Ram has had to recall a certain number of Ram 1500 pickups from the 2021 to 2023 model years over a backup camera issue. A population of 68,809 pickups built between June 3, 2020, and August 17, 2022, are believed to have a trailer reverse steering control module (TRSCM) that can “fail internally.” If this happens, the image from the backup camera won’t be displayed on the cabin screen — a breach of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111, “Rear Visibility,” hence the recall. Owners could be additionally alerted to a problem by an illuminated Electronic Throttle Control warning indicator in the instrument panel cluster.
The fix is a trip to the dealer to have the TRSCM reset and reprogrammed with new software.
As with a recent Jeep recall due to a clutch issue in manual transmissions, this isn’t Ram’s first recall for the TRSCM issue. In February 2022, the truck maker recalled 38,157 units of the 1500 built from June 3, 2020, to September 12, 2021, all from the 2021 model year. The Safety Recall Report from last year’s action explained that engineers decided on the production end date because an “updated TRSCM was implemented in vehicle production. Engineering change and vehicle production records were used to determine the suspect period.” That’s the same language used to describe the latest production end date moving to August 17, 2022, so hopefully this one does it.
Fiat Chrysler America began sending letters to owners on March 1. Owners who still aren’t in the know can contact FCA U.S. customer service at 800-853-1403 and mention internal recall number 14A. Any owners who have paid out of their own pockets to have this issue remedied will be reimbursed. They can also get in touch with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov, and refer to campaign number 23V059000.
