2020 Ram 1500 Steering

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. In addition, the “Service Power Steering” warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled in the middle of a busy roadway. The contact stated that her small children were occupants of the vehicle during the failure. The contact was able to get the vehicle over to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact referenced a recall with a similar failure; however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 109,857.

While driving on highway service power steering warning light came on and I lost power steering nearly resulting in a crash. Vehicle towed to dealership. Electronic power steering was faulty and had to be replaced along with the entire rack and pinion gear at a cost of nearly $4k

Power steering light continually goes on and off. Took it to dealership and they said they’ve had many many new models of this Ram come in with the same problem. They quoted me for a gear rack saying it’s some kind of defect and the whole thing would need replaced (2,000$ +). I’ve looked through forums and countless drivers have reported the same issue. I’ve had this truck for just over 100,000 miles, with regular maintenance to every aspect of it. I don’t feel we should be responsible for a fault of the manufacturer. Please help!

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel started vibrating. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle and after the vehicle started, the “Power Steering Service” message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the steering assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,250.

While driving power steering warning lights come on and power steering goes out. The power steering warning lights come on and go off with loss of power steering intermittently but only after unit heats up. Loud noise such as a fan comes on prior to the steering warning lights coming on and power steering going out. Had a mechanic diagnose the issue and he said the power steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced and cost would be around $3800 Very dangerous especially when power steering goes out while turning. New OEM power steering rack & pinion ordered today 5-21-2025

The power steering froze and caused me to lose control. Almost hitting my car port. Thank goodness I wasn’t on the highway. Up to that point it operated perfectly. According to internet common problem that has caused accidents. Factory will not repair. Truck currently unmovable

Just pulled out of the garage, put it into drive, and some red words were displayed for about 5 to 15 seconds stating something to the effect that “your steering is inoperative, take to dealer or something like that,

while driving from one town to another and back of approximately 160 miles roundtrip the electric steering became inoperable for approximately 3-8 seconds about every 5 miles.

Just picked up vehicle Thursday, 26 Sept 2024 about Noon from Dealership after replacement of Rack and Pinion Gear, driving on straight road and "power steering Unavailable - Service required" information came on briefly for about 2 to 5 secs every 5-10 minutes during drive home.

Just driving on the highway doing about 45 miles per hour and the message "power steering unavailable - service required" came on several times for about 2-5 seconds at least 3 times during the short drive. The power steering was definitely inoperative during the times the message was displayed.

While driving to restaurant, Power Steering Unavailable - Service required" message came on 3 or 4 times for about 2-5 seconds during trip.

Power steering failure. Dangerous to manage on the road

Driving on local road in Abilene Tx and got the message “Power Steering Unavailable Service Required” and the electric steering was inop for about 3-5 seconds. The message came on several times during their minute drive.

On [XXX] while exiting [XXX] at [XXX] and [XXX] , The steering wheel on my 2020 RAM 1500 completely locked up. There were no prior warnings—no dashboard lights, unusual sounds, or other indications of a problem. It wasn’t until I had significantly slowed down that I was able to apply enough force to get the vehicle into a nearby shopping center. The dashboard warning light did not appear until my vehicle was almost stopped. The dashboard error messaged indicated there was a "Power Steering Failure." Following this incident, I took the vehicle to the nearest CDJR dealership. The vehicle intake was handled by the Service Advisor advised that it may be the steering rack. The following week, we were advised that the vehicle was ready for pick-up and the service technician diagnosed the issue as an internal fault in the instrument panel switch bank. The switch bank was replaced per service protocols, diagnostic codes were cleared, and the system was thoroughly tested. The technician confirmed that the problem had been resolved. However, on [XXX], after retrieving the vehicle from the dealership, I experienced another alarming failure. While traveling at approximately 65-70 MPH, my steering wheel suddenly locked AGAIN. At that moment, I was surrounded by traffic, including an 18-wheeler next to me. The situation was life-threatening, and I feared for my safety. My thoughts were immediately consumed with concern for my daughter and husband as I fought to maintain control of the vehicle. Fortunately, I was able to bring the vehicle to a stop, but the experience was nothing short of terrifying. A week has passed, and I am still deeply shaken by the event and appears it may be the rack after all. Other owners have reported similar failures with the RAM 1500's power steering system and is not an isolated case. It poses a grave risk, and is not an isolated case. It poses a grave risk, not only to the driver but to all motorists on the road. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Just got on the local road and “power steering unavailable service required” message displayed twice for about 5 - 10 secs with the corresponding difficulty in turning steering wheel. Snapped a photo of message

Vehicle steering locked while driving at highway speed, dealer tested system and replaced a can bus switch. Upon driving home from dealership (after fixing) the steering once again failed. Luckily no one was injured. We did get a warning steering failed only after the steering locked and was immobile. This is the most critical part of a vehicle and should not fail in under 50,000 miles and fail to the point of uncontrollable. This is a horrible design, someone is going to get killed if this does not get addressed and Stellantis recalls these faulty components.

Update to Complaint 11594199 filed on June 13, 2024 While driving the vehicle to the Ram dealership the power steering went out again and stayed out until I arrived at the dealership. I received a call today from the service department advising that the entire power steering rack has to be replaced. There is a fault in the control unit. Estimated repair cost $3,500.00.

The electronic power steering has stopped working three times in the last couple of weeks. It stops working and will stay out for 15 to 30 seconds or until the truck is shut off and restarted. The vehicle was taken to a local RAM dealer, and they advised that could not find any failure codes in the history. When the power steering cuts out the dashboard displays a warning to service the power steering. The vehicle is extremely had to steer when the power steering cuts out. When I picked up the vehicle at the dealer, they completed an oil change and recall on the tailgate but there was no mention of the main reason I took the vehicle in for service which was the loss of power steering. The service writer stated he did not list that since they did not charge me for the power steering diagnosis. If he listed, it there would be an additional charge on my bill. The loss of power steering is a safety hazard since it makes the vehicle very hard to steer and makes any turns or sudden changes in direction to avoid potential hazards impossible.

Driving down highway and steering became inoperable or very hard to turn for approximately 2-5 seconds and this occurred about 5 times in the distance of 5 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH around a curve, the vehicle failed to turn properly. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact was able to veer the vehicle to the shoulder. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service power steering soon warning light illuminated and the steering wheel jerked in the opposite direction. The contact almost struck a moose due to the failure of the power steering. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The following day when the vehicle was started, the power steering warning light illuminated again. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic and diagnosed with a failed power steering rack. The contact stated that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000. The VIN was not available. I was involved in an accident The contact stated due to power steering going out he hit a moose and damaged the front end of the vehicle and now the vehicle has $6500.00+ worth of damages done to the front end of the vehicle.

Upon inspection the rack and pinion failed and needs replacing. At the time of the failure i was getting ready to make a left hand turn with traffic to my left and i had to forcibly turn the vehicle almost hitting the vehicle to my left. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership and independent warranty inspector and determined the rack and pinion failed. There was a steering failure waring that appeared when the loss of power steering occurred.

Driving at highway speeds, power steering disengages. Drove for about one mile and it reengaged. This repeated itself multiple times and at multiple speeds. Was able to steer but vehicle had no power steering assist. This posed a high risk of accident with injury or death. Have not taken vehicle to the dealer as of yet. Power steering warning indicators displayed during incident.

Vibration and noise when turning. We have taken it to the Dodge dealers 5 time and they said nothing found until last visit after truck was through warranty. They report a new steering pump is needed. This issue first appeared in 2021 and was dismissed by the dealer mechanics. The dear was able to feel and hear issue when driving the truck. This steering issue poses a safety issue every time we drive the truck.

While making a right turn from a stop, I lost all steering almost running into the car adjacent.