Ram recall query RQ23003
Intermittent/Comp Loss of Power Steering. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this recall query about the steering on 4 model years (2013–2016). Opened Aug 4, 2023 and still open — 3.3 years so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eight months for a recall query. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 380 reports from consumers alleging an intermittent or complete loss of power steering assistance in certain 2013-2016 Ram 1500. The failure allegations occur at various speeds with limited detectability to the driver. On March 23, 2016 Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) conducted recall campaign 16V-167 to address a possible contamination of the electrical power steering unit in certain model year 2015-2016 RAM 1500. The recall involved 440 vehicles and potentially resulted in loss of power steering assist. Consumer complaints indicate a similar failure may be occurring in vehicles that are out of scope of the recall. A Recall Query has been opened to determine if the scope of the recall mentioned above is correct or if another defect might exist that causes the alleged steering concerns. The reports cited above are listed in the attached document.
A Recall Query is a look at a recall that already exists — whether its remedy works, whether it reached every vehicle it should have, whether the manufacturer met its obligations. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2023 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2023 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2023 | 38 files 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738 |
40 of 268 documents shown; the rest are under this number at nhtsa.gov.
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Aug 4, 2023, owners had filed 1,177 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 102 named the steering NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named on model years this site has no page for: 2013 Ram 1500; 2014 Ram 1500; 2015 Ram 1500.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs RQ23003 a recall?
No. A recall query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is RQ23003 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Aug 4, 2023, 3.3 years ago.
Which vehicles does RQ23003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2016 Ram 1500, 2013 Ram 1500, 2014 Ram 1500, 2015 Ram 1500. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.