Four problems related to steering wheel have been reported for the 1998 Dodge RAM. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
At 58,000 miles, the steering column in my Dodge Ram 1500 pick up needs to be replaced. There is a noise when the wheel is turned in either direction. I was told by the dealer that the entire steering column needs to be replaced. I wrote a letter to Chrysler about the problem because my extended service contract does not cover the steering column. The letter was written on April 5th of this year and I just called Chrysler to inquire about an answer and was told my request for "good faith" assistance has been denied. I do not use this vehicle for commercial or off road driving and do not feel the steering column should fail with only 58,000 miles of normal driving. The manufacturer wants nothing to do with the repair other than take my $400-$500 for the repair. I have searched your database and have found no other issues similar to mine with the year and model of my truck. I am also receiving no assistance from the dealer. According to the service manager at the dealer this is not a safety issue and I do not need to worry about any failure.
Steering wheel locked up while making a turn, causing the vehicle to go into a ditch. Dealer has been unable to duplicate the problem.
The truck's steering locks up while turning and then the ignition will completely shut down. The ignition has even stopped when driving straight and not turning. This is a definate road hazard and Chrysler says there is nothing wrong with it. We have had the truck in 3 times before it was finally involved in an accident due to this problem. They can not find anything wrong yet each time they have looked at it and we get it back it happens again. It doesn't happen every time you turn but you never know when it is going to do it. I don't want to be responsible for injuring anyone because of a defective product. We are also unable to find a previous owner. The names on the title have been cleared. How can this be?? do you have any suggestions as to what we can do? how do we get this problem resolved? someone is hiding something about this truck. We do not want to be responsible for killing ourselves or anyone else on the road. Thank you for your time and I hope you can help. Sincerely, shirley goode.
I have not had an accident as a result of this yet. The steering wheel makes alot of noise when you turn it either direction. Had Dodge check it out. They said that they have replaced alot of steering columns because of this, but not sure what causes it. Said that most have this problem with lower mileage. Warranty cover the steering column. Seems my warranty is up, they tell me to try and get use to the noise. Said that the noise will get 5 times worse, but didn't think it was a safety issue. It they don't really know what causes it, how can they be sure it isn't a safety issue. If this is a recurring problem, then it is obviously a factory defect.