265,512 Ram ProMasters Can Lose Power Steering Because Water Gets Into the Harness

Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) filed a safety recall with NHTSA on 29 September covering 265,512 Ram ProMaster vans in which water can get into the electric power steering wiring harness and shut off steering assist. The agency logged it as campaign 26V621000; FCA's internal number is 92D. It was the largest of the five vehicle recalls NHTSA featured for the week of 5-9 October, and by some distance — those five covered 346,540 vehicles between them, and this one is more than three-quarters of that.

"Water may enter the electric power steering wiring harness, which can disable power steering assist." — Chrysler (FCA US, LLC), NHTSA campaign 26V621000

The defect description is three lines long and does not need expanding on: water enters the harness, the harness corrodes, and power steering assist can cut out. NHTSA's consequence statement is the standard one — a loss of power steering assist increases the risk of a crash. What the filing does not describe is any warning the driver gets first.

That matters more in this vehicle than it would in most. A ProMaster 2500 or 3500 is a tall, heavy, front-wheel-drive box, frequently loaded, frequently driven by somebody doing their twelfth stop of the morning. Losing assist in a family hatchback is unpleasant. Losing it in a loaded high-roof van at parking speeds, one-handed, mid-turn, is a different physical problem.

The affected population spans four model lines and five model years. The ProMaster 2500 is the biggest at 147,204 vans from the 2022 through 2026 model years, built between 19 August 2021 and 18 October 2025. The 3500 accounts for 72,043, built across effectively the same window. The 1500 adds 44,391, built from 17 August 2021 to 17 October 2025. And the electric ProMaster 3500 EV contributes 1,874 vans from the 2024 to 2026 model years, built between 31 August 2023 and 13 October 2025. Those four numbers add up exactly to the 265,512 total.

The chronology in the filing covers a full year. NHTSA opened a pre-investigation inquiry on 22 September 2025 off the back of nine complaints. FCA US started its own investigation on 8 January 2026. The agency escalated to a formal preliminary evaluation on 2 March and issued an information request on 9 June. Through the summer, engineering and manufacturing review continued. By 2 September the company had identified 974 further reports. On 22 September 2026 FCA determined that a safety defect existed, and the Part 573 report followed a week later.

The field data behind that decision is substantial. Through June 2026 the company counted 437 customer assistance records, 2,799 warranty claims and 191 field reports. One accident has been reported and no injuries. The estimated percentage of recalled vehicles actually carrying the defect is about 7.7 percent — which, against 265,512 vans, works out to somewhere north of 20,000 vehicles expected to have the problem rather than merely to be eligible for the inspection.

The remedy is an inspection, with replacement of the wiring harness and the electric power steering gear where needed, free of charge. The replacement harness is described as having improved sealing to keep water out, which is the clearest statement in the document about what went wrong in the first place: this is a sealing failure at the connector and harness level, not a steering-system design fault.

The dates are the part owners should write down. VIN lookup went live on NHTSA's site on 6 October, so anybody with a ProMaster built in the last five years can check right now. Interim owner letters — the ones that tell you that you are affected and that the fix is not ready — go out on 17 November 2026. Remedy availability is listed as the fourth quarter of 2026, which at the time of filing left a window of a few weeks and no firmer commitment than that. A second letter follows when parts are in place. FCA's recall assistance line is 800-853-1403.

For a fleet operator running twenty of these, the practical read is that roughly one or two of them probably have corroded connectors, there is no way to tell which from the driver's seat, and the inspection is free the moment dealers have the parts. For everybody else sharing a road with 265,512 delivery vans, it is one more reason the week's recall list is worth reading.