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.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the front end was shaking violently after driving over a bump in the roadway. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, who stated that there were no open recalls on the VIN related to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.
The problem is commonly called "DEATH WOBBLE". The steering system enters an extremely violent wobble/shake making control of the vehicle nearly impossible. 2 independent service centers have addressed the issue. The first did repairs, including warranty replacement of a faulty part and the truck still has the "DEATH WOBBLE". The 2nd independent service center made note of the 2nd faulty replacement part (TRACK BAR) and reports "TRACK BAR BUSHING IS MOVING EXCESSIVELY. TRACK BAR SHOULD BE REPLACED." No other physical inspections have been performed. There were no vehicle warning lights due to this issue. There were a few incidences of the "DEATH WOBBLE" prior to my first appointment with an independent service center. That first appointment was approx. 2/19/2024, completed on 2/27/2024. Second time completed on 6/21/2024.
I have had my vehicle inspected and supposedly repaired for the death wobble by two separate ford dealerships (Castle Rock Ford in Castle Rock, CO and Phil Long Ford in Colorado Springs CO). I continue to have safety issues as when I hit pot holes or rough roads, the steering and suspension system shakes the front wheels and steering wheel to the point that I have to come to a full stop. The entire steering system and shocks have been replaced (some parts multiple times) over the past two years. Please assists.
It has been labeled as the death wobble. When driving down the highway at 65-70 mph and I hit a bump, pothole or a washboard effect in the road with the left front wheel. The whole truck will shake violently. So much that I can barely hold on to the steering wheel. The only way to stop the shaking is to slow the truck down to 30-40 mph. In the middle of the highway. I can watch the other vehicles around me scatter and put on their brakes as they try and avoid me. Sometimes it-??s to hard to control and I will waver into another lane or on coming traffic. This happens sporadically and without warning. I have taken the truck to the Ford dealership for $3000 in steering component repairs. I have 60,000 miles on it and it is only used for personal use and never abused. This is a design defect that is going to get someone killed. A heavy duty truck should not have the parts wearing out to such a degree that threatens the lives of everyone on the road around me.
Driving out of state and twice in a three hour period have experienced the death wobble on the interstate, now trying to continue under 50 mph because it is a very scary shaking.
- Sumter, SC, USA
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After we drove over a bumpy section of road the truck experienced uncontrollable shaking. The road conditions were not severe, but were the cause of the shaking. During the immediate aftermath no input was possible apart from taking my foot off the accelerator. The shaking was severe and uncontrolled causing other vehicles in the vicinity to react. It felt like the truck was going to flip over. This has now happened several times since we purchased the truck. We recently had new brakes installed, but that is not the reason for the shaking.
-I was driving 65 mph in morning rush traffic when I drove over an overpass. Near the end of the there are some small wrinkles in the concrete. Once I drove over these wrinkles in the pavement, my steering wheel and front end started violently shaking. I removed my foot from the accelerator and once my speed decreased to I'd say 20-30 mph the shaking stopped. My research show that this if referred to as the Ford Death Wobble. -The system that failed were likely the track bar bushing, damper bracket, ball joints, control arms, shocks, and struts. Yes, the truck is available for inspection upon request. -When the front end of the truck started violently shacking I was going 65 mph in lunch rush hour traffic. I'd say that my life and the life of the drivers of the vehicles to my left, right, and rear were at risk. -No, the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or anyone else. -No, the vehicle or components have not been inspected by anyone. -No, there were not any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, nor did any warning appear during or after the shaking. -My best assessment of the cause
The truck shakes violently after hitting a bump in the road. I have had new Michelin tires installed (by Discount Tires) and balanced twice, and the front end and alignment checked (by Leonard's Truck & Frame Service), both located in Lake City, FL. I think the problem is what is commonly referred to as F250 "Death Wobble".
While driving on the 215 (Southern California) freeway at approximately 70 miles per hour and without warning I experienced a sever wobble in the front end of the truck. it was so bad I had to pull over on the shoulder of the freeway. I was lucky traffic was light and could do this safely. I took the truck to a mechanic that specializes in ford trucks, and he recommended several components be replaced. He stated this is a common problem with Ford F250 and F350 trucks. He mentioned that this was known as the "Death Wobble." The truck has approximately 60 thousand miles on it.
My truck has developed what is colloquially called a death wobble. The truck shakes wildly and aggressively when hitting a bump. It happens most frequently when crossing the transition from roadway to bridge. But it can occure from a bump in the roadway. When it occurs I have no control. I have paid to replace the steering damper That did not alleviate the problem. My truck is a 2016 Ford F-250 Super Duty. This wobble has occurred several times. To date, except for the initial occurrence, this has only occurred on interstate highways at regular highway sppeds depending on the particular state speed limit. The initial event occurred on a state highway in Colorado while negotiaing a sweeping left curve. Thereafter, it has only occurred on interstate highways. Speeds have alwasy been 60mph or above, depending on speed limits and trafic conditions.
The "death wobble" occurred as my wife and I were driving on I-70 at approximately 75 MPH. We were maybe 100 miles west of Salina and fortunately there were not any vehicles around us, but we were forced to immediately pull over to the emergency lane. We just hit a bump and all of a sudden, this violent shaking started to occur. This incident happened around 10:00 am on September 30, 2023.
DEATH WOBBLE! Driving at any speeds from 30 MPH to highway speeds of 65-70 MPH, the front end (front suspension) of the truck will Wobble Uncontrollably in a Vehement and Violent Manner, making driving unsafe with loss of steering after hitting a small bump or dip in the road/highway. The condition is worse when pulling a 30 foot gooseneck trailer. I have replaced the front shocks, steering damper, and rear shocks and to no avail, the Death Wobble still occurs! This is Major Safety Concern and Life Threatening to myself and anyone on the road during the Death Wobble, and seeing the reaction of other drivers in the opposite direction should be cause for concern! My truck is at a dealer now for inspection of the front end suspension system (drag link, track bar, tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, tires, and alignment), to include the engine mounts, which were worn and deteriorating (I noticed this when I was replacing my steering damper) probably from the Death Wobble. The tires were balanced and rotated on September 9th by Discount Tire and the technicians there didn't see any problems with the tires or the wheels. I get my tires balanced and rotated about every 7,500 miles and I keep an accurate vehicle history of my truck.
Death wobble at approximately 60 mph. The truck is absolutely uncontrollable when this occurs. The only way to stop it is to stop the vehicle. This is a known issue with this truck. Will have it evaluated at a shop next week.
Vehicle developed a death wabble at 98,000 miles and is getting worse. hit a bump and started to wobble violently and had to hit brakes and pull to side of road and stop to get to quit wobbling. happened two more times on the way home. thought i was going to loose control of vehicle.
Severe shaking of front end at highway speeds (55-65mph) causing inability to control steering causing immediate reduction in speed to avoid accident and stopping. No warning lamps or messages prior to vehicle shaking. Road was dry and normal conditions. Did not hit any hazard, no potholes, or debris causing damage or explanation as to why truck began to shake. Safety of driver and passengers were at risk due to possible loss of control if continued driving. Problem continued returning to home where vehicle parked approximately 25 miles at 45 mph with no major shaking. This occurred August 6, 2023, at approximately 5:00pm. There was me and one passenger on way to doctor appointment in Tulsa, a 4-hour drive. Did not trust vehicle safety to continue trip. Drove it home and parked. Vehicle is going to be taken to Ford dealership, in Idabel, OK, where purchased and all maintenance has been done. Truck has 33,971.5 miles as sitting now. Not used extensively, highway miles. Will drive to dealership on August 16th, 2023. Leaving it there for them to diagnose and repair the problem. Available to be inspected.
I have difficulty maintaining control of my 2016 Ford F-250 (purchased in 2019) after hitting any bumps going highway speeds, and is notably worse if this happens during any non-straight sections of highway. Commonly referred to as the "death wobble, " it does truly feel like the front end of my truck no longer has traction with the road and I am unable to steer the truck safely until the "wobble" resolves, typically once I reduce my vehicle speed under 40mph. There have been instances when I have hit a bump on the highway while the highway is curving to the left or right and my truck will skitter into the next outside lane without my control and have luckily avoided crash/injury. When I am towing my camper (31' 5th wheel), the issue seems to be deflected back to the trailer so I hit a bump and the front end movement gets transferred to the back so I have my trailer whipping back and forth until I reduce my travel speed. I have brought this issue to the attention of more than one Ford dealership and have had my vehicle inspected. I have had the steering damper replaced twice without resolution. One dealership noted a tire arm with "some play" which I chose to have replaced without any significant change in this issue. This dealership did acknowledge there was some steering/control issues with the truck prior to the part being replaced. They also recommended I replace my tires to reduce this issue, which I did, and have not noticed a change either. I maintenance my vehicle as recommended and this issue has been ongoing since 2021. At no point has any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms appeared for this issue. My traction control light doesn't even illuminate when I have lost control of my vehicle and moved into another lane involuntarily.
Since I purchased this vehicle, it has always had a bad shaking in the steering wheel/front end when I hit a bump at high speeds. I took it to ford in 2019 and they replaced one of the steering components (track bar ball joint) and told me it had resolved the issue. It didn't. I took it back and they said it was a known problem and that there is nothing they can do for me. It is still happening and is getting worse. Ford should be required to resolve this safety issue.
Upon hitting small road bump while accelerating to highway speed, steering wheel started violently shaking (death wobble), had to decelerate quickly to regain control. Upon later inspection found steering damper bad and some resulting ball joint play in several areas due to bad steering damper.
Yesterday (3/20/23), as I was driving on the interstate at about 70 miles per hour, I hit a bump in the road and that caused the truck to go into severe shaking which I later learned has been termed as the "death wobble". I had to pull over to the emergency lane and stop the vehicle in order to get the vehicle under control. Luckily, there were not many vehicles on the road at the time so moving from the middle lane to the emergency lane on the right side was easy to do without causing any disruption to other drivers. I called my mechanic about the situation and he was the one to tell me it was the "death wobble" and it is common in Ford trucks and Jeeps. This was my first time experiencing this "death wobble" and it scared the crap out of me. In the past, I've hit bumps before and the truck felt like it might bounce off the road, but it never continuously shook (and shake violently) like it did yesterday. There was no warning or warning lights or anything like that that came on. As I was going to the emergency lane I did turn on the emergency flashers. I have an appointment with my mechanic to get this looked at in a week. That was the soonest I could get in.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Carleton, MI, USA