NHTSA Complaint #11429884 — 2017 DODGE JOURNEY

On Monday, August 16, 2021, I was driving towards a busy intersection when my steering wheel was all of a sudden unable to turn in either direction. I stopped the vehicle before merging on the busy intersection, which my next destination was I-80. My safety was very much at risk due to this as if it would have failed on I-80, myself or my children could have been severely injured as well as other drivers. I had the vehicle towed to a local dealership (Greenway Motors) and they inspected the vehicle and initially found that the power steering pump was broken and there was metal debris that would need to be flushed but that when they start the repair, more than likely the debris would also be in the steering gears. They said the vehicle was no longer under a warranty for this issue. Based on their inspection, the cost they stated for the repair I could not afford so I contacted an auto repair shop locally (Ewerts). I had the vehicle towed to that location on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Ewerts informed me that when replacing the power steering pump and flushing the lines, they did find metal debris also in the steering gears. The vehicle is currently still in repair at Ewerts. The estimated repair cost is now roughly $1,600.00 There were no warning lights or messages on the vehicle prior to this incident.