2017 Ram 1500: loss of power steering

Filed Sep 23, 2026 · Steering · FL

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.

Filed Sep 23, 2026 · Steering · LA

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 the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Sep 21, 2026 · Steering · OK

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.

Filed May 20, 2026 · Steering · WI

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.

Filed May 6, 2026 · Steering · CO

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.

Filed Apr 27, 2026 · Steering · 180,000 miles · WI

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 the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19E077000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Apr 17, 2026 · Steering · ME

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.

Filed Apr 13, 2026 · Steering · AZ

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.

Filed Apr 7, 2026 · Steering, Transmission · 177,000 miles · WI

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 the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Mar 19, 2026 · Electrical, Steering · TN

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!

Filed Mar 18, 2026 · Electrical, Steering · CA

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.

Filed Mar 2, 2026 · Steering · IL

Steering is stiff at center. When turning left or right, it starts to free up and at 1/4 turn its stiffens up again then frees then stiff. The steering repeats this returning to center. I have also experienced in the last 6000 miles the truck pulling hard to the left somedays and other days pulling hard right. there was also an episode when the steering wheel shook valiantly at 70mph on a newly paved road. this lasted about 3 seconds and went away. I have inspected the ball joints and tie rod ends and these components are good. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet. I have researched this issue and found that the dealers won't fix this issue if your VIN doesn't match the "known" batch of EPS units installed at the factory. I ran my VIN number through both the Manufactures recalls and this sites and there are no recalls with this issue listed. I haven't had an official inspection done yet. From what I understand, the dealer will need to look at the serial number on the EPS unit, then determine if its a "known bad batch of EPS units" then see if you vehicle qualifies. since my VIN yielded no recalls, the common practice is the dealer will not fix the issue on a recall. No lamps have came on. This started in the fall of 2025. I have since replaced the ball joints and struts, but the steering is still stiff, loose, then stiff and doesn't want to return to center as described earlier.