Dive Brief:
- Stellantis subsidiary FCA US is recalling nearly 266,000 Ram vans over a potential loss of electric power steering assist due to water intrusion in the system’s wiring harness, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall involves certain model year 2022-2026 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vans, as well as model year 2024-2026 Ram ProMaster 3500 electric vans. An estimated 7.7% of recalled vehicles have the defect, per the recall report.
- Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the wiring harness or the electric power steering gear at no cost with improved sealing to protect against water intrusion. The remedy is not yet available, but it’s expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of 2026, FCA said in a notice to dealers.
Dive Insight:
Water intrusion in the electric power steering system can result in corrosion in the wiring harness causing intermittently or permanently disabled power steering assist that can increase the risk of a crash, according to the recall report. The failure can occur without warning, though the electric power steering fault light may illuminate on the dashboard if power steering assist is lost.
In September 2025, NHTSA sent FCA US a pre-investigation inquiry after it received nine owner complaints about the loss of power steering assist in Ram vans.
A team at the automaker began its internal investigation into the issue on Jan. 8, 2026. It started examining the specific problem of water intrusion into the power steering electronics of Ram ProMaster vans between March and June.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened an investigation into the issue on March 2, citing 19 vehicle owner questionnaires it received related to power steering assist failures involving model year 2022-2023 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles.
In response to a June follow-up request from NHTSA, FCA US identified 437 customer records, 2,799 warranty claims and 191 field reports in all markets that were potentially related to the issue. The reports were received between April 2022 and June 2026.
The automaker reviewed production records and design changes to the electric power steering system to try and determine the root cause of the issue and the affected vehicle population. By Sept. 2, it had identified an additional 974 reports potentially related to the issue, spanning from April 2022 to April 2026, for a combined total of 4,401 potential warranty claims and reports related to a loss of power steering assist in Ram vans.
The automaker is aware of one potentially related accident, but no injuries. Interim owner notification letters are expected to be mailed beginning Nov. 17.
In a separate filing, FCA US also recalled nearly 8,400 Mopar body and jumper wiring harnesses sold by dealers as replacement equipment, due to the same defect.
