Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was driving and the rear drive shaft fell out of the truck and the rear locked up making the truck undrivable. I heard this is a common problem in dodge rams and it is definitely a safety issue and there should be a recall to address this reoccurring problem that can cause a loss of life or life threatening accident
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. While the vehicle was stopped, the contact had a seizure and his foot pressed the accelerator pedal. The driver side tie rod fractured and the vehicle traveled across a median, crashed into a bus, and then crashed into a street light. The contact stated that the vehicle was unstable and out of control as the contact ended up crashing into a wall. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to both hands in which they were plated with metal due to extensive fracturing of the bones. The contact's back was fractured in three places and he sustained damages to the left leg. The front passenger sustained unknown injuries. The contact received extensive medical treatments. The front passenger did not receive medical attention. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was not diagnosed. …
Was driving on gravel road after a heavy rain. Came upon a water puddle and when I crossed it the front wheels hit fairly hard. At that point the front steering locked. I let the vehicle roll to a stop as I feared loosing control and leaving the road. The steering wheel remained locked until I had stopped. I then turned off the motor and restarted the vehicle. I turned the steering wheel at stopped position and with effort I was able to turn left then right. I feel something is wrong with this truck. It is not covered in the buy back on Dodge Ram trucks as I understand it, so what is up with that? What could be the difference between 2006 & 2008-2012 vehicles? I am very unhappy with this truck for other issues, which I do not find with other brands such as GMC or Ford. She is beautiful to look at, but seems to have inherent problems in all these trucks. …
I purchased this vehicle from a used car dealer in clanton, alabama in April 2014. I was driving to my mom's, who lives in mississippi when I came upon a bridge on the interstate while passing a 18 wheeler. When entering the bridge there was a small bump up and when the front wheels of the truck hit the bump the front of the truck started bouncing (death bounce or roll) uncontrollable. I had to cut off the 18 wheeler that I was passing and pulled to the side of the interstate and come to a complete stop for it to stop. It happened 4 more times before I got to my destination and it has happened on numerous occasions since and causing me to almost wreck each time. This is a very dangerous problem with this vehicle. You have no control over the steering while it is doing this it just bounces you all over the road. …
I was coming out of the hills after a day of hunting and as I made it back to town luckly going slowly I turned the corner and my driver side tie rod end broke. Leaving my truck stranded in a small town about 5 miles from my camp. Took my truck to the local shop the next day cause this happend on a Sunday and got it fixed. The mecanic at the local shop told me this was a recalled part. So after returning home from my hunting trip I looked it up and it is a recalled part on many Dodge vehicles. Why was I not notified? If this happend at 65 miles an hour my 4 kids probley wouldent have a father today. I have a recite for the work done. Not only do I want my money back and compensation for my time I also would like to be notified of any ohter recalls. This Dodge of mine is a pavement pounder. …
When it is very hot and the windows have been up, the ignition switch will not turn. The steering wheel will not turn and the key will not rotate from locked position. I have contacted Dodge and they say they have made notes on the issue, but they don't see a problem that they are responsible for. If this was an issue that I would have control of creating - it would be my problem. This is an issue with safety in that if I had an emergency and this happened I would not be able to start my car. Or, have a car-full of groceries and find out the car won't start!!! Bad enough I have to wait for the car to cool off when this happens. This is a summertime issue which makes me have to find shade or park where the sun doesn't shine into the front of the car. Problem seems to be a part (probably plastic) that expands when it gets very hot and prevents the key cylinder from rotating. …
I was driving on highway 64 e near williamsburg speed limit on the highway is 70 MPH which is the speed limit at which truck turned off on its own. No hard idling, no check engine light came on just turned off on its own. Power steering was lost along with the brakes and could not control the truck. Had to let it go as it until I impacted in a ditch causing the tire to come off the wheel well, damage to the undercarriage and front driver side bumper. The truck is not safe to drive due to it shutting off and now steers to the left. After some research all Dodge rams 2006-2011 have experienced this issue but Dodge has not done anything to rectify the problem. This is highly dangerous as it could of resulted in the loss of life if it wasn't because of the amount of soft mulch that braced my impact. …
I have experienced the Dodge death wobble, a violent shaking, a sudden pulling to the left, then a sudden sharp pulling to the right, with not being able to control by steering, all the while the steering wheel is still violently shaking and with hard braking my vehicle came to a stop with two wheels off of the road in the ditch. I took the pickup in to be checked right away with no real signs of why and decided to replace two of the tie rod ends. The vehicle drove OK for a short time and the death wobble started again, this time not as bad, but very often, like at least 100 times in the last month. As I have spent many hours researching this problem, it seams that 1,000's and 1000's of Dodge 2500 series pickup have this problem which as lead to tie rods breaking . I have not heard of any deaths yet, but does someone have to die before this becomes a safty recall.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. While driving approximately 55 MPH over a bump in the road, the front end of the vehicle began to shake vigorously without warning. The shaking stopped once the vehicle speed was reduced to 30 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure was unable to be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred on multiple occasions when the contact drove over a bump while driving at various speeds from 40 MPH and over. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 13V528000 (steering) and 15V313000 (air bags), however, the parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. When driving over unleveled Land, the vehicle veered to the left or right and was extremely difficult to control the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced all four tires but the failure recurred. The contact was also included in NHTSA campaign id number: 15V313000 (air bags) and was unable to determine when the part would become available to schedule the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000. Updated 11/25/15 the consumer stated while driving on the freeway the transmission popped loudly. The electrical system is unreliable. The turn signals, emergency flashers, high beams, and windshield wipers all operate unintentionally. Updated 2/12/16
Related recalls
Steering › Linkages › Tie rod assembly
Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2003-2008 Dodge RAM 2500 4x4 and 3500 4x4, model year 2007-2008 Dodge RAM 3500 4x2 Cab Chassis and model year 2006-2008 Dodge RAM 1500 Mega Cab 4x4 trucks manufactured February 12, 2002, through February 13, 2008. The left tie rod assembly may break.
Remedy: Chrysler notified owners and launched its recall campaign in January 2014. Owners may contact Chrysler at 1-800-247-9753. Chrysler's recall campaign number is N62.
NHTSA investigations
Chrysler's execution of 13V-528 & 529
RMD opened this audit query (AQ) investigation in order to better understand and evaluate Chrysler's process(es) for timely and efficient execution of its safety recall campaigns, including its oversight and management of its parts division Mopar.Prior to opening this investigation, RMD had raised concerns with the company related to its execution of two safety recalls, 13V-528 and 13V-529, both of which involved…
Steering complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2006 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 84 complaints about the steering of the 2006 Dodge Ram 1500, 11% of the model year's 792 complaints. The component named most often is linkages › tie rod assembly (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 steering problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 13V-528 (tie rod assembly, Nov 6, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 78,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to steering problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.