The Timoshenko beam model has been known as the most accurate model for representing beam structures. However, the Timoshenko beam model may give rise to a significant error when it is applied to multi-stepped beam structures. This paper is intended to demonstrate the modeling error of Timoshenko beam based finite element model for multi-stepped beam structures and to suggest a new modeling method to improve the accuracy. A tentative bending spring is introduced into the stepped section to represent the softening effect due to the presence of step. This paper also proposes a finite element modeling method in the light with the tentative bending spring model for the step softening effect. The proposed method rigorously adapts computation results from a commercial finite element code. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated through a series of simulation and experiment.