Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 Ram 1500. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel made a low winding sound. The vehicle lost power steering functionality without warning. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle to regain power steering functionality. The failure occurred 3 times. The contact stated that her spouse replaced the power steering pump. The contact learned that the power steering pump was already replaced once before purchasing the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 34,000.
Intermittent fault from the TIPM module. When slowing to a stop, or slowing to make a turn, the engine dies without warning resulting in loss of power steering and operability while in traffic. The only indication that the engine has died is the tachometer reads 0 RPM, loss of power steering, and the excelerator becomes inoperable. The radio, headlights, and A/C stay on during this. Coming to a complete stop and putting the truck into park (P) and turning the ignition to OFF and then restarting the truck resolves the problem, but on the highway this is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. This has been diagnosed as an intermittent fault derived from a faulty TIPM module and involves multiple RAM 1500, 2500, 3500 owners. Various issues of similar nature reported to dealerships and on forums.
Exiting the freeway the truck vibrated and shut off going 55 mph, no brakes, no power steering going into a curve. I managed to keep it on the road and had it Towed to nearest dealership where they were able to diagnose the problem immediately and I was told that this is a know problem with this truck. $6000 to fix, contacted Ram customer service and a very rude woman put the dealership on the line and berated them for claiming there was an issue while explaining that it is completely normal for an engine to blow at 130k miles regardless of maintenance and as it's out of warranty they were not responsible. "Normal" for an engine to blow, absolutely ridiculous and someone could have died. There are now 533 cases of this happening and Ram refuses to address it.
2012 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 liter HEMI Completely shut down turned off losing ALL power I was 9n the freeway with my kids that was the first time my power steering doesn't work at all when this happens happens about 8 to 12 times a week and to make things better if I hit a bump truck shuts down also I t'' can be driving along and all my indicator light come on everything starts beeping and my wipers go crazy it's like my truck is possessed it's unbelievably dangerous and a major inconvenience I'm late for work kids late for school
On my way home. Going through in town (slow)traffic all of sudden I notice I had no power steering & no brakes, no please pull out , I noticed if I keep my rpm about 1500, I would get a little power steering & brakes back!, 4 miles to get home , I drove home slowly What happened was I lost my serpentine belt tensioner!!! .MY MAIN Purpose, for my truck is to toe my fifth wheel RV!!, I live in the north west of US, LIKE! in the mountains!! Terrified that it won't happen again!
Driver warning light came for airbag, yes it could be if deployed, no dealer has confirmed (but looked up recall # 15V459000), called molar said no recall on my vehicle...., no one else looked at vehicles book says to immediately take to dealer, yes warning light on follow book info and it appeared 9/8/24
The dealership informed me of a recall that they did not have the parts in to replace the parts defective. She made me an appointment to return and have it done in about a week. The following week I received a call from her stating that the parts had not came in. She had laughed about not being able to get parts she had been ordering. Told me she would call me when she got them in. Never telling me the seriousness of the recall. That it was fatally dangerous to drive. I received documentation for the recall and called to see what would be done to remedy it. Was guaranteed to be able to drive it since they could only put me in another vehicle if they were going to be required to keep it overnight. I had a wreck the following week. Lost control coming home easter. I am 100% disabled and handicapped from a debilitating spinal disease. …
I have had my vehicle to lose all power (power steering, anti lock brakes, and seatbelt function) due to a bag ignition switch. This happened while driving 70 MPH down the interstate. I noticed all my dash light came on and my vehicle had completely powered off leaving me with no power steering and no anti lock brakes. Luckily I was on straight enough road to only run off the road once I slowed down. Iafter hitting a ditch I noticed my seatbelt did not lock causing me to slightly bump my head. I wasn't hurt but this has to be a issue. It has worked properly since then but did the same thing on a later date while driving in town.
Driving along highway and all of a sudden truck starts to fishtail out of control from the rear, causing me to go into the ditch in one side of the highway then coming out to go across the interstate then Land in the median ditch. Fortunately I hit no one and no one was injured except scaring me till I don't like driving much anymore. The damages were minor loss of the inserts to the locked rims which were brocken off.
While traveling down road the vehicle just shut off losing steering and braking was able to put in neutral and get started after several tries of starting and it would shut right back off before it would start and stay running, it has done this numerous times sometimes when first starting vehicle sometimes right after starting and driving off, it has did this several times pulling out of my driveway onto busy highway almost resulting is an accident. It happened to my wife a couple of times the first time she could not get it to start and stay running to get it out of the roadway and had to put the emergency flashers on and leave it setting across the south bound lane of the highway to come back inside to get me to try to get it out of the road. …
Steering complaints in other Ram 1500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2012 Dodge Ram 1500?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the steering of the 2012 Dodge Ram 1500, 7% of the model year's 698 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2012 Dodge Ram 1500, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 45,000 miles, and 23% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury 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.