u/jtbzr92

I figured I’d share this because I spent way too much time second-guessing this decision, and I’m betting I'm not the only one frustrated by Tesla removing Autosteer from new vehicles.

I currently have a paid-off 2023 Model 3 RWD with Autosteer. My original plan was to keep it for several more years, probably until AI5 is actually shipping in vehicles and there’s more clarity around the next-gen FSD hardware/software path.

Then Tesla removed Autosteer from new vehicles unless you subscribe to FSD, which made me anxious about staying a Tesla customer. I absolutely love my Model 3 and I want to stay a customer, so I decided to start looking at pre-owned/demo Model Ys specifically because some of them still include Autosteer.

I found a very low-mile pre-owned/demo 2026 Model Y Premium AWD with Autosteer included and finally pulled the trigger and placed an order for it yesterday afternoon. Instead of being excited about ordering an amazing car, I was feeling super uneasy about it all night. The pre-owned car only had around 800 miles but it had a tan upper interior instead of the newer black headliner, was a 5-seater (7-seater is preferred for the ~1 time a year I'd need it), and had a 15.6" FHD display instead of a 16" QHD display. Listen... I understand these are not big issues, nor am I claiming that they are. What I do know is that I really like the spec of what is being sold today in new cars.

Sure, some of that is subjective & emotion-based- for instance, I had to replace the headliner on my Model 3 about a year ago due to it being damaged. I hated how brittle it was (although it was my fault for trying to pack things to the roof of my M3 while moving) but I bought a replacement because I loved my car and didn't want it to have a ripped headliner. One year later, the new $800 headliner is somehow already dirty which drives me crazy!! Point being- I kept wondering why I was paying top-dollar (no promo APR on pre-owned orders) for anything less than what I wanted.

So... I kept going back to the new Model Y Premium AWD which does have everything I actually want long-term:

• Black headliner/current interior.
• Promo APR.
• 7-seat interior.
• Latest config.

The only thing it didn’t have was Autosteer. That one missing feature made this entire decision way harder than it needed to be.

But I also had to be honest about the reality... Autosteer is useful, but it’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. It’s an older software stack that Tesla will probably never update again. Sometimes it works great, but most of the time it behaves oddly, and it can create a weird mismatch between a smooth experience while manual driving to an unpredictable, cortisol-inducing one after activating it.

Ultimately, I canceled the pre-owned order and ordered the new Model Y instead. The new car gives me practically everything I want long-term, and when I have a lot of driving scheduled (road trips, work trips, etc.) I can just subscribe to FSD for a month like I already do with my Model 3.

I still think Tesla’s Autosteer/FSD packaging is frustrating and customer-hostile, and a new $55K car purchase should not have introduced this much fear, uncertainty, & doubt.

But I also realized that the pre-owned Model Y was a car I was buying around fear: fear of losing Autosteer, fear of FSD pricing, fear of Tesla software direction, fear of future upgrades breaking the feature anyway... all because I was trying to preserve a legacy feature that may never get updated again. I absolutely hate the demand-shaping tactic that Tesla is using and I hate that it motivated me to buy another Tesla before I was ready. If I didn't love the car so much, I would've gone to another brand.

This new Model Y purchase, though? I'm buying it towards my future: more room, latest spec, 7-seat flexibility (however rare), fewer little compromises. That's the orientation a purchase this large should be confidently made on.

I may miss Autosteer, but I know I won’t regret the new car. I'm not going to let a software lock rob me of that (even though I almost did lol). I know I'm not the only one having an experience like this so thanks for reading about mine.