2019 Dodge Durango Steering Problems

Electronic power steering locks the wheel while turning. Have to use excessive force to get it out of the stuck position. I have went through several forums trying to figure out why this happens there are many other customers experiencing the same problem. There is no power steering pump to replace so this could be an absolute danger to anyone driving a Durango with this problem or others around them.

Goodyear examined my Durango on October 4th 2023. Examination results reported a flawed electromechanical steering gearbox. Price to repair including parts, upwards of 4,000 dollars. I have a prepaid warranty covering repairs and parts. Parts availability from the Chrysler corporation are the issue. The dealership Orange Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge was informed AND examined the vehicle themselves. They related to me the "part isn't available". I returned to the Goodyear dealership. Their response is the same. Neither factory nor aftermarket steering gearbox are available for purchase. Therein lies the reason for this report from me. I've written emails to Chrysler (stellantis) customer service 3 times. The 3rd time being today October 16th. They responded once shortly after the October 4th email. Since then quiet as a church mouse. So far the steering gearbox just pops and makes grinding noises. I'm 67 years old and existing on disability payments. I can't get the parts. I still owe 32,000 plus (9650 for warranty coverage). So I CAN'T get rid of it. If it fails while being driven, State Farm won't cover the damages because I KNEW the vehicle was needing repairs and continued to drive it. I'm FORCED to drive it because of parts UNAVAILABLE by Chrysler or the aftermarket. I can't afford a rental car for what appears to be an EXTENDED period of time. I can't attach the 3 emails here. However the emails WILL be retained for future reference. Any assistance you may provide would be greatly appreciated.

While driving 70 mph on the highway, the car gave a light that stated, "power steering unavailable" and in fact, I had no power steering. I had to really muscle the car to get it to turn at all. If this had happened while I was turning a corner, it could have been the cause of an accident. Obviously driving a car with no power steering is dangerous in and of itself, not to mention it happening out of the blue while driving at highway speeds. There was no prior warning to the light coming on. This is a car with just over 40k miles on it and is a used Dodge certified car. We had to wait several weeks for an appointment at our local Dodge dealership at which time they confirmed the steering rack is defective. The part was at least 60 days out, indicating to me that this is an issue with other vehicles as well. Fast forward to last week and we were informed the part was in and we could have the car back by the end of this week. However, yesterday (5/10/2023) we received a call that the part that was delivered to the dealership was also defective. They got the part installed, but could not get the computer to recognize it. Currently we do not have a timeline on when a new, hopefully not defective, part will be delivered. We are lucky because we have MOPAR care on the vehicle and it will cover the cost of the repair and they will reimburse us for the use of the rental car, although the rental car is inadequate compared to the car that I purchased.

ON MY WAY TO LABOR & DELIVERY, MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP, A LIGHT AND MESSAGE CAME ON THAT SAID, "POWER STEERING UNAVAILABLE". I COULD NOT TURN LEFT OR RIGHT AND SINCE I WAS ALREADY TURNING LEFT WHEN IT LOCKED UP AND WENT STRAIGHT, I NEARLY HIT ALL THE CARS PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET. WHEN I LEFT THE HOSPITAL, THE LIGHT WAS OFF. A WEEK LATER, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AND STAYED ON. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AGAIN AS WE WERE DRIVING DOWN A MAIN ROAD AND WE ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN THE LANE NEXT TO US BECAUSE WHEN IT LOCKED UP, IT SNATCHES THE WHEEL FROM WHEREVER WE HAVE IT TO A LOCKED STRAIGHT POSITION. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT WITH 3 CHILDREN IN THE BACK. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CRASHING INTO PEOPLE WITHOUT NOTICE. WE GOT IT CHECKED OUT AND THEY SAID THE ELECTRIC STEERING RACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR A WHOPPING $4500. ON A 2019 VEHICLE, THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND NOW I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A VEHICLE FOR 3 MONTHS NOW BECAUSE EVERYONE KEEPS TELLING US THAT THE PART IS ON BACK ORDER.

WHILE VISITING MISSISSIPPI FROM INDIANA, IN JULY, I KEPT GETTING A "POWER STEERING UNAVAILABLE" "NEED SERVICE". I CALLED AND WAS GOING TO TAKE IT TO A SHOP THERE BUT THE MESSAGE WENT AWAY THE NEXT DAY. WE MADE IT BACK HOME TO INDIANA AND I IMMEDIATELY MADE AN APPOINTMENT AND DROPPED MY VEHICLE OFF. THEY CALLED THE NEXT DAY AND SAID THE MESSAGE NEVER CAME UP FOR THEM, SO THEY RESET THE SYSTEM TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING. THEY SAID THE PART IS VERY EXPENSIVE SO IF THE ISSUE ISN'T GOING ON WHILE THEY HAVE THE VEHICLE THEN THEY CAN'T JUST REPLACE IT. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HWY WITH 2 OF MY CHILDREN THE MESSAGE POPS UP AGAIN AND POWER STEERING WENT OUT. VERY SCARY. THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO GET US HOME SAFE BUT YURNING THE WHEEL WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. I PLAN TO CALL THE DEALERSHIP IN THE MORNING, BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND VERY DANGEROUS.

AFTER DROPPING OFF MY OLDEST DAUGHTER AT PRESCHOOL, I DROVE FOR ROUGHLY 2.5 MILES AND PARKED THE CAR, I SUFFERED A TOTAL LOSS OF POWER STEERING. THE TRUCK HAS A COMPLETELY ELECTRIC STEERING SYSTEM. THIS OCCURRED 10/31/2019. ON THIS DATE I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP FOR DIAG. THEY CALLED 11/1/2019 AND STATED THAT IT NEEDED A NEW STEERING RACK. IT IS NOW 11/19/2019 AND THE PART IS STILL ON BACK ORDER. CHRYSLER KEEPS PUSHING THE DATE BACK. I STILL DO NOT HAVE THE VEHICLE BACK AND NOT DEFINITIVE DATE OF RETURN. IF THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED WITH MY DAUGHTERS IN THE CAR WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD IT WOULD'VE CAUSED A SERIOUS CRASH.