2021 RAM 1500 — Complaint #1917046
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:POWER STEERING FLUID filed August 8, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1917046 (ODI reference 11537134) concerns a 2021 RAM 1500 and was filed on August 8, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 17, 2023. The vehicle had 36,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Connecticut based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:hydraulic power assist:power steering fluid, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 1, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same RAM 1500 cohort independently describe similar steering:hydraulic power assist:power steering fluid failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2021 RAM 1500 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2021 Ram 1500. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the contact noticed that the wheel became stiff and was unable to turn. The contact attempted to pull over but crashed into the side of the road. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was unaware of how fast they were driving at the time of the crash. The contact sustained a shoulder and neck injury from the seatbelt. Physical therapy and MRI medical treatment were needed for the injury. No police report was filed. The vehicle displayed warning messages for power steering wheel unavailable suspension system unavailable and electronic stability control unavailable. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer was not able to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired as of yet. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and sent a Team to inspect the vehicle but the failure was not detected. The failure mileage was 36,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1917046 |
| ODI Number | 11537134 |
| Date Filed | August 8, 2023 |
| Failure Date | January 17, 2023 |
| VIN | 1C6SRFRT5MN |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.