What 858 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Trx

while driving the electric power steering failed . light came on an lost power to the steering wheel . could have been killed because, it impossible to steer

NHTSA ODI 11575818

This recall applies to 2013-2019 Ram 1500 trucks equipped with electronic power steering (EPS). Some EPS gear assemblies may have been built with a contaminated circuit card assembly that may short circuit. "Fiat Chrysler has issued a recall for nearly 165,000 Ram trucks due to a potential issue with the steering column control module. According to Ram's estimates, about 142,150 trucks are likely to have this defect. The steering column control module is a critical component of the vehicle's steering system." Ram 1500 Power Steering Failure Investigation The automaker and their supplier investigated the issue, concluding that the failures were due to contamination of the part's control circuit board, which could cause an electrical short circuit and lead to partial or complete failure of the electrical power steering.

NHTSA ODI 11575132

I was going maybe 25mph on wet gravel. I had just put the truck into part time 4x4 because it was starting to snow. With no warming maybe 4 min after part time was activated I got a warning ding and service power steering light and the truck wouldn't turn. I nearly lost control on the snow. Again no warning, it happened all at one and I was unable to control the vehicle. I stopped for maybe 5 min and turned the truck off... when I restarted it the steering worked long enough to turn around on the one way road before the steering once again went out.. no warning just couldn't turn and the light on the dash came on simultaneously. I limped down the mountain at about 10 mph with no power steering. I once again after 30 min or so shut the truck off. Once again when it restarted the power steering works as it should. I'm scared to drive it because it gives no warning before the steering wheele becomes almost impossible to turn. It has since worked on my last two short trips but for how long. And how fast will I be moving the next time it stops working.

NHTSA ODI 11575140

Lost power steering while driving .. caused me to go off road.. no injuries or damage .. steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced

NHTSA ODI 11574424

While turning found Electronic Power Steering became very hard to turn right or left. Driving on highway fine no warning lights but steering became extremely hard on hard turns. Took to garage they analyzed saying battery and IBS sensor should be rep,aced along*with rack steering at a cost over $ 5000.00. So I climb under my truck to check out what they were saying. There wasn’t the corrosion described connections all look good. I went back to garage an had battery changed, greatly improved steering still a little stick no and then when turning. Next I’ll reset IBS sensor and hope this resolves completely. The no warning of failure will definitely cause accidents, lucky it was me driving and not my wife.

NHTSA ODI 11574314

ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MALFUNCTION OR FAILER. WHEN TURNING CAN FEEL LIKE STEERING IS STICKING, DOESNT RECOVER AND SEEMS TO REQUIRE ALOT MORE TO TURN WHEEL AND BRING IT BACK TO STRAIGHTEN OUT. IT WAS CHECKED AT A LOCAL SERVICE STATION. NO INSPECTION HAS BEEN DONE TO E.S.P BY ANYONE ELSE YET. HAD A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON PRIOR TO ISSUE BUT IT WAS FOR AMBIENT TEMP SENSOR. WHICH WAS FIXED. UNKNOWN ON WHEN ISSUE FIRST APPEARED BUT APPROX. 2 TO 3 WEEKS AGO.

NHTSA ODI 11572430

To whom it may concern , on 1/8/24 . I was driving on the highway . I lost totaled power of the steering . steering wouldn't turn over . luckily I was able to move to the side . no one got injured but the panic and scariness in making a fatal accident and injuring my family .I had to get the truck towed to my house . I barely had a chance to take it to get inspected 2/12/24. On there inspection they found the power steering rack electric has failed , and needs to be replace . done by victory dodge Kansas City . My truck didn't give any warning / messages until after issue happen . The dealership quote is $3,700 to get it repaired , the issue is I don't have that amount of money at this moment .Ive tried looking for this part at different auto parts and they don't have none available at this moment . What em I supposed to do next ?

NHTSA ODI 11572110

Rack and pinion unit locked up and the tires immediately locked all the way to the right Along with the steering wheel locking up, Part not available for inspection. Has already been replaced. I could have injured or killed myself or another person because I could not steer, only able to apply brakes. The component was inspected and replaced by an independent service. No other inspections were done. No warning of any kind.

NHTSA ODI 11571210

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving 15–35 MPH and going around a corner, the steering wheel became inoperable intermittently, then resumed normal functionality. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: 13289 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 88,700. The contact specified the serial number of my steering rack that needs to be looked into for safety reasons. SN# TIC0377C4076.

NHTSA ODI 11568953

Drove home from work and stopped the vehicle, put it in park to check the mail. When I returned the vehicle to drive the steering locked up and "service power steering" light came on the dash. I drove into the yard a bit because the steering wheel was incredibly difficult to turn. I thought I was going to break something with how much force I had to use to get the vehicle to steer into the garage. This is a recalled issue on other Ram gen 4 trucks and should be one for this one as well. I can only imagine if it had locked up with my 6 year old son in the vehicle on the highway or something.

NHTSA ODI 11568677

while driving on the highway my Power Steering Service light came on the dashboard and I loss my power steering. Vehicle was extremely had to steer, almost got into an accident with the vehicle on the right lane which also had to steer away from my truck. almost caused a chain accident on the highway. I took it to a dodge dealership for service and they diagnosed that the Electronic Power Steering module was not working and replaced the rack and pinion; it cost me closed to $4,000. After 4 days in the shop, I drove my truck away from the dealer and parked it for the weekend. On Sunday I decided to go to the supermarket, no issues driving to the market. As I am getting ready to leave the parking lot of the market back to my house, the Power Steering Service light came back on. Nothing in the dashboard warned me in advance that the power steering was not working properly or it was about to go out.

NHTSA ODI 11566859

My steering recently locked up on me while turning left with oncoming traffic, I slid (snow) onto the shoulder to avoid traffic, almost causing an accident. There were no warnings at that time. After a few moments it freed up and I was able to continue. Then, a couple days later, the power steering warning came on and there was no longer any steering assist. I continued a couple miles to get off of the main road. Then it locked up again while turning right, again, almost causing an accident. I had to brake hard to prevent hitting the cars in the other lane, and almost got rear-ended by cars trying to turn behind me. I blocked the intersection for over an hour waiting for a tow truck, but was eventually able to get it to the shoulder. The vehicle has been towed to the dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11566437

My truck electric steering suddenly locked while driving in the highway lightning my steering wheel service light on

NHTSA ODI 11565278

The electric power steering failed while driving the vehicle. Due to the size and weight of the vehicle, it is extremely difficult to maneuver safely without power steering. I took it to the nearest dealer and they inspected the truck and confirmed that the electric power steering rack and pinion had failed due to the control board withing the rack and pinion and recommended a complete replacement of the rack and pinion.

NHTSA ODI 11565009

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed and turning the steering wheel to make a turn, the steering wheel became inoperable. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed electronic rack and pinion. The contact was informed that the electronic rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure started a month before while the contact was driving the vehicle and making a turn, and the contact heard an abnormal scratching sound. The contact stated that after the failure the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

NHTSA ODI 11562533

Without warning, the power steering has started to fail. The wheel has become very hard to turn.

NHTSA ODI 11562562

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 205,000.

NHTSA ODI 11561071

Turning into our drive way, the power rack and pinion failed. Couldn't turn the wheel and drove into our yard. A red steering wheel appeared on the dash. After this happened, I have discovered this has been a recall item on many dodge ram trucks. I have tried to order a new part, but none is available. The part # is 68628858AA. I can't drive my truck and I can't get a part to fix it. The failure is a real safety issue because there is no warning, until after the failure has occured. The steering wheel becomes extremely difficult to turn, which results in losing control of the vehicle. This issue has to be a common occurrence , since no parts are available.

NHTSA ODI 11556183

Tried to leave and the service power steering light came on and there was no power steering. We shut the truck off and started it again and the light went off and we had power steering again. This has happened on and off a few times which is consistent with the recall we were informed of. We brought our truck to the local repair shop and they told us that there is a recall for this very issue (see attached copy from them). We then contacted the Dodge dealership we purchased the truck from and was told that this is VIN number specific and that our VIN number was not included in this recall, however the recall is occurring with vehicles made between 2013-2019 and ours is a 2017. We also contacted Chrysler who told us the same thing.

NHTSA ODI 11552814

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. The power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone where a diagnostic test produced an unknown code. The contact stated that the 120 positive terminal fuse was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,00.

NHTSA ODI 11552331

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently experienced a loss of power steering assist. The check power steering message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

NHTSA ODI 11546659

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle intermittently experienced a loss of power steering assist. The "Service Power Steering" message was displayed. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: RQ23003 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 55,500. The VIN was invalid.

NHTSA ODI 11543133

Power steering just stopped working one day when truck was started.

NHTSA ODI 11543296

Driving approx. 45 mph when truck lost acceleration. Truck began making clanking sound and check engine light came on and electronic throttle control light. Almost got into an accident due to someone almost rear ending me and then had to coast into a parking lot when I lost total control of all steering and almost hit a parked car. Truck would not restart, had to call for a tow back home that was 150+ miles because no dealerships close by would accept vehicle or had availability. Truck taken to local Dodge dealership and diagnosed with high pressure fuel pump failure and the eta for parts for a fix are unknown at the time. Have been without a truck or car for 2 weeks now, have 4 kids and both me and my wife work full time and now only have 1 car to get around in because the truck had to be diagnosed first before a rental could be granted, if they even give me one. Still waiting to hear back about getting a rental and been 2 weeks without a truck.

NHTSA ODI 11541470

While driving, my Ram Power Steering completely failed. I brought to the dealership and they advised there is an internal failure of the power steering rack. I found out of an ongoing investigation by the NHTSA for this issue and wanted to make sure my VIN was included if a recall was initiated.

NHTSA ODI 11540463