Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.7m Ram pickup units over steering wheel, air bag problems

One of Fiat Chrysler's best selling vehicles, Ram 1500.Wikimedia Commons/Karrmann

Fiat Chrysler announced last Thursday that it is recalling almost 1.7 million Ram pickup trucks over concerns of faulty wiring harnesses, steering wheel, and airbags, Associated Press reported.

According to the report, the company has issued three different recalls involving large pickup trucks, particularly Ram series.

The first recall, and the largest one, involved 1.1 million pickup trucks distributed all over North America and the problem is with wiring harnesses in the steering wheels.

The wirings may have come in contact with a spring that could prematurely deploy the airbag. Coming in contact with the spring frequently will result in short-circuit that will deploy the airbag from the driver side.

For this recall, the vehicles affected are Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 pickup units as well as 3500, 4500, and 5500 Chassis Cabs, as stated in the report. All vehicles are of the 2012–14 models.

Fiat Chrysler is aware that there have been two injuries associated with this issue, but there have been no accidents.

The second recall involves almost 194,000 Ram heavy-duty trucks sold in North America to allow the company to work on bracket welds that may cause problems with steering.

Vehicles affected are Ram 3500 pickups of 2013 model; Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup units from 2014 and the 3500 Chassis Cabs. No injuries have been reported but an accident has been involved with this particular problem.

The third recall covers about 188,000 units of 1500 Quad Cab pickups from the 2014 and 2015 year model. The problem was found with side curtain air bags, which do not meet the standards set by federal regulations.

The bag fails to protect passengers on the back in cases when the vehicle rolls over. There were no reports of injuries or accidents concerning this particular recall.

The automaker has not come up with a solution yet, but stated that owners will be notified for their repair appointments.