Water that finds its way into the electric power steering wiring harness of a Ram ProMaster can corrode the connectors and cut steering assist, in some vans for a moment and in others for good. Chrysler, which sells the van under the Ram name, reported the defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on September 29, 2026, and the filing covers 265,512 vehicles. The population reaches from the 2022 model year through 2026 and includes an electric variant.
In its consequence statement to NHTSA, Chrysler wrote that a loss of power steering assist can increase the risk of a crash. The company’s Part 573 report adds that nothing warns the driver beforehand: the steering fault light may come on only after assist has already gone.
Corroded connectors inside the steering harness
Chrysler’s investigators traced the loss of assist to water causing corrosion in the connectors, according to the company’s Part 573 safety recall report. The corrosion can produce intermittent or permanent loss of assist, which the report describes as inconsistent steering effort. It estimates that 7.7 percent of the vans carry the defect, which by simple arithmetic would be roughly 20,000 vans, though the report itself states only the percentage.
The fix is an inspection followed by replacement of the wiring harness and the electronic power steering gear “as necessary,” the wording used in NHTSA’s campaign record. Chrysler says the replacement harnesses seal better against water, and the work is done at no cost to owners. Because the repair depends on what the inspection finds, some vans may need only a harness while others need the steering gear as well. Dealers were scheduled to be notified on October 6, 2026.
Neither document gives a root cause beyond the corrosion itself; the cause section of the Part 573 report is blank, and the replacement parts are described only as better sealed against water. That leaves the question of why some harnesses admit water and others do not unanswered in the public record.
The 265,512 vans, model by model
The Part 573 report breaks the total into four groups. The 2022 to 2026 ProMaster 1500 accounts for 44,391 vans built between August 17, 2021 and October 17, 2025. The 2022 to 2026 ProMaster 2500 is the largest group at 147,204, built August 19, 2021 through October 18, 2025. The 2022 to 2026 ProMaster 3500 adds 72,043 vans from the same production window, and the 2024 to 2026 Ram 3500 Electric accounts for 1,874, built from August 31, 2023 to October 13, 2025.
The electric 3500 is the smallest slice by far, at under 1 percent of the campaign, so the recall is overwhelmingly a combustion-van story. The 2500, at 147,204 vans, makes up more than half of the total. NHTSA’s own database rows simply say “ProMaster” for 2022 through 2026 and “ProMaster BEV” for 2024 through 2026.
A federal probe that came first
The recall follows a defects investigation. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened preliminary evaluation PE26002 on March 2, 2026, covering an estimated 136,666 ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vans from the 2022 and 2023 model years. The opening resume cited 19 owner complaints of steering assist that works intermittently or stops, several of them blaming water in the electrical connectors of the power steering control module. NHTSA recorded no crash, fire, injury or fatality among the 19.
Chrysler’s timeline in the recall report starts earlier. NHTSA sent the company a pre-investigation inquiry on September 22, 2025 about nine complaints, Chrysler opened its own investigation on January 8, 2026, and its Vehicle Regulations Committee determined on September 22, 2026 that a safety defect exists. Through June 9, 2026 the company counted 437 customer assistance records, 2,799 warranty claims and 191 field reports, then 974 additional reports as of September 2. Chrysler told NHTSA it knew of one accident potentially related to the issue and no injuries. The recall is wider than the probe, running through the 2026 model year rather than stopping at 2023.
Letters on November 17 and a separate harness recall
Interim owner letters are expected to be mailed November 17, 2026, with further letters once the final remedy is available, so the recall is phased and some owners will wait for a letter that carries the final fix. Chrysler’s recall number is 92D, and owners can reach customer service at 800-853-1403. Per the remedy text, vehicle identification numbers became searchable on NHTSA’s recall lookup on October 6.
A companion filing covers a different population. Recall 26E067000, received the same day, involves 8,378 MOPAR body and jumper wiring harnesses sold as parts, under Chrysler recall number 93D, with dealers repurchasing uninstalled harnesses. Those 8,378 are not part of the 265,512, and NHTSA’s filing list carries both campaigns as separate rows.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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