2017 Ram 1500 Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
We driving down the highway in state of Idaho. When all of a sudden steering wheel when out of control. My mom could not control it. The steering wheel was go super fast side to side . When ended up going on the side of the highway.
The electric power steering failed. I was not able to safely turn my vehicle. It is a safety issue because I could have easily injure or killed myself or anyone that I crashed into. The issue is known to happen in this vehicle. There was a warning light that came on saying to service the power steering. The manufacture is not making the part to fix this issue.
While making a left turn at low speed, I suddenly lost power steering, there was no warning message or notice and steering was very hard, I pulled over, shut the vehicle off and restarted, the power steering returned and I resumed my trip. The second incident, the vehicle was parked in my driveway, I started it up and immediately got a message on the dash that said, Service Power Steering, the power steering was not available, maneuvering was next to impossible. I have just purchased this vehicle on 2/28/22, used as is, with no warranty and I feel I have purchased a dangerous vehicle with no options available. This vehicle is a 2017 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Limited with 128,00 miles on it. I understand there are some issues with the EPS system on several of the Ram 1500 Model years, and there has even been a recall on some models. I feel it necessary to report this incident as I am afraid to drive the vehicle, which makes this purchase useless, even after researching this vehicles history before buying, I had no way of knowing of the current EPS problems as there are no current recalls for my particular truck. If there is a problem with the EPS system, at the time of manufacturing, then why haven't the 2017 models been recalled as well. Also my local dealer cannot effectively make any repairs unless he has a code or the power steering is not available at the time he inspects it, and ironically it works fine intermittently.
Electronic power steering stopped working while traveling at highway speeds. No warnings, no issues with steering previously. Manual steering when eps fails is still possibly, but extremely difficult. Vehicle will operate normally after turning off and back on.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while attempting to drive the vehicle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the electronic power steering (EPS) module needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact pulled over and towed the vehicle to his residence. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Parked the truck and woke up the next morning to the power steering being out.
the electric power steering assist has been slowly getting worst causing hard tuning and am worried the steering will fail with family in vehicel and crash.
I have had 2 incidences with my 2017 Ram. The 1st time it happened, I was driving with my wife and handicapped 33 year old son in the vehicle, and had made a left hand turn on to a fairly busy street near my home. In the midst of my turn, the "Service Power Steering" warning message came on the instrument cluster AND at that point the power steering locked up and basically I had to drive without it! It is extremely dangerous trying to maneuver, but I was able to make WIDE turns and get a few blocks to my home. When arriving home, I immediately called the dealer we bought the truck from and arranged for it to be towed and serviced. I had gone outside to start the truck several times to see if the warning and steering had rectified itself. By the time the tow truck driver arrived (2 hours later) he had me start the truck and it was completely fine! Within the next few days I began to notice an icon on the instrument cluster every time I started the truck of a red steering wheel with an exclamation mark. Even though the truck was driving fine at that point I decided to call the dealer and bring it in for service. They had it for several days and no "code" could be retrieved and it did not happen while they drove it. Fast forward a month or so(9-5-2021), and I was parked in a friends driveway. When I started the truck it happened again. Knowing I had a ways to travel, I started to turn the engine on and off several times. It went away and was fine and has been once again ever since, but the steering wheel icon upon starting the engine is still there. This defect is very concerning to me because of having to transport a handicapped adult! It is terribly dangerous because of the electronic steering going out. It is very, very hard to maneuver my truck.
The contact owns a 2017 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that while moving out of a parking space, the steering fault warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer who stated that the vehicle was not included in an unknown recall. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion steering column needed to be replaced. The contact had a certified mechanic repair the vehicle. The contact stated that water leaked into the circuit and caused the failure to reoccur. The contact took the vehicle to a car wash several months later and water leaked into the circuit causing the failure to recur. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 119,000.
The Electronic Power Steering (EPS) system threw a code for a short circuit and the EPS system failed. I lost my power steering while on the road and was unable to safely operate my RAM. The power steering light indicator was on. This problem was serviced at Apple Chrysler Dodge in Hanover PA on July 21 2021, invoice attached, costing me $2653.43. This is the SAME ISSUE that was addressed for both the 2015 and 2016 RAM 1500s in a recall for “loss of power steering assist”, issued March 23, 2016 (NHTSA No 16V167000).
The contact's husband owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering assist and excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. The contact's husband had taken the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to service the vehicle. The contact then made an appointment with the dealer for the vehicle to be serviced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000
Electronic power steering appears to be intermittently inoperative. I was driving this past weekend and multiple times when turning in parking lot or going under 20 mph or at least that is what I noticed, it became difficult to steer and then forcing steering all the sudden power steering kicks in almost causing accident. I will be taking my truck into dealership but I see there are no recalls yet on this problem and I see complaints going back many years. This is truly a safety concern.....
Electronic power steering failure while driving at high speeds, rendering the vehicle not able to drive. Unable to steer vehicle causing imminent danger to myself, my passenger, and other drivers on the road. The vehicle is not able to be driven to be serviced or inspected. There were no warning signs of power steering failure until the event as described happened.
On two occasions within the last three days, while driving and about to make a turn, my power steering was completely disabled. The first time I was turning onto another street and nearly ran into the ditch. Luckily the second time, I was leaving a parking lot. On both occasions, it was very very difficult to turn the truck with no power steering. Once I turned the truck off for a while to research the problem and restarted it, the problem went away. I am now afraid to drive my truck on a upcoming trip to the mountains.
WHILE DRIVING MY 2017 DODGE RAM 1500 TRUCK THE POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING WHICH CAUSED ME TO NEARLY RUN OFF THE ROAD DURING AN ATTEMPTED TURN. THE POWER STEERING HAS SINCE BEEN INTERMITTENTLY CUTTING IN AND OUT WHICH MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER, ESPECIALLY AT SLOWER SPEEDS. I WAS DRIVING ON CITY STREETS WHEN THIS HAPPENED.
FAILURE OF ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST STEERING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. UNABLE TO PROPERLY CONTROL VEHICLE.
WHILE DRIVING ON PAVED SURFACE APPROACHING A RIGHT TURN AT 20 MPH I EXPERIENCED SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING.THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. .THE DASH INFORMATION CENTER WAS TELLING ME NOT TO SHUT DOWN THE VEHICLE.AFTER PLACING THE TRUCK IN PARK THE ADVISORY LIGHTS WENT OUT THE RED POWER STEERING LIGHT REMAINED ON
INTERMITTENT LOSS OF POWER STEERING. TWO OCURRANCES 3 MONTHS APART. LOW SPEED RIGHT TURN AT 20MPH, DASH ERROR LIGHT (LOSS OF COMM WITH POWER STEERRING) AND NO POWER STEERING. STOP, SHUT ENGINE DOWN AND RESTART RESTORES POWER STEERING. SECOND OCCURANCE (14 AUG 2020), SAME ERROR WHILE PERFORMING LEFT TURN AT ABOUT 25 MPH. SHUT ENGINE, AND RESTART RESTORES POWER STEERING. IN BOTH INSTANCES, MANUAL NON ASSISTED STEERING STILL FUNCTIONAL. ALL DRIVING WHILE IN CITY, STARTING FROM INTERSECTION.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING FAILURE. OVER A PERIOD OF 2-3 WEEKS POWER STEERING HAS BECOME MORE AND MORE INOPERABLE AND REQUIRES VERY MUCH EFFORT TO STEER. DEALER SUGGESTION IS TO COMPLETELY REPLACE RACK & PINION MODULE AT HIGH COST - EST $2200. REPAIR MUST BE DONE TO MAKE THIS VEHICLE SAFE TO DRIVE. THIS PROBLEM SEEMS IDENTICAL TO THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECENT (16 DEC 2019) VB8 CHRYSLER RECALL FOR 2019 RAM 1500 TRUCKS.
THE WOBBLE OF DEATH WHEN VEHICLE IN MOTION AFTER TURNING FROM SMOKE RD ONTO WIRE RD IN DORCHESTER ,SC 29437. *TR
POWER STEERING WORKS AND DON'T WORK DONT WORK WHEN TEMP IS 40;OR BELOW THEN DRIVE FOR 10_12 MILES SHUT ENGINE OFF RESTART AND POWER STEERING WORKING
I WAS TAKING A CORNER AT ABOUT 20 MPH AND THE POWER STEERING GAVE OUT CAUSING ME TO ALMOST CRASH THE VEHICLE, A COUPLE MUNUTES LATER IT CAME BACK ON FOR A LITTLE WHILE, AND THEN THE NEXT TIME I STARTED UP THE TRUCK IT HAD NO POWER STEERING AT ALL. NOW WAITING TO GET IT INTO DODGE FOR REPAIRS.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND JUST AS I ENTERED A CURVE THE STEERING WENT OUT AND A WARNING CAME UP ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH SAID POWER STEERING FAILURE. ONCE I WAS IN A SAFE PLACE TO DO SO I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND RE-STARTED IT. EVERYTHING RETURNED TO NORMAL.
POWER STEERING EPS HAS FAILED. THE CAR LOST THE POWER STEERING.
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Quick Summary
The 2017 Ram 1500 has 152 Steering complaints on file. 5 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.