- The government is investigating thousands of Rams.
- ProMasters and 3500s are losing power steering assist.
- Issue could be related to corrosion or water intrusion.
Federal safety regulators are turning their attention to a potential steering issue affecting a large number of Ram vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into nearly 140,000 Ram vehicles after receiving 19 complaints alleging either intermittent or complete failure of power steering assist.
If the system goes out, it can require significantly more steering effort to control the vehicle. This increases the risk of a crash and the preliminary investigation seeks to examine the scope of the problem as well as its root cause.
The investigation is focused on the 2022 Ram 3500 pickup as well as the 2022-2023 ProMaster van. It’s believed approximately 136,666 vehicles could be impacted, but no accidents or injuries have been reported.
Little is known about the issue at this point, but several reports implied power steering assist failures could be related to water intrusion. This reportedly occurs in connectors for the electric power steering control module, which would make sense.
Digging deeper, one complainant from Ohio alleged the steering wheel on their 2023 ProMaster “locked up and started jerking, resulting in [a] lack of steering and drivability.” An Illinois resident made a similar complaint about their 2022 ProMaster as they said the “steering wheel keeps locking up” and they’re not able to turn at lower speeds.
A Michigan driver reported their 2022 ProMaster would “randomly” lose power steering. They claimed this occurs at high and low speeds as well as when traveling in reverse.
In another case, a work van from Saint Louis has reportedly experienced a loss of power steering while traveling at various speeds. No warning light illuminated and a dealer was reportedly unable to replicate the issue.
In another incident, a driver reported the power steering failed without warning while traveling on the highway. The van was inspected and the owner was reportedly told there was corrosion as “water had entered the power steering rack and harness.”
The complaints go on, but hopefully the investigation will determine what’s wrong and identify a fix.
