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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
30,308 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Ford F-250 steering problems

steering problem

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2016 Ford F-250 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #53

Jul 092022

F-250

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The front-end of vehicle begins to violently shake after crossing over a rough spot in road or driving over grooves in road. The only way to stop the violent shake is to extremely slow or stop the vehicle.

- Mansfield, TX, USA

problem #52

Jun 152022

F-250

  • miles
Writing about the so called "death wobble" of the steering wheel. It happens over 50 mph and when hitting even smallest pot hole or a bump.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #51

Jul 022022

F-250

  • miles
My truck regular experiences violent shakes when I hit bumps in the road when traveling over 45MPH. I was on a bridge today and had to slow traffic to less than 30mph to control the shakes. The last 4 times I have entered the freeway at a specific entrance I have experienced the violent shakes, requiring me to enter the emergency lane to gain control.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #50

Jun 162022

F-250

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My vehicle violently shakes when hitting even the most minute bump in the road, known to some as the "death wobble." I took it to the dealership to inspect and Ford will not fix it, unless I pay. It is a safety issue and in the last month, I've had four instances where I have stopped traffic behind me while the truck was shaking and it literally bounced its way into another lane. I am a service member and I'm pretty sure if I am injured, the military will sue Ford for the hospital bill. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by Ford. There are no warning lights or warning before it occurs, other than I know to drive real slow and not hit bumps. It cannot be trusted on the highway, so I avoid it now. The first time it happened was in 2021 and I've talked to Ford since, but there is no safety recall.

- Phenix City, AL, USA

problem #49

Jun 052022

F-250

  • miles
On approximately 26 May 2022 I was driving down an entrance ramp to I-77 and the front end of the truck started shaking very severely -- violently. This was without any warning and I had never experienced anything like this before on this vehicle, or any other vehicle I had ever driven. I took my foot off the gas and pretty much coasted to the side of the road to a stop. I caught my breath, suspected there was an issue with the shock absorber, and slowly accelerated again and merged onto the interstate and drove the rest of the way home. There were no more similar instances like this for several days. When I got back to my RV I check the shock and could see no problems. On 5 June I went to a local Firestone Service Center for an alignment check and to see if they could find a problem. They made minor corrections to the alignment; told me they could find not problems, even though they told me the tech said there was a lot of vibration at about 55 MPH when he took it for a test drive; and then advised me to take it to a Ford dealer for review. On my drive back to my RV I experienced about 4 more instances of very severe and violent front end shaking of the truck, typically when I was at 55 MPH or faster. In each case the shaking would not stop until I pulled over and came to a stop. On Monday, 6 June I visited two Ford dealerships and one independent repair shop to try and get an analysis and fix. I have been able to make an appointment for 8 June. During the drive back to my RV on the 6th I experienced 3 more vibration events. One of these was as I was decelerating and exiting the interstate and was traveling at about 45 MPH. This front end vibration shakes the front end of the truck and steering wheels extremely bad. I was able to maintain control but it would not take much to send the truck into a sideways skid. From what the Firestone tech told me I believe they were able to confirm the vibration issue, but they did not communicate the severity very well.

- Fort Mill, SC, USA

problem #48

Mar 292022

F-250

  • miles
The truck has the death wobble. I had dealer balance driveshaft 2X, as well as, the dealer adjusted the alignment again... the truck is still experiencing sustained steering wheel oscillation and I am again experiencing the death wobble, less than 1,000 miles after the most recent repair. It is very unfortunate that consumers purchase 50K+ dollar trucks and so many people are nervous driving them down the road. Ford keeps the montra up of such as the following: Continuous improvement. Review the data, the data will tell the story. Change points. Root cause and permanent countermeasures. I have reviewed the historical F250 crew cab 4X4 complaint data on this site (NHTSA) and the data does tell a story. That story is very clear that Ford is not continuously improving the death wobble issue on the Super Duty, instead it has gotten worse. There has been a change point with this fourth generation F250. (2017,2018,2019) as of 11/21/19 the fourth generation F250 Super Duty has had more NHTSA suspension and steering complaints for the death wobble than the previous two generations combined. (9 years. Second generation 2008-2010 and third generation 2011-2016) the current repairs (countermeasures) are not effective and are not permanent. This can clearly be seen in the descriptions of the complaints on NHTSA. The repairs either do not fix the problem at all or are only a temporarily band aid for the issue. This is truly a safety concern and to date nothing has been implemented to correct the issue. Please, open an investigation and force Ford to permanently address the issue.

- Keller, TX, USA

problem #47

Feb 172022

F-250

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When driving my 2016 Ford F250 Diesel at 70MPH I hit a bridge transition on Interstate 24. It had a bumpy transition between the road and bridge itself. The trucks front end started shaking violently and the steering wheel was difficult to control from shaking side to side. At first I thought that I blew a tire or that one of my front wheels was about to come off. I hit the brakes to try and get the shaking to stop to no avail. I had to slow down to about 20 mph before the shaking stopped. In the meantime there was a semi behind me that almost rear ended me and had to swerve violently to avoid rear ending me because I had braked unexpectedly. The road conditions were wet with moderate rain and 60 degrees F. I continued driving and it happened 3 other times in the same trip. Two of the other times happened at a rough bridge transition and once was when I hit a pothole at highway speed. Because the truck is a heavy duty truck, I often pull a trailer loaded with granite (up to 26000 lbs GVW. That Day I was carrying a 9500 lb forklift on the trailer transferring it to a jobsite which made bringing the truck slowing down even more dangerous. The next day I called the Ford Dealership to tell them of the problem and the service writer said "oh, you got the Death Wobble". That sounds horrifying in and of itself. I asked him if Ford takes care of this and he said "no, I don't see any recalls on it." This is something that Ford absolutely should take care of. I don't know what causes it, but it is terrifying when it happens and I feel lucky that that 80,000 lb semi didn't devour the back of my trailer and truck. I have scheduled a service appointment to look at the problem but I have little confidence after reading about this issue online that Ford will take any responsibility for this issue. I feel that this is something Ford should be FORCED to fix. Sincerely CONCERNED/SCARED

- Manchester, MO, USA

problem #46

Jan 192022

F-250

  • miles
There is a problem called death wobble with our 2016 F250 truck. Driving down the highway and you hit a dip going over a bridge or a hole in the highway and it starts to wobble and you can hardly control it, you can not apply brakes because it feels like it is going to turn over with you. We use this truck in the roofing business and if we had had the trailer behind it there would have been an accident because there was traffic around us but have been able to stop before an accident. There is always two or three worker riding in the truck and they were scared to death. I do not want someone to be killed because of this problem. I called the dealership were I purchased it and they are telling me I have to pay for the repair. I know there is a class action lawsuit against ford for this problem and don't feel I should have to pay for the repair. I have had two independent service center check it and there is no problem except the wobble they have both driven it and both told me it is the death wobble. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer because they said they would charge me to do that. There is no warning sign that this is going to happen. It happens if your speed is o 65 to 70 miles an hour. I have contracted Ford Motor Co and was advised to write a letter to the office in Dearborn, MI and I will do that when I finish this report. I feel like there should be a recall on this problem before someone is killed or seriously injured from it, if they have not already been. This had happen several time in the last week. I am giving you the last date it happen below.

- Wilson, NC, USA

problem #45

Jan 152022

F-250

  • miles
Driving 65mph on I40 hit a transition area of the pavement and the truck began the shake violently almost unable to control truck due to the shake. Had to come to a complete stop to make it stop. Happened again when I hit the next bump. I have read this is referred to as the death wobble. It is very scary and could cause an accident even loss of life due to an accident.

- Mercer, TN, USA

problem #44

Dec 012019

F-250

  • miles
The front suspension shakes violently after encountering an irregularity in the road commonly referred to by the f250 community as " the death wobble".

- West Chicago, IL, USA

problem #43

Dec 242021

F-250

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have experience severe steering oscillation on numerous occasions. The vehicle has 48755 miles as of 28 DEC 21. This condition occurs at highway speeds when driving over a rough road.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #42

Dec 262021

F-250

  • miles
Have been experiencing Wobble of death multiple times driving on the highway. Very scary. Having to stop or slow down quickly in heavy traffic. The Last time was 3 times in 15 minutes on 12/26/21. This happened on IH 10 leaving Beaumont. No warning signs or messages. Just started shaking violently.

- Victoria , TX, USA

problem #41

Nov 192021

F-250

  • miles
Both Control Arm bushings and Steering Stabilizer have both failed causing a severe Death Wobble at highway speeds. This condition has nearly caused an accident on 4 separate occasions.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #40

Nov 212021

F-250

  • miles
I have experienced what is known as the -??DEATH WOBBLE-?? with my 2016 Ford F-250 super-duty pickup. I have taken it back the dealer after the first incident to have it repaired ($291) worth and it done it twice since then, less than 3 weeks after repairs. I-??m out of town now so I hope I can get it home for it to go back to the dealer for more repairs. I don-??t agree with Ford motor co. Decision not to recall all the trucks with this issue. I will not buy another Ford truck unless I know for sure this is resolved.

- Tallahassee , FL, USA

problem #39

Nov 152021

F-250

  • miles
When driving my truck "2016 F250, FX4) on an open highway at 80mph out of no where, i experience what is known as the death wobble, and went off the road into the ditch. The dealership is telling me I need to pay $2000 plus dollars to address the problem which appears to be known and have not issued a recall. This same issue happened to my 2014 F250, and the base warranty covered it.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #38

Oct 182021

F-250

  • miles
I was driving at 70mph, and the truck went into the death wobble. Violently shaking and bouncing as I drove and slowed down to 25mph on the highway until it finally stopped. I was on a section of highway were I could not get off the road for about another half mile. It happened this morning at 7:15am, and I have not had the opportunity to take it in for service. There were no warning lights that came on. I fear for my safety if it were to happen again. If there was traffic behind me, I may not have been able to slow down as quickly as I did without being hit.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #37

Oct 182021

F-250

  • miles
Driving 70... hit a bump in road... shakes violently until I slow down to 25 or so... it shook hard enough to vibrate headache rack and split bead where they join...

- Clifton, TX, USA

problem #36

Sep 032021

F-250

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact stated that they were experiencing the "death wobble" while driving at various speeds. The failure occurred mostly whenever driving over a bump in the roadway. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the steering damper had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired while the complaint was being filed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

- Little Elm, TX, USA

problem #35

Jun 012021

F-250

  • miles
This vehicle is part of a fleet vehicle that I received new. I originally complained to the dealer that the vehicle has a front-end wobble. I was told originally that it was either the tires or a bad rim. I recently received new tires and the wobble has become unbearable. It is called the death wobble from the reviews I have seen online. When you are driving, the entire truck vibrates so hard that you feel as if you are on a roller coaster. The faster you go, 60-65, the steering wheel shakes with difficulty holding onto the wheel. I searched recalls and there have been none. My concern is that this can lead to an accident and either I or an innocent driver/passenger in another vehicle can be harmed due to the lack of repair or concern of Ford Motor. I called the owner of the Fleet and haven't heard back from the equipment manager. I did contact Ford customer service and reported this. This issue has been present but recently it has become difficult to hold onto the steering wheel. The weather is nice now but if it were in bad weather, this is a DANGEROUS situation. I initially thought it was a flat tire or a broken ball joint or stablizer arm, but it isn't.

- Bay Village, OH, USA

problem #34

Apr 122021

F-250

  • 80,900 miles
Driving my truck at highway speeds trucks steering vibrates violently making it impossible to control. This is known as "the death wobble". mu truck is affected

- Peabody, MA, USA

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