9.3

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,100
Average Mileage:
51,950 miles
Total Complaints:
12 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (9 reports)
  2. replace steering rack (2 reports)
  3. garage replaced eps module ($3800) (1 reports)
2017 Ram 1500 steering problems

steering problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Ram 1500:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2017 Ram 1500 Owner Comments

problem #12

Dec 012023

1500 Lonestar V8 5.7L Hemi

  • Automatic transmission
  • 44,959 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Third time this happend in a month. This time it did not happen in a turn, but while I was driving straight out of my jobs driveway. Still very quick failure, still a safety concern. Being a procrastinator it has taken me this long to realize I don't have power steering fluid but rather an electric power steering system. I've read it may be a fuse.

- Rick G., San Angelo, TX, US

problem #11

Nov 272023

1500 Lonestar V8 5.7L Hemi

  • Automatic transmission
  • 44,855 miles

Making a left turn after getting the green light and the power steering again momentarily failed (2nd time) n the middle of the turn, very quick action but scary. Safety Concern

- Rick G., San Angelo, TX, US

problem #10

Dec 092023

1500 Lonestar V8 5.7L Hemi

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,175 miles

While approaching a stop sign on a side street the power steering failed. Just stopped working, got the red steering wheel alarm on the dash. It took 5 minutes, and restarting the truck three to four times before it came back. Had to coast back turning the truck to the curb away from the intersection to avoid blocking traffic. Fortunately there was a slight incline for me to do so.

- Rick G., San Angelo, TX, US

problem #9

Nov 212023

1500 Lonestar V8 5.7L Hemi

  • Automatic transmission
  • 44,715 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While making a right turn onto a side street my power steering momentarily stopped in the middle of the turn. There was another vehicle at that intersection that I thought I was going to strike. It all happened and resolved so fast

- Rick G., San Angelo, TX, US

problem #8

Oct 192023

1500 Big Horn 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,000 miles

Steering failed while driving down the road. Making almost impossible to steer to the side of the road. Truck had to be towed to shop. Part is still on order from Chrysler as its "back ordered" due to the strike.

Update from Nov 18, 2023: Truck as been fixed, Mechanic checked on recall for this issue with RAM was my model year was not covered. This issue is defiantly dangerous as it make steering very difficult to impossible.

- farbie, Buford, US

problem #7

Oct 232020

1500 Big Horn 3.6L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 88,560 miles

The electric power steering goes out intermittently. It does not seem to have any rhyme or reason to when it occurs. I have noticed that the first time it occurred was after starting the truck and then going into reverse. Another time this occurred was again after starting the truck and driving forward through the parking lot. It seems to happen most frequently after starting the truck and moving through the parking lot or at slow speed on the roadway after leaving a parking lot. It has, however, happened while driving on the highway.

This problem causes the power steering to go out completely which causes the truck to become extremely difficult to steer. I almost ran off the road because I had such a difficult time navigating a sharp turn.

- Joseph G., Purvis, MS, US

problem #6

Aug 032022

1500 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 78,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving to Laughlin on July 1, 2022, my 2017 Dodge Ram, on cruise control at about 70mph, began to shake violently, the engine began to decrease speed rapidly, and my wife and I were thrown towards the windshield. I had no control of the vehicle at all. The steering was not engaging - there was no hydraulic steering at all, the brake system would not work at all. The brakes just shuddered as I tried to apply them. I had no control of vehicle and I was almost rear-ended. The truck was shaking so violently that it was moving itself towards a diesel truck on the right side of us.

This is a safety issue which not only puts my family of serious injury or death, but also endangers the safety of the other drivers and/or family/friends. We have filed a complaint with the Riverside Dodge and Jeep dealer. As of now, the service assistant states his technicians are unable to figure out what the problem is.

- Phil P., Colton, US

problem #5

Oct 072021

1500 3.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 43,016 miles

I loaded up the kids for school before work today, but couldn't drive. Power steering maintenance light was on, and I couldn't turn the wheel. Scrambled to get kids to school on time with my wife's rig, but I never made it to work. Stayed parked at home. Checked on the truck a few times throughout the day, hoping it would fix itself... same issue. Tried again a 4th time later in the same afternoon, and magically it's working fine. Happening to so many other people, not sure why there's no recall yet. I'm glad it didn't fail while driving with the kids. I'm towing to dealer tomorrow morning for inspection.

- Alex B., Longview, WA, US

problem #4

Nov 262021

1500 Bighorn 3.2L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 75,000 miles

Intermittent loss of power steering (EPS) on my 2017 Ram when taking left hand turns it gets hard and there is no power to straighten the wheel back, Looking on line I found recalls for 2015-2016 and 2019 Ram 1500 contaminated circuit card may result in an intermittent loss of power steering recall # 16v167000 and 19v812000 for the 2019 Ram, And looking on line I am see a lot of people are having same problem with there 2017 and 2018 Ram 1500, Why is there no recall for all of them with this problem ? It's only safety concern for 2015, 2016, 2019 Ram 1500 ?

- John N., Errol, US

problem #3

May 012021

1500 SLT 3.6L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

I bought the vehicle with 50k miles it ran good for 10k miles at, at 60k miles the EPS started to act up, it was on and off for 3 days then it went out. Eventually the vehicle went ghost mode, nothing worked. It was dead. Dealership ran a diagnostic that lasted 5 days. It had a Faulty EPS module that was drawing too much power from the ECM preventing the vehicle from running. That was $500. Price to replace the EPS is $2500

- Alejandro M., Dallas, TX, US

problem #2

Jun 132021

1500 Lamarie 5.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 49,200 miles

Purchased the 1500 RAM 4 years ago new. Only have 49000 miles on it, with most of those miles highway miles and the truck has never been driven off road. On two separate occasions recently the power steering stopped working. Dealer would not take an appointment for almost two weeks to get it in. The called me this morning to say that the steering rack needs to be replaced and it will cost ~$3000. Of course, they are saying this is not covered by the power train warranty.

I am trying to figure out how a well maintained driven truck with less than 50k miles would need any repair that would cost $3000. This has to be some manufacturer defect. If RAM is not going to fix this truck under warranty, I will get rid of it and return to buying import trucks again. I have never ever heard of a steering rack needing to be repaired on any of the vehicles that I have owned over the last 30 years and almost all of them were driven more than 100k miles.

- Johnathan M., Richmond, US

problem #1

May 142020

1500 Express V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 13,900 miles

First failure May 2020. Right turn at 20 mph. No power steering. Non assisted steering still works. Drove to dealer and they had another Truck, same year in shop with same problem. They never duplicated problem and replaced steering rack. After shutting engine off, restarting enabled power steering again. Error code on dash (lost communications with power steering).

Update from Jan 9, 2023: January 9 2023 22,100 miles same issue returned. Driving straight 45mph power steering fails.

Able to steer if drive slow but no power assist. Shutting down engine and restarting 5 mins later

returned power steering. A scan of OBD2 gives same code as before: U11E8 Lost comunication with

EPS Steering Torque...

- dsnowden, Forest City, US

Not what you are looking for?