10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,974 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Ram 1500 steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Ram 1500 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

Oct 232015

1500

  • 61,334 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Received recall notice that a steering wheel harness could rub and deploy the airbag at any time. I took the truck to hollywood Chrysler hollywood fl and they repaired and returned. When I arrived and for the preceding months prior my "fuel economy display" indicated my average mileage was 15.8 gallons per mile reasonably within the specs for this vehicle. Following the wiring harness repair the display now (and for more than 2 weeks ) reports 11.8 mpg. Somehow the repair altered the fuel usage of the vehicle. The dealer checked and said nothing was wrong. But my mileage has gone from 15.8 to 11.8. I'm not driving differently. I'm losing 30% of my gas and the vehicle is now under advertised specs of 14/20 mpg there is an issue they don't want to discuss. Can the NHTSA contact other owners with this repair and verify" can you help" thanks

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #23

Sep 012015

1500

  • 18,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving 20 mph in 4 wheel drive, the steering column and wheels vibrated and made an abnormal noise. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure usually occurred while driving at low speeds. The contact believed the symptoms were related to NHTSA campaign number: 13V038000 (power train), but the VIN was excluded. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 18,000.

- Pickerington, OH, USA

problem #22

Jul 012013

1500

  • 5,000 miles
My Ram 1500 while traveling at highway speeds, 60 mph and above, handles fine until I hit a bump in the road which causes the truck to vibrate terribly and it looses control and requires to take the foot off the accelerator to get the truck under control. It vibrates out of it's lane and if extremly dangerous. I thought it was tires so I never complained but after putting new tires on my truck and the dangerous vibration would still occur after hittling a bump in the road, I searched on line and found that other people with Ram trucks have been having this problem for years. Is Dodge doing anything about this terrible problem?

- Bozeman, MT, USA

problem #21

Jun 022015

1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 54,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle experienced erratic driving, brought to dealer stated my rack and pinion failed and had to be replaced. My vehicle is not part of recall, which I don't understand, this vehicle failed in a major way which endangered me and my family and I was never notified by manufacturer. Sad thing about this does my vehicle have to be in a crash, fire and fatality till something is done! thank you for your time [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Southold, NY, USA

problem #20

Aug 032015

1500

  • 32,000 miles
When steering at any speed the steering wheel seems to stud-er or get sticky at times as you turn left or right. Dealer said there was no recall on the steering but they greased the front end, seems to be better. When at low or high highway speeds and applying the brakes normally not in a emergency stopping situation, the front end and steering wheel shake violently. Stated around 30,000 miles the driver side parking lights or running lights front and rear are off and not working, directional and brake lights seem fine.

- North Reading, MA, USA

problem #19

May 052015

1500

  • 87,567 miles
Driving along highway and all of a sudden truck starts to fishtail out of control from the rear, causing me to go into the ditch in one side of the highway then coming out to go across the interstate then land in the median ditch. Fortunately I hit no one and no one was injured except scaring me till I don't like driving much anymore. The damages were minor loss of the inserts to the locked rims which were brocken off.

- Fort Stewart, GA, USA

problem #18

Apr 212015

1500

  • 32,234 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Took truck to coppus motors tiffin, Ohio on 4/21/2015 due to front left of vehicle making excessive road noise and wanted to know if it was from the tire, or something wrong with front end. Dealership said they checked bearings and suspension and all checked ok. Was told by Chrysler to have a certified dealership for Goodyear check tires, at that time they advised me, the front end must be out of alignment.took truck to independant front end alignment business, to have alignment checked after purchasing new tires. Toe and camber were both out and were adjusted. After 3 wks. Time, front end alignment was out again. Same business, realigned again. 2wks later took to coppus motors and it was out of alignment again, dealership aligned it. 3wks later took back to coppus motors as requested by dealership to check alignment and it was out again. My new truck tires are now showing excessive wear and are going to soon need replaced, and truck is still not fixed yet. At this time, coppus motors is unsure how to repair alignment so it will hold. Since this all started I have only accumulated 4,000 mi. To have another set of tires already showing wear and needing replacement soon.

- Tiffin, OH, USA

problem #17

Jul 292015

1500

  • miles
When driving or dips or small holes on the road the truck shifts hard to right and left every time.had front wheel alignment done problem still occurs.can't believe out of 600,000 vehicles no recall or by back on my 2012 Ram.when they specifically listed 2012 as one of the years that got recalled.I expect a recall and accommodation.

- Fairburn , GA, USA

problem #16

Jan 162013

1500

  • miles
Makes a popping sound on the front left side.

- Huber Heights , OH, USA

problem #15

May 312014

1500

  • miles
Have had issues on steering straight and vibration at highway speeds. The steering wheel has not been in alignment since before the dealer alignment was done. Tires squeal at turns at slow speed, I have had the tires balanced rotated, I have had the truck aligned by the dealer with no effective difference in the steering or the wear on the tires.

- Platte City, MO, USA

problem #14

Jun 012015

1500

  • 32,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My airbag light comes on the dashboard and stays on for a while sometimes goes off then comes right back on. My windshield washer fluid message comes on even whith a full tank of fluid. My driver side window goes up and down on its own sometimes. My main concern is the "death wobble" coming from the front end when traveling at highway speeds. If you guys could enlighten me on all of this that would be great because I searched my VIN number and no recalls came up. I don't want to be driving down the freeway and my steering suddenly goes. Also god for bid I get into an accident I want to make sure my airbags will deploy.

- Freeport, PA, USA

problem #13

Oct 102014

1500 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the driver side tie rod was worn prematurely, which caused the tires to be worn. In addition, three security locks and the studs and bolts fractured on the front driver side tire without warning. The suspension on the driver and passenger side tires was unstable and the steering wheel was extremely loose. The contact also indicated that the wheels were locking in the rear, which indicated a drive train failure because the bolts also fractured in the rear. The vehicle was taken to three different dealers for inspection and diagnostic testing. The contact was provided with conflicting information from the dealers and was waiting to determine how the manufacturer was going to remedy the failure. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 13V038000 (power train), 12V474000 (power train), 13V528000 (steering), 11V350000 (ste/ering) and 10E040000 (wheels). The manufacturer was notified of the failures and provided no remedy. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000. Updated 11/12/15 updated 10/19/2017

- Amarillo , TX, USA

problem #12

Feb 122015

1500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V635000 (engine and engine cooling, fuel system, diesel) and 13V527000 (steering) and stated that the parts needed were unavailable to repair the vehicle. The dealer was unable to inform when the parts would become available. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. The VIN was not available.

- Silver Spring , MD, USA

problem #11

Dec 292014

1500

  • 45,015 miles
While traveling down road the vehicle just shut off losing steering and braking was able to put in neutral and get started after several tries of starting and it would shut right back off before it would start and stay running, it has done this numerous times sometimes when first starting vehicle sometimes right after starting and driving off, it has did this several times pulling out of my driveway onto busy highway almost resulting is an accident. It happened to my wife a couple of times the first time she could not get it to start and stay running to get it out of the roadway and had to put the emergency flashers on and leave it setting across the South bound lane of the highway to come back inside to get me to try to get it out of the road. After that incident she was afraid to drive it, took to dealership 02/09/15 got back today 02/10/15 they had to replace ignition switch module at a cost of $286.75 this was a serious safety issue and needs to be looked into and there should be a recall issued for this problem before there is a serious accident resulting in serious injury or a fatality. There was a recall issued for the same problem on the Dodge Caravan's and Dodge journey's with the same type win (wireless ignition node) ignition switch.

- Uniontown, KY, USA

problem #10

Dec 102014

1500 4WD 6-cyl Diesel

  • miles
The week of March 9th of this year, we took the truck in for transmission problem and wheel alignment to the local dealer: Frontier Dodge Chrysler Jeep 5801 spur 327 lubbock, tx 79424 the transmission was repaired. The service advisor told us that they will only fix the alignment after they receive the recall part# N49. Due to them having to realign it again after they repair N49. The steering wheel's position is off. The logo is tilted to the right. With that said, its now December and we have not received any calls from the dealer. They have not contacted us with any updates. We called in June and the service desk and were told that they didn't have our part yet. That was said even before we gave them our name. How did they know who they were talking to" after we identified the truck, they said that the part isn't in yet. The only reason that we are contacting you is due to the poor customer service that we received at the local Dodge dealer. And we understand that the recalls need to be done. The only problem is that its not getting don"T in a timely matter. The 2nd recall, with compartment fire, sounds like it could be a disaster. I don't even feel comfortable driving the truck especially having my family in it. I would really like a call or some sort of response to the above situation.

- Wolfforth, TX, USA

problem #9

Aug 272014

1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 14,730 miles
While driving at 60 mph the truck failed to downshift for an incline on the highway loosing momentum. I depressed the accelerator pedal to the floor and nothing happened. At this point I signaled to move onto the shoulder while the truck continued to lose momentum. When I turned the steering wheel, it was difficult to move as if I had lost my power steering too. The brakes worked and I stopped on the shoulder. I placed the truck in park and back to drive: Nothing happened. I placed the truck in park, turned it off, waited a couple minutes and restarted. The transmission and steering now worked. At no time did any warning light appear on the dash. I could have caused a significant pile up on the freeway during rush hour. Since no warning lights appeared on the dash--how do I know what happened--or more likely, how will the dealership find the root cause for this failure. This behavior is dangerous and unacceptable for a 2 year old truck with less than 15K miles. I use my truck to sometimes pull a horse trailer. If this incident happens again while I am towing the outcome will be disastrous. I am now scared to drive my truck.

- Duvall, WA, USA

problem #8

Jan 052014

1500

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering). The contact was concerned about the safety related issue of the potential failure to the driver side tie rod assembly, which could potentially lead to a crash. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

- Lake Ariel, PA, USA

problem #7

Dec 012013

1500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2012 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 13V529000 (steering) and stated that the part needed was unavailable to perform the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Valentine , NE, USA

problem #6

Sep 182013

1500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 2,500 miles
While driving down the road the engine suddenly dies. All power steering, brakes, etc are gone. I have to coast to a stop and restart the vehicle. This has happened at least 6 times since purchasing the vehicle in August of 2012. One day it happened several times in succession. The most recent incident took place on June 5, 2014. I have taken it to the dealership and they will not do anything as they can not recreate the issue while it is in the shop. I am very concerned as this is the same issue that is happening with the current huge GM recall involving faulty ignition switches. I pull a travel trailer with this vehicle and this is a very dangerous issue to have happening. Up until now it has not happened while towing the trailer but I am extremely concerned for my safety.

- Louisville, CO, USA

problem #5

Apr 082014

1500 8-cyl

  • 65,891 miles
My wife was in a wreck yesterday she hit a truck in the rear end and airbags did not deploy causing her facial injuries also a later surgery.

- Nashville, TN, USA

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