California has a variety of climate areas, and a little googling tells me that they use various kinds of salt in the high Sierras, including the Tahoe area. Also, half of Tahoe is in Nevada, which uses salt. Sand only works when it's barely freezing. Which can be true at low elevations, but not at 10,000'.

throw7 9y ago

Honda recently moved to a capless gas filler that, in certain climates particularly, will collect water.

Scoundreller 9y ago

Heh, happens all the time when you bring your car from a northeastern state to a mechanic in the south. Why’s your car in such bad shape? It’s called rust.

Vogtinator 9y ago
Rebuild it in rust! Wait...

mirimir 9y ago

It's a little overkill to characterize this as "faulty" steering. Given that it's a durability issue. And in any case, they're being proactive. Not dragging their feet as manufacturers did over corroding Takata airbag units.

alttab 9y ago
And then we find out how a lack of power steering makes autopilot a death mode.
- callesgg 9y ago
  It probably does, as the autopilot probably uses the power steering to steer. That is why they tell you to not stop focusing on the road as you use it.
  - mirimir 9y ago
    I've driven mid-sized cars without power assisted brakes and steering, and they were manageable at moderate speed.
    - bayjorix 9y ago
      The important difference is that those cars were designed for you to steer and brake it without assistance. Different gear ratios and such. I had to drive a modern car home once with the power brakes malfunctioning and I couldn't exert enough force (grabbing the steering wheel to give me leverage) to have safe braking power. I ended up going very slow in the emergency lane of the highway in second speed so that motor braking could help me stop. It was not fun.
      - mirimir 9y ago
        No, this was a modern car, with power assisted steering and brakes. Steering required more force, but wasn't that hard. Braking was iffy, I admit, so I also used engine braking and the hand brake. And yes, standard transmission. I was coasting downhill in neutral, with the engine etc off. Testing the running start protocol, for dealing with battery failure.

Aloha 9y ago

Normally I'd be the first to beat up on Tesla for not actually knowing how to really design or build a car (they don't) - but in this case, its not as if they're the first auto manufacturer with a similar problem. https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-recalls-355000-vehicles-in-us-for-possible-steering-loss.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/ford-recalls-355000-vehicle... (To be clear, my issues with Tesla is that they do not have the internal manufacturing expertise - or the design expertise for automobiles, and this shows thru parts availability, several recalls, and their slow pace of production - you can't design components with the same tolerances you'd build a MacBook Pro with, and use them on a car, and expect it to work well for manufacturing at scale)