Feds investigating power steering issue on older Ram 1500 pickups

Federal highway safety officials are investigating more than 1.1 million Ram 1500 pickup trucks because the vehicles may suddenly lose their power steering ability, heightening the likelihood of a crash.

The investigation centers on Ram 1500s from model years 2013 to 2016, according to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency said it has received 380 reports from drivers saying their power steering failed completely or intermittently. Three of those reports resulted in a crash, but no injuries have been reported, NHTSA said. 

"The failure allegations occur at various speeds with limited detectability to the driver," the documents state. 

The Ram 1500 is an award-winning truck that traces its birth to 1981, back when the Dodge brand of vehicles was owned by Chrysler. The first Ram truck was called the Ram 150, but it was renamed the 1500 nearly a decade later as part of a full-body redesign. The Ram 1500 won Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award in 2013, then won the title again three times straight between 2019 and 2021.

Possible connection with earlier recall

Fiat Chrysler recalled about 440 Ram 1500s in 2016 due to contamination in the electrical power steering unit. That recall centered only on 1500s in the 2015 and 2016 model years. NHTSA said the same issue with those vehicles could be happening with the earlier year models currently being inspected. 

The agency said it has launched an investigation "to determine if the scope of the recall mentioned above is correct or if another defect might exist that causes the alleged steering concerns."

Earlier this year, Stellantis recalled nearly 132,000 Ram 1500s from model years 2021 to fix an engine software issue that caused the vehicle to stall while someone's driving. That recall only impacted trucks with the 5.7-liter V8 eTorque mild hybrid engine, NHTSA said in documents. 

In:
• Product Recall
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Khristopher J. Brooks

Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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