2018 Ram 1500 Steering Problems
- Complaints
- 90about this part
- Share
- 13%of 667 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 74,912miles
- Trend
- RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 90 complaints about the steering of the 2018 Ram 1500, 13% of the 667 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 74,912 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I was driving about 35-45 MPH was attempting to move into the right lane and I felt my steering wheel lock up. It wouldn't let me turn my wheel. So then as I attempted to slam on my brakes so I did t hit a tree the brakes went to the floor and I smashed into the tree and the. I to the woods. I was taken to the hospital 911. The hole front of the truck is destroyed.”
NHTSA complaint #11120753, filed 2018-08, 1,005 miles“Started off by having a tough spot once in a while turning my steering wheel. Now its total failure on and off. Not consistent, I can be going 20 ,ph and it works good, then my steering just fails. At 60 MPH it works great then all of a sudden it fails. Extremely dangerous. I have almost lost control 3 times. Called the dealership and they have no idea where to even start to look for the problem. Made traveling over the holidays very dangerous. Ihave read where there are numerous complaints of this same issue with other 2018 Ram rebel trucks as well as over 1500 2019 Ram trucks as well.”
NHTSA complaint #11387499, filed 2021-01, 72,000 miles“Started having trouble in the steering. Tightening up and hard to steer. Some thing was wrong with the steering shaft. And with this bad it caused the rack and pinion to go bad. Couldn't get it programmed after the shaft was fixed because of the rack and pinion. So its in the shop now and will be in there for over 2 weeks waiting on the rack and pinion.I have had this truck just over a year and I'm having to put over 3000.00 in it. It was hard to steer going around a corner. The wheel would stick and I would have to turn it back. Trying to back up the wheel was hard to turn.”
NHTSA complaint #11337474, filed 2020-07, 38,000 miles“Power steering failure. Power steering locks up intermittently, more so when making a left turn. Service power steering message comes up in dash and then disappears after a couple seconds. This incident happened both when vehicle was in motion making a left turn in an intersection almost causing a collision and also when parked and attempting to steer left attempting to duplicate the problem.”
NHTSA complaint #11218588, filed 2019-06, 12,550 miles“Diesel ecodiesel engine catastrophic failure while driving in mountainous area. Lost all power immediately and resulted in interference with steering, brakes, and need to move off of the roadway to avoid other traffic. Vehicle only has 11,300 miles, failure occurred without warning.”
NHTSA complaint #11321978, filed 2020-04, 11,300 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10231777Jan 12, 2023UAS and UCS Radio Enhancements Customers may experience one or more of the following: **Wi-Fi hotspot connection failure. Speaker popping, crackle noise during Voice Recognition…
- 10229816Dec 16, 2022UAQ and UCQ Radio Enhancements Customers may experience one or more of the following: ? **Wi-Fi hotspot connection failure. ? Speaker popping, crackle noise during Voice…
- 10221668Jul 14, 2021UAS and UCS Radio Enhancements This bulletin involves inspecting and if required, updating the radio software level to 39.6 Customers may experience one or more of the following…
Steering: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2% |
| 2025 | 22 | 6% |
| 2024 | 7 | 9% |
| 2023 | 18 | 9% |
| 2022 | 40 | 6% |
| 2021 | 50 | 7% |
| 2020 | 65 | 10% |
| 2019 | 340 | 23% |
| 2018 | 90 | 13% |
| 2017 | 230 | 26% |
| 2016 | 314 | 20% |
| 2015 | 342 | 23% |
| 2014 | 507 | 29% |
| 2013 | 642 | 50% |
| 2009 | 3 | 8% |
Other parts of the 2018 Ram 1500
159 complaintsFuel system
140 complaintsEngine
110 complaintsOther or unknown
92 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
60 complaintsBrakes
48 complaintsEngine cooling
46 complaintsVehicle speed control
31 complaintsSuspension
22 complaintsAir bags
19 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
17 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
17 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2018 Ram 1500
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology