Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 RAM 1500 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 226 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 226, in the owner's own words
Rack shudders back and forth Durring professional alignment. No one touching the steering wheel the computer in the rack seems to move the wheels and steering wheel on its own. When hitting any dip in the road the steering goes slack as if there is no resistance at all on the wheel and the tires go wherever they want.. Kindly advise
Vehicle experienced a sudden loss and binding of electric power steering (EPS) assist, creating an unreasonable safety hazard requiring excessive manual effort to control. The dashboard power steering warning lamp is now actively illuminated. While this 2017 Ram 1500 is currently excluded from automated VIN recall lists (S19/VB9), physical inspection confirms it contains the identical contaminated circuit board architecture and part design under federal investigation in NHTSA probe RQ 23-003 (covering 2013–2024 Ram power steering failures). Manufacturer is incorrectly denying coverage based strictly on a narrow VIN rollout while identical hardware fails in the field. While no vehicle crash occurred, the sudden loss of power assist and steering binding requires severe physical force to control, directly aggravating driver physical strain and chronic back pain. Component is available for inspection.
My son was driving my truck when the power steering went out and felt like it was locked up. Luckily, he was not near a major road but became stuck on the side of the road. Now being told that this is common with this truck. Told that the entire steering rack now has to be replaced, $4,000.00. This is not right and could have seriously hurt my son or my family.
The power steering completely stopped working during normal driving conditions. It is not a blown fuse, as those have been checked. My safety and the safety of others on the road was impaired by the sudden loss of power steering. The warning of servicing power steering only came on AFTER the power steering was lost. There were no prior symptoms that would have let us know there was any kind of issue with the steering.
Power steering loss EPS unit, steering rack and pinion needs replaced, entire rack and pinion, only driven 107,000 miles. Bought off dealership almost 3 years ago with only 83,956 had purchased extended warranty that has expired in March.
Loss of electric power steering. Hard to steer the truck.
Intermittent failure of electronic power steering similar to other recalled items.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the electric power steering became inoperable, but the contact was able to avoid a crash. The check power steering warning light was illuminated after the failure. The local dealer was contacted and the dealer confirmed that a previous recall repair was performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. The message "Service Power Steering" was displayed. The contact called a tire retailer and was informed to disconnect the battery to reset the vehicle. The contact disconnected the battery, which corrected the failure temporarily, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19E077000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
EPS steering rack stopped working. It began as an intermittent problem, with the power steering getting stiff on occasion, it quickly progressed to a regular problem. Makes the truck difficult to steer while driving slowly, especially in parking lots which makes it hard to safely maneuver. It started a few months ago, and got worse in the past 3-4 weeks. The truck has 145k miles, almost all highway commuting. I have not gotten it fixed yet, I will likely pull the rack myself as it’s out of warranty. Thankfully I know how to work on cars, but it’s still going to be a $1500 repair. Knowing that there’s NTSA investigation going on for this and a class action lawsuit, I wanted to make sure I reported my problem to help with understanding the scale of this flaw.
"While driving up an incline, the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system suddenly failed completely, causing the steering wheel to go violently stiff and dangerous to turn. The power steering warning light illuminated on the dashboard. After pulling over, turning the vehicle off, and restarting it, the system performed a soft reset and function temporarily returned. This matches the exact failure profile of active NHTSA investigation RQ23003 for Ram steering module circuit board failures."
After buying as is, a few months later started having steering issues. After trying to self diagnose I finally took it to a ram dealership in Lexington, Ky. They determined it was the EPS Steering Rack. I found a used one for 1,000 that I’m going to replace it with because the dealership quoted me 4,500 and I just simply cannot afford it. Praying this used one resolves my problem. I really wish there was a recall for this because I feel like a sitting duck and just have to try to fix it.
on 5/19/26 I had just traveled about 100 miles when suddenly I lost steering. As soon as I lost steering a red steering wheel with an ! appeared on the dash. I managed to get slowed down and pulled over but it was very hard to turn the steering wheel. I shut off the vehicle let it sit for about 20 min and started it again. The steering worked for about 3 min then went out again as I was driving it to a chevy dealership nearby. They reported that when they got back into the truck later that afternoon steering was working again. after OBD diagnostic they found C2129 C212A and C2128 for voltage out of range. On freeze frame they found voltage at 24V and 7.5 V when code set. Garage test drove it and found no issue. I had one more issue with this on the way back home. I looked up recalls and saw that this was a recall for other models of 2017 Ram. Please advise if there have been other reports of my model RAM. This was a very scary event for a female driving down a highway to suddenly lose steering.
Sudden loss of power steering. Turning off of the main road into my neighborhood I completely lost power steering. The power steering warning light was in the dash at that point. I managed to get the truck home. Checked fuses and all way good. After restarting my truck everything was working as expected. The warning light was gone. Every other model of ram this year has been recalled except this one. This is unacceptable.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that extra effort was needed to maintain control of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 19E077000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.
Steering has become hard and pulsates at times. Feels unsafe when turning at intersections. Steering issue is unpredictable and dangerous. (many other RAM 1500 drivers seem to have this issue per RAM forums). Fix is to replace entire rack and pinion system which is not acceptable. This is something that should last life of the vehicle. ~$4,000 fix is very hard to swallow.
While driving the Electric Power Steering Unit failed. would not steer. maneuvered vehicle to safe area; turned off vehicle; waiter about 5 minutes; vehicle started and steering reset to a usable steering. Drove home and parked. Next day started vehicle; steering would not work. This incident happened while driving. Hazardous to all around. In the past two months started vehicle and tried to steer with no results. Used a system diagnostic device to find codes--reported that EPS unit failure. Talked with dealership and Manufacturer, both stated that there was not a recall for the Vin in question. (Ref. NHTSA- Recall-----VB9-NHTSA-077). They both said the vin number was not in the recall. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or any other agency; only by current owner and family members. No warning of this happening was seen with this system failure prior to it happening. A message appeared in the dash system after this happened stating "check power steering"; not prior to the failure. No accident happened, no injuries occurred, no reports to police or insurance were made for this system failure. Contacted local dealership and manufacture of this failure, both stated this would be an "Out-Of-Pocket expense". Because of financial hardship, nothing has been done with this vehicle to date. It would require towing and repair of failure.
Electronic Power Steering (EPS) failure resulting in loss of control of vehicle.
EPS rack and pinion failing at 140,000km. Steering gets tight when driving long distances and at higher speeds. Intermittent loss of power steering happening daily. This is super concerning safety wise as this happened when i was on the highway and could have been a serious accident. Not to mention I have to pay over $4000.00 to have this repaired.
Power Steerin EPS went out, causin loss of control of truck
The electric power steering system has now completely failed and the steering is fully locked/stiff at all times. The vehicle cannot be safely driven or operated. The issue began as intermittent loss of power steering assist and progressed to total failure without warning. Steering now requires extreme force and is effectively unusable. This creates a serious safety hazard, especially if it occurs while driving or turning. The vehicle is currently undrivable and unsafe. The vehicle has not yet been inspected but is available for inspection upon request.
The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality with the steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V198000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 177,000.
1Rear end shifted to passenger side 3 in 2. The intermittent shaft made the steering wheel over turn over half a turn. 3 manifold bolts replaced but snapped again. Fuel pump went out. Tailgate has opened multiple times. 120 k seems unfit to drive wheel studs drivers rear broke off 1 by 1 till there were 2 left
Electronic Power Steering just stopped all of a sudden while I was going up the mountain into North Carolina that almost caused an accident the only reason it didn’t is because of the pull off right after the curve I was going through when I lost all steering! With the truck already in the pull off I stopped to see if I had lost a serpentine belt unaware this Ram is equipped with the EPS System. I had no phone service luckily someone came by when they did because of the snow storm seeing vehicles was few and far between! After letting the truck sit for about 20mins with the positive cable unhooked I started the truck and had steering again. So the nice gentleman that stopped said he would follow me to the nearest cell service area so I could call someone, No warning light the first time at all the second time the only warning light was service ABS system which shouldn’t affect having power steering. So I repeated the steps as I did the first time and had steering again the service ABS System light was gone and we made it 11 Minutes up the mountain before it happened again only this time all kinds of service lights came on all at once, Service Electronic brake system,Service ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM, SERVICE ELECTRONIC SHIFTER, SERVICE POWER STEERING SYSTEM, traction control was disabled which isn’t good in snowy weather conditions and i had no choice but to continue 3mins to the next town with no power steering no traction control and all these other warning lights because it wouldn’t fix it anymore temporarily by in hooking the positive battery cable and waiting 20 minutes which I attempted 3 times with no success once we reached the town I was able to call and have someone come pick me and my truck up and brought a scan tool I cleared the codes only for them to come right back as soon as I would crank the truck! Had it professionally scanned with same results! Very dangerous issue! Yes it can be inspected yes professionally inspected $2300part only not labor to!
My suspension didn't work. It was riding on the frame. The power steering is very difficult to turn. The front control screen is not turning on.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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