Driving a car without power steering can be annoying sometimes, but it’s not as bad as it sounds, especially if the car you’re driving is pretty light. The last BMW 3-Series I owned, a red E30 sedan, had its power steering deleted, and I thought I’d hate it. But really, once I was moving more than 5 mph, I totally forgot there was no power steering on deck, since the wheel turned so easily.
Manual, unassisted steering gets a bit scarier when it arrives unexpectedly in your otherwise power-steered vehicle. The 3-Series I had before the red one, a white 325iX, would regularly munch its power steering belt for no good reason, resulting in ultra-heavy steering out of nowhere. This was particularly unnerving when it happened on off-ramps (twice), where I nearly lost control of the car.
Something similar is apparently happening with some Ram ProMaster vans, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency launched an investigation today into the 2022 and 2023 ProMasters after receiving reports from owners that the electric power steering assist could intermittently or completely fail.
Here’s Exactly What’s Gone Wrong, And How Many Vans Are Affected
According to the recall document published today, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation received “19 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging an intermittent or complete failure of the power steering assist system in certain Model Year (MY) 2022-2023 RAM ProMaster 1500, 2500, and 3500 vehicles.”
As the NHTSA points out, losing power steering while on the move is, in fact, bad. At best, it means the driver has to put in way more effort to steer the van; at worst, it means the driver can no longer physically control the van and ends up in a crash. Considering these ProMasters can weigh up to 5,020 pounds empty, trying to pilot one without power steering sounds like it’d be pretty awful. The report claims an estimated 136,666 units could be affected.
ProMasters built from 2022 onward use electrically assisted power steering, which means there’s an electric motor attached to the steering rack to provide power assistance, rather than a belt-driven hydraulic pump with pressurized fluid. According to the NHTSA, the people reporting the failure say it’s one of the electrical connections causing the issue:
Several received reports allege failures of the steering rack with specific reports citing water intrusion into the electrical connectors of the electric power steering control module.
These reports suggest it’s not the rack itself that’s failing, but possibly an out-of-whack electrical connection causing the failure. In my experience with intermittently working electrical connections, this feels like it makes the most sense.
Owners Have Been Speaking Out Online
Several ProMaster owners online have voiced their concerns about this issue, with some asking for advice on locating the problem, and others pointing out the allegedly faulty connectors. Here are a few screenshots from commenters on the Ram ProMaster Owners Facebook Group:
One owner even made a video showing the status of an allegedly faulty connector plugged into the power steering system of his 2023 ProMaster, going as far as crawling under the car on the ground to depict its exact location:
Going by the video, you can see that the inside of the connector is heavily corroded to the point where the wires are no longer able to make a solid contact with the rack:
Another owner published a video on Facebook showing what an “intermittent” loss of power steering looks like on a ProMaster, and it seems pretty scary, as it shows the wheel briefly fighting the driver for control as power to the motor cuts in and out.
It’s unclear right now whether any crashes or injuries are associated with this potential problem just yet, though if a recall is eventually issued to fix whatever’s going on here, the NHTSA will reveal that data. It’s too soon to tell whether the problem is truly widespread or isolated to a small batch of vehicles, but considering the number of complaints online that I was able to find above, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the latter.
If you own a ProMaster from 2022 or 2023 and can get under it, I suggest doing so and inspecting that plug. At least this way, you’ll have an idea if the power steering on your work van is about to give out on you.
Top graphic images: Ram
Looks like a good use for some RTV silicone.
Blew a seal on the steering rack on my ’05 MDX on vacation last summer. I was VERY careful about where I parked as at slow speed it was an arm workout to steer. It was very heavy but manageble at road speeds. Drove it all week and 7 hours home that way. Got rid of it without fixing it. Heavy vehicle on wide tires with a small steering wheel = no fun.
Had a CTS with power steering pump issues and it was a pain to maneuver in parking lots. It drove normally once up to speed, but at least in my case it wasn’t a surprise fault like these Promasters are having.
The last thing my 2004 Sentra SE-R did to me was spring a massive power steering leak, leading me to clean it out and donate the rusted carcass to charity. This is not a fun thing to have happen. I also experienced a complete failure of a Saginaw steering pump on a 1-ton 454-equipped flatbed Chevy C3500 we had at work. That also resulted in that vehicle’s eventual disposition, especially as the power steering in that also runs the power brakes.
To have it now be an intermittent electrical fault? That’s absolutely terrifying.
Strange they ran a hydroboost system on a gasser! I’ve got a K2500 with a 454, has conventional vacuum power brakes. Funnily enough, yesterday I was replacing the power steering lines, as they’ve been leaving quite a mess
My motorhome is based on a GM P30/P32 chassis with a good ol’ Vortec 5.7L gasser and uses the hydroboost system – I was a bit surprised to see it. I’m guessing it works better for the HD braking on the bigger stuff. Quite a bit smaller than a vacuum diaphragm, too.
My 2014 lost power steering by blowing all the fluid out through the shaft seal when I was 300 miles from home. Great that they fixed it by moving to electric power steering…..