Owners of some last-gen Ram heavy duty pickups may be affected by this recall.
The company is recalling an estimated 573,876 heavy-duty trucks in the United States to address a potential safety issue. An investigation has discovered that a specific steering-linkage configuration on certain vehicles may separate over time. If this were to occur, the driver may experience steering loss.
This recall covers a wide swath of heavy duty Ram pickups, including model-year 2013-2017 Ram 3500 pickups, plus model-year 2014-2017 Ram 2500 pickups and 3500 chassis cabs. No distinction is made between powertrains.
According to the NHTSA, some of these trucks may have been built with an outboard steering linkage jam nut that could loosen, allowing one end of the drag link to separate from the adjuster sleeve. A drag link separation can result in a loss of directional steering control, which can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning.
Owners who take their truck in for a fix should expect the tech to first inspect torque values on the affected parts. If the torque values meet requirement, the nuts will be welded to the adjuster sleeve. If the torque values do not meet requirement, the drag link assembly will be replaced altogether.
FCA says they are aware of one injury and eight accidents that are potentially related to this problem. Additional vehicles will be subject to recall including 62,734 in Canada, 17,682 in Mexico, and 5837 in certain markets outside the NAFTA region.
The manufacturer’s recall number for this issue is V06, while the NHTSA classifies this recall as number 19V-021. For more information, visit recalls.mopar.com or ring 1-800-853-1403. Additionally, the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline can be reached at 1-888-327-4236. It is a good idea to have your truck’s VIN ready when calling.