Other steering problem on the 2017 RAM 1500
5 crashes 1 injury 6 of the 100 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other steering problem gets reported
Owners of the 2017 RAM 1500 report other steering problem at a median of 40,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 10,000 miles and a quarter after 82,500 miles, from 28 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 2,500 miles at the tenth percentile to 120,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 117,314 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
50% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,286 miles | 9,496 miles | 39,000 miles | 83,250 miles | 119,600 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 5 a crash and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 13 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2025, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2023 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2013 carries the most reports, with 297; the 2017 has 100. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ram 1500. While driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The power steering indicator illuminated after the failure occurred and remained lit. The steering wheel resumed normal operation after the engine was restarted. The vehicle was taken to brunswick auto mart (3031 center road brunswick, ohio 44212 phone (330)-273-3300), but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The dealer test drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer indicated that there may have been a miscommunication between the steering wheel electrical systems. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 7,071. Updated 11/02/17*lj consumer stated vehicle experienced sudden loss of power steerings while in a turn causing vehicle to cross road centerline narrowly missing oncoming traffic. Updated 7/16/18*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ram 1500. While driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The power steering indicator illuminated after the failure occurred and remained lit. The steering wheel resumed normal operation after the engine was restarted. The vehicle was taken to brunswick auto mart (3031 center road brunswick, ohio 44212 phone (330)-273-3300), but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The dealer test drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer indicated that there may have been a miscommunication between the steering wheel electrical systems. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 7,071. Updated 11/02/17*lj consumer stated vehicle experienced sudden loss of power steerings while in a turn causing vehicle to cross road centerline narrowly missing oncoming traffic. Updated 7/16/18*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ram 1500. While driving 50 MPH or more, the vehicle drove roughly and the steering wheel vibrated. While driving with the rear windows down, the turbulence caused the vehicle to shake violently and caused ear trauma/popping and the contact's eyes to water. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer (john hiester chrysler dodge jeep ram, 940 n main st, lillington, nc 27546 910-893-8088) where it was diagnosed that the tires needed to be balanced and other windows should be opened for the turbulence. The rear passenger tire was replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and opened case number: 32784742. Jessica at 844-378-0573 ext 81498 stated that the information about the turbulence was in the owner's manual. The failure mileage was 2,837.
Also reported on the 2017 RAM 1500
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Other electrical problem
Other fuel system problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 100 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other steering problem happen on the 2017 RAM 1500?
Across 28 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 10,000 miles and a quarter after 82,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other steering problem on the 2017 RAM 1500?
100 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.8 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed