US safety regulators said on Saturday they had closed their probe into Tesla vehicles over power steering ​loss, in view of a company recall which ‌was carried out last year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the investigation, which had the status of an engineering analysis, ​covered about 376,241 Model 3 and Model Y ​vehicles from the 2023 model year.

NHTSA opened a ⁠preliminary evaluation in July 2023 into loss-of-steering-control reports in Tesla Model 3 and Y vehicles after ​some owners reported an inability to turn the steering wheel or an increase in required effort.

In early 2024, the probe was upgraded ​to an engineering analysis to further investigate the alleged ​defect.

Tesla recalled 376,000 of its vehicles in the US in early 2025, due ‌to ⁠a failure of the power steering assist feature that could make the vehicles harder to steer, particularly at low speeds, raising the risk of a crash.

However, it ​said the recall ​was not ⁠in response to NHTSA's investigation, which remained open at the time.

The recall said that ​Tesla had released an over-the-air software update designed ​to ⁠prevent overvoltage breakdown and overstress of motor drive components on the printed circuit board, which had caused an increase ⁠in ​steering effort.

In view of Tesla's recall, ​the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation said it was closing its engineering ​analysis.

-Reuters