Chrysler, the company that files recalls for Ram vans, has told federal safety regulators that water can get into the electric power steering wiring of 265,512 ProMaster vans and disable the assist that makes a loaded delivery van easy to turn. The filing covers 2022 through 2026 ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 models plus the 2024 through 2026 ProMaster 3500 EV.
AI, explained every day: The Deep View is the go-to daily newsletter for 600,000+ founders, knowledge workers and professionals who want to stay up to date with artificial intelligence.
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
No repair exists yet. Owners are waiting on a mailed letter that is scheduled for mid-November, and the van keeps its steering linkage in the meantime, which is exactly what makes the failure hard to anticipate.
Corrosion inside the steering harness
The recall is NHTSA campaign 26V621000, filed by Chrysler on September 29, 2026 and tracked by the agency under Preliminary Evaluation PE26-002. The government record states the defect plainly: water may enter the electric power steering wiring harness and disable power steering assist. The same record gives the consequence in one sentence, saying that losing assist can increase the risk of a crash.
Chrysler’s longer defect report, a Part 573 filing posted by NHTSA, supplies the mechanism. Water corrodes the harness connectors and can also reach the steering gear directly. A corroded connector does not fail cleanly. It can drop the signal for a moment and then recover, or it can stay dead, so the report describes both intermittent and permanent loss of assist. Chrysler estimates that 7.7 percent of the vans have the defect, although every van in the campaign needs the inspection.
The covered population breaks into four groups: 44,391 ProMaster 1500 vans, 147,204 ProMaster 2500 vans, 72,043 ProMaster 3500 vans and 1,874 ProMaster 3500 EV vans. The 2500 alone accounts for more than half of the total, so the bulk of the exposure sits in a single weight class, and the electric 3500 is a rounding error by comparison. Chrysler lists build dates running from August 2021 to October 2025, which is why model year alone is a poor guide to whether a given van is covered.
What a driver feels when assist drops out
An electric power steering system uses a motor on the steering gear, driven by a control module and a torque sensor, to do most of the work of turning the front wheels. When that motor stops, the steering wheel is still mechanically connected to the road wheels. What disappears is the help. A steering wheel that turned easily a moment earlier suddenly needs real effort, and the change arrives mid-corner or mid-lane change if the connector chooses that moment to drop out. With the assist intermittent, a driver can also meet the heavy wheel, lose it and meet it again, which is the inconsistent effort Chrysler’s filing names as the hazard.
The reporting around the filing is blunt about the warning gap. Mopar Insiders, summarizing Chrysler’s report, quotes the filing as identifying no warning before the failure, and says the electric power steering warning light may come on only after assist is lost. Inconsistent steering effort is the stated crash risk, because a driver who has learned the van’s feel can be caught with the wheel suddenly heavy at speed.
The case NHTSA built before the recall
This was not a quick filing. NHTSA sent Chrysler a pre-investigation inquiry on September 22, 2025 after nine complaints, then opened PE26-002 on March 2, 2026. Chrysler told the agency that through June 9, 2026 it had identified 437 customer assistance records, 2,799 warranty claims and 191 field reports. A further 974 reports surfaced by September 2. On September 22, 2026, Chrysler’s Vehicle Regulations Committee determined that a safety defect exists.
The company is aware of one accident without injuries that may be related. Those numbers matter because a defect with thousands of warranty claims behind it is no longer a rare event, even if the share of vehicles with a corroded harness is estimated at under one in thirteen. The span from the first complaint to the recall was roughly a year, with the agency’s evaluation running for more than six months before Chrysler made its determination.
Owner letters, the repair and the VIN check
The remedy is an inspection at a dealer, followed by replacement of the wiring harness and the electronic power steering gear as needed, at no charge. Replacement harnesses have improved sealing to keep water out. VehicleServicePros, which logged the filing in its weekly recall roundup, lists the dealer notice date and VIN timing: VINs became searchable on NHTSA’s site on October 6, and interim owner letters are expected on November 17, 2026, with further letters to follow once the final remedy is ready. A dealer notice dated September 30 estimated the repair would launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Owners can confirm coverage by entering a VIN in NHTSA’s recall lookup or by calling Chrysler customer service at 800-853-1403 and citing Chrysler recall number 92D. A van does not have to show symptoms to be included, and the filing gives no instruction to stop driving. Fleet managers with many vans have the harder job, since a coverage check is per VIN and the repair will be scheduled van by van once parts reach dealers. Until then the practical protection is awareness: a driver who notices the steering effort change, or sees the power steering fault lamp, has the very sign the recall describes, and should treat it as a reason to get the van to a dealer.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
AI, explained every day: Get The Deep View →
We may earn a commission if you sign up.
More from Morning Overview
- The NSA says three phone features should be off whenever you aren’t using them
- Hurricane Hunter radar shows four warning signs that a tropical cyclone is about to strengthen, a University of Miami study found
- Tropical Storm Rachel is dumping up to 12 inches on four Mexican states on its way to major hurricane strength
- The FTC says Lens.com doubled the price shoppers saw in Google ads
