Code EPAS3P_a132 was reported by the “Power steering — 3rd gen, primary” controller in the car. The letter “a” in the middle places it among entries of the alert type.
The primary channel of third-generation power steering. Newer cars have a redundant steering system — this is its main half.
The most common type. The car logged the event and may have shown it on the screen. The range is wide — from something trivial that clears itself to something that needs attention.
This is how the fault is named inside the car's firmware. For codes without a description it is the most precise clue there is — the name itself says what the event is about.
The text below comes from Tesla's technical documentation. We leave it in the original English so that translation cannot shift its meaning.
Motor control feed-forward correlation error counter exceeds 25% of threshold
EPAS3P_status message not received on internal private bus nor vehicle bus
EPAS3P_status message received again
Motor position sensor 1 signal undervoltage
Invalid ESP_wheelRotationCounter value received
ESP_wheelRotationCounter is not incrementing correctly
EPAS observes ESP_wheelRotationCounter incrementing correctly again
The power steering is operational but the level of assist is decreased and External Angle Controller is inhibited
Motor position temperature sensor 2 error
High-side phase V undervoltage
Invalid VCFRONT_LVPowerStateCounter value received
VCFRONT_LVPowerStateCounter is not incrementing correctly
EPAS observes VCFRONT_LVPowerStateCounter incrementing correctly
Invalid ESP_wheelSpeedsCounter value received
ESP_wheelSpeedsCounter is not incrementing correctly
EPAS observes ESP_wheelSpeedsCounter incrementing correctly
The power steering is operational but the level of assist is decreased
VCFRONT_sensors message not received
VCFRONT_sensors message is not received
EPAS receives VCFRONT_sensors message
Motor position temperature sensor 1 error
APS_eacMonitor message not received
APS_eacMonitor message not received by EPAS
APS_eacMonitor message is received by EPAS
External Angle Controller inhibited
OHP torque returns to 40~140A (1.3~4.6Nm)
Reduced steering assist and EAC inhibited
EPAS3S_status message not received on internal private bus nor vehicle bus
EPAS3S_status message not received on private bus nor vehicle bus
EPAS3S_status message received again
Copy it exactly, letter and number included. Photographing the screen is safest — codes often differ by a single digit, and mixing them up leads somewhere else entirely.
Some codes clear after a screen restart or after the car sits locked for a few hours. If the code does not come back, it was usually a one-off glitch.
A one-off entry and a code that appears after every drive are two different things. It helps a service centre enormously if you know exactly when it shows up.
With airbags, brakes, steering and high voltage there is no point waiting it out. With the other groups you can watch and see whether the code returns at all.
Error codes are only part of the picture. For cars on TesList you also see battery health pulled straight from the vehicle, plus a price calculator that works out from current listings what a given car is actually worth today.