05 QC Ram 3500 4x4 TD-- Steering Issue

[jster65]

05 QC, 4x4, SRW, SB, CTD--bone stock, less than 6000 miles. Ordered from Dodge, and it's a great truck.



Irritating problem with steering. Truck drifts left and right just enough to scare the drivers in the next lane over. Pulled over by cop, thought I was drunk or talking on a cell phone--neither was the case, so he gave me a ticket for not having a front license plate. Least of my concerns.



Truck's steering does not auto correct. When slight pressure is applied to the steering wheel, it drifts permanently in that direction... When the steering does not autcorrect, i. e. , center itself, another slight bit of pressure is applied, the truck over-reacts by swaying too far. If it were consistent, I could get used to it, but it's not that simple. These anomalies happen with or without a load on city roads or the highway. Engine temperature, brake rotor temperature do not impact either, happens when it's cold or hot.



Several trips to a "five star" dealer have been very pleasant, though have not solved the issue. They've aligned the truck, rotated and balanced tires and have test driven and cannot detect a problem. Today took the mechanic for a drive, showed him what I was talking about, and then let him drive it. He noticed immediately what I was talking about and told me he didn't know how to explain it, but that he'd get working on it. For $hits and giggles, we took a similar truck out to drive, and alas, with over 15k miles on the test truck, drove straight as an arrow, and the steering self corrected. Also, the truck would correct itself when approaching a crown in the road, which is normal and anticipated.



Ideas, leads or help articulating this issue would be appreciated.



Thank you in advance.



Jay Stergis

 

[JimScott]

My 05 QC 3500 4 x4 tends to do the same, but not nearly as bad as yours. It does keep you alert! I would like for it to have less of a mind of its own, but maybe that is wishfull thinking. If you find an answer, please post.

Jim

 

[DPKetchum]

Valves in steering box! Needs a steering gear box I bet.

 

[radar doctor]

sounds like a real problem, Hope someone chimes in here with some corrective advice

 

[Scrappy]

the steering box could also be adjusted too tight.

 

[DPelletier]

Valves in steering box! Needs a steering gear box I bet.

That'd be my guess too. My '01. 5 had the exact same problem. Rather than have the dealer give me the "cannot duplicate customer complaint" speech, I took it to a large alignment shop. Showed the paperwork that indicated a bad box to the dealer and had it replaced under warranty. Problem solved.



Dave

 

[amsoilman]

05 QC, 4x4, SRW, SB, CTD--bone stock, less than 6000 miles. Ordered from Dodge, and it's a great truck.



Irritating problem with steering. Truck drifts left and right just enough to scare the drivers in the next lane over. Pulled over by cop, thought I was drunk or talking on a cell phone--neither was the case, so he gave me a ticket for not having a front license plate. Least of my concerns.



Truck's steering does not auto correct. When slight pressure is applied to the steering wheel, it drifts permanently in that direction... When the steering does not autcorrect, i. e. , center itself, another slight bit of pressure is applied, the truck over-reacts by swaying too far. If it were consistent, I could get used to it, but it's not that simple. These anomalies happen with or without a load on city roads or the highway. Engine temperature, brake rotor temperature do not impact either, happens when it's cold or hot.



Several trips to a "five star" dealer have been very pleasant, though have not solved the issue. They've aligned the truck, rotated and balanced tires and have test driven and cannot detect a problem. Today took the mechanic for a drive, showed him what I was talking about, and then let him drive it. He noticed immediately what I was talking about and told me he didn't know how to explain it, but that he'd get working on it. For $hits and giggles, we took a similar truck out to drive, and alas, with over 15k miles on the test truck, drove straight as an arrow, and the steering self corrected. Also, the truck would correct itself when approaching a crown in the road, which is normal and anticipated.



Ideas, leads or help articulating this issue would be appreciated.



Thank you in advance.



Jay Stergis

My advice would be to check the steering damper.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[jster65]

the steering box could also be adjusted too tight.

Good point. The mechanic called me today and said the same thing. Reading some of the other posts, I think we have an issue with the steering box---how I would love to tear one apart to see how they work. Thanks for your response, you folks are appeciated.

 

[jster65]

That'd be my guess too. My '01. 5 had the exact same problem. Rather than have the dealer give me the "cannot duplicate customer complaint" speech, I took it to a large alignment shop. Showed the paperwork that indicated a bad box to the dealer and had it replaced under warranty. Problem solved.



Dave

How long ago did this occur for you? Also, had the dealer tried to resolve before you took it to the alignment shop? Thanks for your response.

 

[DPelletier]

How long ago did this occur for you? Also, had the dealer tried to resolve before you took it to the alignment shop? Thanks for your response.

2 - 2 1/2 years ago. I sold the '01. 5 with 40,000 mi on it, so I'm thinking it was at about 25,000 miles. It had done this since day one, but I finally got fed up enough to do something about it.

No, I didn't try the dealer first; they don't even do thier own alignments and I wanted an independant expert opinion before taking the truck to the dealer. Cost me $40. 00 or so to have them check it out for me and give me a report. Money well spent and it saved me some aggravation, I'm sure.



good luck,

Dave

 

[JeepRig]

I had same problem... . it WAS the steering box.

 

[jster65]

Steering woes - Update

UPDATE:

Received a call from the dealer working on my truck. I am now told that although they know there's a problem, "when driving, there's nothing visually wrong" and there's nothing they can do, so they're waiting on a formal release from DC.



Before I go off on the dealer, what would you do? I managed to talk them into loaning me another RAM, (no where as nice as mine though ) but am thinking if DC doesn't tell them to replace the steering box, it aint goting to get resolved. Perhaps I'll take it to a big alignment shop and get a written explanation of the issue.



I did call DC and was told "there's nothing we can do because it's in the techncians hands. "



Anybody know someone at DC I can call--this seems relatively simple, then again, I don't understand costs, etc.

 

[DPelletier]

UPDATE:

Received a call from the dealer working on my truck. I am now told that although they know there's a problem, "when driving, there's nothing visually wrong" and there's nothing they can do, so they're waiting on a formal release from DC.



Before I go off on the dealer, what would you do? I managed to talk them into loaning me another RAM, (no where as nice as mine though ) but am thinking if DC doesn't tell them to replace the steering box, it aint goting to get resolved. Perhaps I'll take it to a big alignment shop and get a written explanation of the issue.



I did call DC and was told "there's nothing we can do because it's in the techncians hands. "



Anybody know someone at DC I can call--this seems relatively simple, then again, I don't understand costs, etc.

I did what I did to avoid your exact situation. My advice is to take it to a large, well respected alignment shop and have them check the truck out and give you a written estimate for a repair. Take the info to the dealer and ask them to fix it under warranty.



Dave

 

[DPKetchum]

Visually wrong? Its internal in the steering box. Unless its a STAR resrtiction part any GOOD experienced tech or service manager/service writer knows the symptoms of a internal problem in the steering box. I did! Lots of sharp techs would have had that puppy ordered withen 30 minutes of getting the ticket.

 

[DPelletier]

Visually wrong? Its internal in the steering box. Unless its a STAR resrtiction part any GOOD experienced tech or service manager/service writer knows the symptoms of a internal problem in the steering box. I did! Lots of sharp techs would have had that puppy ordered withen 30 minutes of getting the ticket.

Yeah, the problem is that good techs (such as yourself) seem to be rare. I've heard the "cannot duplicate customer complaint" thing one too many times. "visually wrong" !? It's sad, really.



... actually good techs may not be as rare as I think, but I seldom get to speak with the tech. Maybe good service writers are rare. I dunno!



Dave

 

[jster65]

Yeah, the problem is that good techs (such as yourself) seem to be rare. I've heard the "cannot duplicate customer complaint" thing one too many times. "visually wrong" !? It's sad, really.



... actually good techs may not be as rare as I think, but I seldom get to speak with the tech. Maybe good service writers are rare. I dunno!



Dave

update:

Called DC again and said the magic words, "Please send me DC's Arbitration Process for consumers in California" and all of us sudden, they escalated my concern. Called the dealer, with me on the line and I referenced this site...



In terms of speaking with the tech, that was easy... . The fivestar dealers seem to want to keep us consumers happy, but DC ties their hands and prevents them from doing what's needed... That is, of course, if the tech is astute.



More tomorrow. Thanks for helping me out on this.

 

[jster65]

Replaced Steering Box.... Almost Fixed....

Well, after wrangling with the technical prowess of DC and this dealer, they've managed to resolve part of the problem. I took the truck back today, took tech for a drive, and he argued with me that the steering issue is normal "because it's a truck, not a Lexus". [rant] Pi$$ed me off, all this time I thought I had a sports car... [/rant]. Next, the tech went with me and my good buddy Kevin, who owns an '04 exactly like mine, for a test drive. The tech finally agreed there's a "slight" problem, "it's not that bad, but it isn't normal" said the technical genius. I spoke with the manager of service and he promised me he'd get the "Chrysler people" here and when they arrive, they'll call me so I can describe the problem in detail to them, and take them for a test drive.



So, if their paperwork is accurate, they did in fact replace the steering box, they called the problem "steering binding" and indicated the problem was fixed by replacing the steering box.



The fixed problem is that it doesn't sway as wildly as it did, nor does it sway as wide. It is still an issue however.



I am thinking if they do not resolve this time, I am going to take it to a reputable alignment shop for help... . At this point, I'll pay to have the darn thing fixed.



Thanks for letting me vent.