2013 RAM 1500 Complaints

On November 23, 2024. I was going to back out of the driveway, but the steering was locked up and the power steering light came on. I was unable to turn the wheel. The truck only has 150,000 miles I am the original owner. It was taken to a repair shop, and they determined the electronic power steering had failed and needed to be replaced. Since then, the dealer has told us the parts are unavailable and not being manufactured. The truck is now undrivable, cannot be repaired and I am without a vehicle. While researching online there are hundreds of reports of the same issue with this truck. This could have been deadly had I been driving!

In May of this year, 2024, the Power Assisted Steering System failed completely without warning or other symptoms. Fortunately it failed while not driving but would have caused a serious safety issue. I am a strong male driver and it was extremely difficult to turn the wheel. The dashboard displayed a steering system warning light and the OBDII port reported a C2219-00 error. I am the sole owner of the truck and have owned it since 2013 with only 51,000 miles on it. I reported this to the dealership where purchased it and they offered no assistance since it was well out of warranty. I inquired about purchasing a replacement steering rack or bringing it in for repair. They responded that the entire steering assist unit had been discontinued with no inventory available anywhere in their nationwide system. Therefore, they could not repair the truck or offer to sell me the rack and pinion assembly. They also recommended I contact a junk yard - ridiculous for a modern vehicle with a known defect such as steering. I eventually purchased a remanufactured steering rack on eBay and repaired the truck myself. The price for the steering rack was over $2,100! I have seen where there were other reports of this failure on NHTSA so I thought it would be helpful to report the failure on my truck as well. I have uploaded the part number and serial number of the steering rack in case that's helpful. Thank you.

I was driving on a highway on my way to work the other morning and the power steering light came on out of nowhere and I had to limp it to work with next to impossible steering conditions. I have not had it checked for service but have looked up that multiple people have encountered the same issue with this year truck and it has caused multiple accidents now. I believe with as many issues as people have encountered with this that it should fall on Ram and not the people for such an expensive component especially with so little miles put on the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle intermittently lost power steering functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and the mechanic recommended that the steering rack and pinion be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: RQ23003 (Steering). The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown.

At times when i start my truck in the morning the power steering is not operational. At other times i may be ten to fifteen miles into my drive and there is sudden loss of power steering with no warning. I came very close this morning to driving off an embankment into a swamp because as i was rounding a curve the power steering failed and the steering wheel violently jerked to right its self to the center position. There is no warning when this occurs. Only after does the service power steering light come on. A mechanic ran the codes and said there is a voltage issue within the power steering system. I have been quoted $380 just for the dealer ship to perform a diagnostics on the truck.

On multiple occasions I have had the tailgate come open/fail to close. Other year Rams have a recall and I believe this year should be included. I have installed a gas shock to help slow it and hold in place. The front brakes have had issues with sticking or not releasing after applying them. I have replaced the unit and does the same thing so I like others believe it might be the brake hose collapsing then releasing especially on the air ride suspension models. In stop and go traffic they will pull or get extremely hot and I’m worried it might melt the tire bead or worse.

Got in the truck today. Started it up. Backed out of garage and got halfway out. Signal light came on to service power steering. Steering wheel locked up very difficult to move. I can shut it off. Let it sit for a minute. Turn it back on. But as soon as I touch the wheel and try to turn it. The warning light comes on and the wheel locks up. It’s not locked up completely. You can turn it. But it’s very difficult. And dangerous. It is repeated every time. You may have to start to drive it. But it will lock up every time. Tried to run a scan. No power steering code came up. Have not had it inspected as of yet. Will try to get it towed to dealer in four days. We live on a windy road. 30 miles from the dealer. It’s just too dangerous to try to drive.

The contact owns a 2013 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the service power steering warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle for approximately 10-15 minutes, stopped, and then restart the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the warning light was no longer illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and informed the contact that there was a lack of parts to repair the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

Intermittent loss of power steering. I see there is an ongoing investigation in the year range of my truck. Reporting issue to help contribute to the investigation.

Driving down the road and the service power steering came on and I was unable to steer the wheel. I was able to pull off the road and the light went out. Happened again later down the road. Shut the truck off and turned it back on. It was good for a little while but went to turn a corner and it went out again. After looking online there are many forums where others are having the same issue.