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.
Power steering quit working and sometimes works intermintently. Power steering quit in the middle of a turn and I had to drive though a front yard to avoid collision. Has not been inspected, can not take it in because I need it to get to work. No warning light prior to failure, light comes on once the steering locks up.
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated while reversing at 2 MPH, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering rack assembly needed to be replaced and reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.
Driving on interstate on vacation, we stop for gas and started engine no power steering. Cut off and restarted engine now I have power steering. Stop again to get gas start engine no power steering. Tried cutting off and restarted engine no power steering and still 2 weeks later no power steering and you can't drive this truck without power steering. Checked on getting it replaced and was told the part is on Nation wide backorder. So how is this going to be drivable? Called Ram dealer and they say no recall on this. So many ram trucks are having this issue. Ram should fix this deadly problem they created.
Service power steering fault, power steering is intermittent and will throw a code and you will loss power steering until you reset ignition! Also exhaust manifold bolts seem to break alot
- Cleveland, TN, USA
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The service power steering light appears often upon starting the truck and the steering wheel is locked. The power steering warning lamp comes on with no warning at all and the power steering locks up intermittently while driving or cornering. I have not had a dealership look it over. I just discovered this complaint form. My mechanic will take a look at it this coming weekend. Until then the truck isn't drivable and I am out of a vehicle. It is extremely dangerous and now costing me money in lost work.
The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the "Loss of Steering" message displayed. The contact shutoff and restarted the vehicle to correct the failure; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the steering gear was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 13,600.
All instruments and control of window wipers stopped responding to their switches. Wipers will not turn off, no horn, no working switches on steering wheel, communication to abs system, trailer brakes, data from abs not being received. Dash cluster flashes out for about 10 seconds while driving not knowing if the vehicle is still running while on the highway or freeway. Everything is pointing to the steering wheel clock spring. All replaced but still no controls or horn or ability to run vehicle safely on the roads. Will not pass inspection from this issue.
This is an issue I had with my electric power steering on my 2013 Ram 1500. I stopped at a gas station to fill up and when finished and cranked up my truck I had no power steering. The truck was very very difficult to steer on my way back home. If this would have happened while driving especially on a sharp curve I could have had an accident. The whole unit had to be replaced at the dealership for a cost of over $2000. There should have been a recall on this part with the manufacturer responsible for the repair cost.
Steering randomly stopped working upon cranking up. Dealership says codes lead to replacing rack/pinion for $4000. There is no seen damage & nothing leading up to this problem, so I wanted to make you aware since this topic is being investigated.
The power steering suddenly stopped working. There was absolutely no warning prior to the incident. The part is still on my truck. I was pulling onto a major highway at the time and was just lucky there was no traffic anywhere near me or this could have caused a major wreck. If I turn the truck off and back on, the problem corrects itself, but it comes back. Sometimes after 30 secs or sometimes not until the next day, but it will always come back. I have not had it checked out yet.
My 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 suddenly lost all power steering on Saturday 8/12/23. There were no warning lights beforehand but in the moment it said "service power steering" on the dash. Luckily I was in a parking lot and able to go in reverse back into my spot. I then had my truck towed to my mechanic who said that everything was working perfectly when he arrived on Monday morning. Upon further inspection he said that there is an error with the electronic steering gear and that it would take approximately 10-12 weeks and upwards of $5,000 to fix. At this point, I took the truck back home because they said that it was working fine and it did work fine for one day until I tried to go to work this morning (8/16/23)and the same thing happened. Again, I was luckily still in the parking lot of my apartment complex so I was able to pull straight forward into another parking spot. Upon request, I would be happy to allow for inspection on my vehicle. It is certainly scary to think that the power steering could go out at any point while on the road. This is not like a typical power steering problem, I cannot turn the wheel at all even with high amount of force. I am hoping that this report helps others before someone gets hurt involving this problem. Thank you!
While traveling 70 mph down a straight highway my power steering jerked and became inoperable with no prior indications or warnings. The Service Power Steering indication came on afterwards. I was able to regain and maintain control with great physical exertion and difficulty. If my wife, daughter, or someone with a weaker stature was driving, the results could have been catastrophic. I checked all connections and fuses related to the electric power steering and everything appeared to be is good operating condition, indicating the likely culprit is an EPS module. The nature in which the EPS failed can and will cause serious injury and death if not resolved.
2013 RAM 1500 EXPERIENCED TOTAL AND COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING FUNCTION DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ALMOST CAUSING ACCIDENT. THIS MATCHES THE NHTSA INVESTIGATION RQ 23-003 AS OF 8/4/23 (Investigator: [XXX] ). THAT I FOUND ONLINE THIS MORNING. THE VEHICLE IS NOW AT THE LOCAL RAM DEALERSHIP IN MURFREESBORO, TN. TRUCK WAS TRAVELING AT APPROX 45 MPH GOING STRAIGHT WHEN THE STEERING LOSS OCCURRED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Backing out of the driveway, the power steering light came on and the power steering completely stopped working. I checked the fuses and they were all functional. This morning, I read an article (published 6 days ago) that other 2013 RAM 1500s have experienced the same issue and that NHTSA is investigating. Please add my truck to the list of those experiencing this issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lake Charles, LA, USA