- Ram is recalling hundreds of thousands of heavy duty pickups because their anti-lock brakes, traction control, and electronic stability control may fail.
- The company is aware of numerous incidents and the issue is caused by a brake hydraulic control unit that can fail or malfunction.
- Mopar is recalling an additional 84,923 control units and those could have been installed on trucks dating back to the 2012 model year.
Ram is recalling 317,630 trucks in the United States due to a brake hydraulic control unit that can fail. If this occurs, it can knock out the anti-lock brakes as well as the electronic stability control and traction control systems.
The recall impacts an assortment of different trucks from the 2017 and 2018 model year. They include the 2500 and 3500 as well as chassis cab versions of the 3500, 4500, and 5500.
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The Safety Recall Report says the trucks were equipped with a control unit that is “susceptible to failure or malfunction.” The decline appears to be gradual as the government noted failing units might cause an intermittent loss of anti-lock braking and traction control. However, things will eventually progress to “permanent loss.”
100% of the population is believed to be impacted and the recall is worth paying attention too as a loss of anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, and traction control could result in an accident. This could occur with little to no warning, but the government noted the malfunction indicator lamp should illuminate if the anti-lock braking system goes down.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration kicked off an investigation nearly two years ago and they worked with FCA US to figure out what was going on. This eventually led to testing of a ‘failed’ customer part and to today’s recall.
While most recalls only mention a handful of reported incidents, FCA US is aware of a whopping “4,622 customer assistance records, 53,448 warranty claims, and 1,460 field reports potentially relating to this issue.” Those are eye-popping numbers and it appears this was a pretty widespread issue, although the automaker isn’t aware of any injuries or accidents.
Owner notifications are slated to be mailed out early next month and dealers will replace the hydraulic control unit free of charge. Speaking of dealers, Mopar is recalling an additional 84,923 control units that could have been installed in heavy duty pickups from the 2012 to 2018 model years. These components appear to have been set aside for use as replacement parts.
