393.50(a) Steering Defect: Citation Guide & Repair Checklist

It depends on the inspector's judgment. Across our inspection records, 393.50(a) citations resulted in out-of-service placement 50.0% of the time. That's significantly higher than the all-FMCSR average OOS rate of 31.4%, meaning steering defects are more likely to sideline your vehicle than most violations. If your truck is not immediately OOS'd, you must still address the defect before operating.

A single 393.50(a) citation carries a CSA severity weight of 8 points. This weight is applied once per citation and, under the CSA program rules, those points are weighted again over a rolling 30-month period. The exact final CSA impact depends on your full violation history, but an 8-point severity violation is considered moderate within the vehicle maintenance category.

1. Do not operate the vehicle if it was placed out of service—this is a federal violation.
2. Document the defect with photos and the exact inspection report language.
3. Contact a qualified mechanic immediately to inspect and repair the steering mechanism.
4. Request a reinspection from FMCSA once repairs are complete (if OOS'd).
5. Keep all repair receipts and work orders in case you need to contest the citation through DataQs or your carrier's compliance file.
6. Report to your carrier's safety department if you're a driver for a fleet.

Yes, steering defects are taken seriously. Our records show 393.50(a) has a 50.0% OOS rate, which exceeds similar maintenance codes like inoperable lamps (393.9(a) at 15.4% OOS) and windshield defects (393.78 at 0.3% OOS). However, it ranks lower than general inspection/repair violations (396.3(a)(1) at 45.3% OOS). Steering is critical to vehicle control, so inspectors treat it with high enforcement discretion.

Yes. DataQs is FMCSA's online system for drivers and carriers to dispute inspection findings recorded in the Safety Management System. For a 393.50(a) steering defect, your dispute should focus on:

• Factual errors in how the defect was documented (e.g., the inspector misidentified which component was faulty).
• Proof of repair if the defect was fixed before the citation was finalized.
• Calibration or maintenance records showing the steering was functional.

Note: DataQs challenges equipment violations require specific, contemporaneous evidence—photos, work orders, or maintenance logs.

393.50(a) is very rare. Our database contains only 32 all-time citations for steering mechanism defects, ranking it #1775 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes by citation volume. In the last 90 days, we recorded zero citations. By contrast, slack adjuster defects (393.47E) have 180,363 citations. This suggests steering defects are either caught less frequently during inspections or are maintained better across the industry than brake components.

Extremely urgent. If placed out of service, you cannot legally operate the vehicle until repaired and reinspected. Even if not OOS'd, steering function is a safety-critical system affecting your ability to control the vehicle and avoid crashes. Given the 50.0% OOS rate in our records, the citation itself signals the inspector found a significant fault. Schedule repairs immediately with a qualified technician and have the vehicle reinspected before returning to service.

Under FMCSA's Safety Management System, roadside inspection violations follow both the driver's record and the carrier's record—they are reported to different CSA BASIC categories. The violation appears in your personal driver qualification file (if you're an independent) and in your carrier's safety profile (if you drive for a fleet). Both records influence insurance rates, audit risk, and compliance ratings. A single citation may not trigger intervention, but patterns of maintenance violations across multiple drivers increase carrier scrutiny.