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Anyone have a power steering failure on a 2012?

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  captainchubbzz 
#1 ·
Can't say I am very happy right now. Christmas day I got into my truck (bought new 3 months ago and has 3500miles on it) and started it up.

Heard the power steering pump for few seconds which was abnormal, then the noise went away and all was well. Put the truck in reverse and started to turn and felt I had no power steering. Opened the hood, checked the reservoir and it was empty! No oil leaks anywhere. Had to run with my fiancee's vehicle to get power steering fluid. Filled the reservoir up, started the truck, the power steering pump pulsated a few times, and it drained the fluid in about 5 seconds. Checked for leaks, again nothing. Filled the reservoir up for a 2nd time, started the truck up, and the same thing again, pump pulsed a few times and the reservoir completely drained.

At that point I decided something was really wrong, shut the truck off, closed the hood and started walking away. About two minutes later, there was a HUGE bang (like a gunshot) and fluid started pouring out from under the truck. Went and looked and one of the power steering hoses blew.

Has anyone had anything like this happen with a 2012???

For the amount of time I've owned the truck and the low miles, I can't say I am very happy to have a failure like this. Being this was christmas day and the dealer isn't open Christmas or Boxing day, I've been without my new vehicle for two days now, not able to go anywhere. Going to call the dealer tomorrow morning. I'm guessing it will take them a little while to come pick it up, and then a while to fix it as well. Of course I had the week off and a snowmobile trip planned. If it takes a few days to fix and they don't give me a truck on loan while it is being fixed, I will have no way to tow my snowmobile trailer and will miss the trip. Very, very, very upsetting for a brand new vehicle.

This is my first new truck. I've always driven pieces of crap for the winter. All my winter vehicles for the past 15 years have been 100,000 mile + cars or trucks and I have never been stranded even once. My first new truck and it breaks and strands me after 3 months of owning it. This does not give me a good feeling about dodge and their reliability. Nor does it convince me that owning a new vehicle with the large payments and depreciation is worth it!!! Grrrr.
 
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#2 ·
I can understand your frustration, it sucks, no better term I can find can fix your situation. I can tell you this is the first time I read of an issue on the 2012 related to the power steering. 10 months now on my 2012 with no issues. Sure hope they can fix this for you quick. I would be just as pissed as you are now, but there's always a reason for stuff like this, who knows, maybe this issue slowed you down from going on the road and some idiot ramming you at a Light cause he was driving under the influence. Anyways, hope things work out and you get your truck back soon.
 
#3 ·
Well, it gets better. Called RoadSide assistence and the call wait time is 60-90mins! If I was stranded on the side of the road, that would be complete crap! 1.5hrs just to talk to someone and probably hours before someone actually gets to you!

On top of that, called the service department of the dealership I bought it from to tell them the truck is coming in. They tell me no loaner vehicle unless I have extended warranty. What kind of crap is that?

So, I'm making an $800/month payment on a truck that has already been broke for 2 days and may take them days to fix, and I must either live without a vehicle or rent one on my own dime. Wow, it just gets better....
 
#4 ·
I'm sorry to hear about the issues you are having with the truck. No one like to have their new truck fail on them. My truck was out for a week and a half due to an electrical issue. I must say...like all things, nothing is perfect, even when you buy something new. There is always a chance something will fail. They manufacture thousands of these trucks a year, and that pump is used in more then one application I'm sure. At some point in time there is the chance a few may fail, its just the way it is. The car with 100,000+ miles on it, the parts have been tried and proven to not fail. Having worked in the auto industry I have had a may "new" parts come back that failed to work, this is why there is a warranty on the truck for this reason. It is just never is a good time for the truck to break down.
 
#7 ·
Ramtech, I live in Canada and this is the story I got from calling the Chrysler Canada help line.

They said that they do not know what the Dodge warranty is like in the US (how can they not know this?), but stated in Canada, the standard warranty does not cover loaner or rental vehicles, no matter how long the vehicle is in for warranty work. If I wanted that coverage, I would have to go with the Dodge extended warranty which does cover loaner and/or rental vehicles for the duration of the warranty period.

Because I was a new Dodge owner, because the truck is so new, and because I called in to complain, they were willing to cover a rental for up to 5 days. However, this is a one time deal.

Between the failure happening so early and my warranty expecting me to provide my own transportation on top of my vehcile payment for a new vehicle I can't use, it is very unlikely I will go with a Dodge again. The two issues I see with this whole setup are: 1. they did not explain this at the time of purchase, 2. there is no incentive for Dodge to fix my vehicle in a timely fashion. It's not costing them anything to keep that vehicle for one day, one week, one month, and all the time, I suffer for something that is their manufacturing defect.
 
#8 ·
Your regular warranty doesn't include a rental or a "loaner" to replace your truck. This is not Mercedes or BMW. Loaner vehicles depend on the dealer, some do and some don't. Its not Dodges fault you had a bad sales guy and didn't explain the additional service contract you can get. And they want your truck fixed as soon as they can, trust me, they don't want it sitting there longer then it has to. Its just a bad pump, it will be fixed, you will have your truck back, its prob gonna take a few days to a week. You called and got a rental, be happy.
 
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#9 · (Edited)
I like your positive attitude! You are right, not their fault the warranty terms and conditions were not explained to me. This is no longer new to me and I am much better informed now. The decision on what to buy when it comes to the next new vehicle will definitely be based on a lot more factors than this purchase was.

I do feel they could stand behind their product a bit better. If it breaks and it is a manufacturing defect, they should be on the hook to supply transportation while being fixed, especially if it will be over a day. I do believe that is a reasonable expectation. A fully loaded ram is as much or more than quite a few BMW's, which, as you stated, do offer replacements.

I appreciate everyones comments and support and hope everyone's experience with their new Ram is better than mine. They really are great trucks when you can drive them.
 
#10 ·
sounds like u live in canada ive heard more problems with trucks from our friends up north than here in the us have u e-mailed crhysler directly i did this to get my build sheet also mentioned that i only recieved one set of keys and wouldnt u know it the stealer called the next day with a set as far as no loaner goes sounds like yor stealers a little tight mine gave me a loaner for the aftermarket spray in bedliner i worked in the deal and they subbed it out to four winds the loaner was on an 1/8 of a tank though tried to get them to fill it up but no dice so i brought it back to them gas light on and on fumes ha ha
 
#11 ·
Had a few issues with my truck as well. Edok is completely right, if there is a next time that I purchase a new vehicle, my bases will be covered a lot better than they were for this truck. Arctic - I'm with you, never again will it be a Dodge. As a consumer all they care about is the sale, after that Chryslers "Give a D@mn" is busted. And the dealers, I won't even get started as they completely piss me off. My dog knows more about cars than their employees.

In Chryslers defense when I called in with a complaint they made things right by extending my warranty an extra year. My concern is whether they will try and back out of it when that time comes. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.
 
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