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.
Steering, front wheels and suspension violently shakes and becomes almost uncontrollable hitting a bump or pot hole at over fifty to seventy miles an hour. Commonly known as the ford death wobbl
While driving down the road, the dash flashed Hill Assist warning, Advance Trac warning and the steering wheel jerks hard to the right with a lot of pressure causing the vehicle to swerve right, then it does it to the left. Then after a few times of doing this, it stops and all the lights and messages go away. I did not take yet take it to the dealership as I currently do not feel comfortable driving the vehicle. It feels like the vehicle is trying to swerve off the road. In fact, it did it while a Sheriff was right next to me on 04/24/2023.
Uncontrolled shaking of the steering system. Required me to stop on a busy interstate highway. Shaking occurred after driving over a rough patch of highway. Symptoms exactly as described online as Super Duty death wobble
We were merging into traffic on the freeway, going approx 50 when the front-end went into a death wobble. We were forced to slow way down and pull away from traffic. This was extremely stressful and dangerous. From what we have found online, this is a known safety issue with our year superduty truck that FORD is not properly addressing. We do not feel we should have to be paying to fix the parts of the front-end not covered by their small steering damper fix. Our truck has less than 22000 miles on it, should not need new front bearings etc. Feel we are spending money on a vehicle that should have been recalled, this could have killed us or others.
- Boise, ID, USA
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While driving on Interstate steering oscillated left and right very fast. Vehicle was hard to control. Came to a stop on the shoulder of the road to stop the shaking. This is what some call death wobble. Truck had steering dampener replaced for this problem a few years ago. It only has 26,500 miles total.
The truck will shake violently when hitting a bump or dip in the road going speeds of 55MPH or higher. The only way to stop this is to slow down to a near stop. The first time this occurred was around 7000 miles on the truck. Ford replaced a steering dampener and sent me on my way. The issue occurred again at 55000 miles. The dealership said that they do warrant the part, but do not have the part in stock and may never get the part in again due to part shortage. This truck cannot be driven due to the violent shaking that almost caused an accident. Someone is going to get hurt or worse, killed due to this issue and it appears that Ford will not do anything about it. I have a $50,000 paperweight in my driveway.
While driving at highway speeds, the vehicle may encounter a bump in the road that causes the front-end of the vehicle to jump one direction or another and/or shake violently. This causes the steering wheel to shake back and forth violently, requiring two hands and a fair amount of force to control the vehicle. The vehicle will not stop shaking until speed is reduced below 50 mph. The most recent issue was during a 100+ mile interstate trip with speed limit travel (70 mph). The truck experienced this issue on 4 seperate occasions during this trip; twice in moderate traffic where other vehicles around me were at risk of collision due to my vehicle swerving and my sudden braking to maintain control. There are no warning lamps and no other indication when the truck is going to experience the issue. It has repeated regularly at various speeds over 55 mph and under a variety of conditions Local Ford dealer is aware of the issue and offered to replace a steering damper and examined the front suspension for loose or worn parts. Dealer made me aware this was a common problem that Ford is aware of but the only resolution is replacement of the steering damper. Dealer indicated all font suspension components are still in good condition. The part is on backorder and estimated to be a month or more before they can get it. It is my understanding this is not warranty work and I should expect to pay for the labor to install it. My truck only has 25,000 miles and the suspension, wheels, tires, brakes, etc. are all original stock from the manufacturer, there are no after-market parts. The vehicle is available for inspection and no parts have been replaced to date. This vehicle is driven daily and remains a safety concern at highway speeds over 55 mph.
On 6 January 2023, while increasing speed to 55 mph my steering wheel began to vibrate to the point where it was almost uncontrollable and the front end was shaking badly. Vehicle has been in the shop for repair since 12 January 2023 at Henderson Ford dealership in Bay Saint Louis, MS. My safety and others near me on the road was at risk until I could slow the vehicle back down to 45 mph. No symptoms or warnings occurred beforehand. Vehicle was inspected and found to have issues with Drag Link, Stud Right Outer Tie Rod, Adjust Sleeve, and Track Bar. Parts were ordered and repair is ongoing and was supposed to be completed yesterday, 20 January 2023. Vehicle is still in the shop.
Ford death wobble, truck shakes very much after hitting a bump or pot hole It has happened many times in the course of two weeks. Overchristmas while traveling.-??
Front end shakes violently if I hit a bump. Has happened numerous times usually above 50 mph. Only 21,000 thousand miles on vehicle and tires are in fair shape. Was told by a mechanic that it was a common problem on Ford 250 and advised to report the problem. Requires slowing down dramatically to allow to correct.
I received a recall notice a couple of years ago. I had only experienced minor steering issues before November 2022, such as small vibrations after hitting bumps which only lasted a second or two. Still, I went ahead and had several recalls addressed before the mileage limitation were reached. One of the recalls addressed a steering damper. They said it showed that it needed to be replaced under the recall. I had assumed the small vibrations I felt were the issues addressed in the recall. However, within a few weeks of getting the vehicle back I hit a small bump at the transition from an overpass to street level pavement on I-10 at FM 1516. The truck began to shake fairly violently until I lowered my speed to around 40MPH. I pulled off and inspected the tires/steering/bearings and found no major issues. The truck performed as intended upon re-entering the highway. About a month later I hit another small transition somewhere along Highway 47-Northwest of Highway 60 in College Station. The same issue arose where the truck shook violently until I lowered the speed to around 40MPH. I took the truck back to the dealer and they said now nothing was wrong except some worn ball joints. I find that hard to believe that in the 4 years I owned this truck nothing was seriously wrong until I had the recall "repaired". Now I believe the vehicle is less safe and now the dealer wants to charge $700 for what they say is now the issue.
Known problem to later model Ford F250 Sper Duty pickup trucks (2015 to 2019??) experiencing a violent steering wheel oscillation after hitting a minor bump in pavement or a pot hole. aka "death wobble" at highway speeds. This has occurred three times thus far on this truck. This seems to occur at approximately 55 to 65 MPH. The shaking is so bad that the driver could easily loose control. The vehicle problem has been reported before to the Ford dealer and the suggested repair is to "replace the steering damper" if it occurs again. This situation occurs with no advanced warning other than a minor wheel shaking which becomes increasingly violent to the point, in the last instance, the truck had to be stopped in order to clear the problem. As indicated, this truck has been inspected for this problem once already and is scheduled for another inspection this coming Wednesday Jan. 4th, 2023.
As vehicle approaches >60MPH, the steering wheel vibrates violently, and the entire front end of the truck begins to shake and wobble, causing steering to be compromised. This is a serious risk given there could be a loss of control of steering. The only way to eliminate the problem is to slow down or stop the vehicle. But eventually, the problem comes back again. No warning lights come on to alert you of the problem. The problem just develops with no warning whatsoever. This seems to be a known problem. Per research online, this is a known problem for Ford F250s model year 2017-2019. Our model is a 2017. Per online research, and in talking to the Ford Dealer, this is known as the "Death Wobble" and has to do with a failure of the Steering Damper and/or other loose components related to the steering or various joints. There should be an overall recall on this.
On three separate occasions over a two-day period, while driving at highway speed, the steering wheel and front of the truck went into an extremely violent shaking episode nearly causing complete loss of control in heavy traffic. The shaking was only stopped by braking sharply to reduce the speed putting other drivers at risk of a colliding into the rear of the truck. The vehicle has been parked until it can be inspected. After researching the problem, this is a well-documented problem with the make/model of vehicle that has earned the term "death wobble", yet no recall has been issued and no warning from the manufacturer.
The "death wobble" occurred for the second time on December 6th, while traveling on interstate 10 W, about 12 miles west of Pensacola, FL. I had just passed over a bridge connection when the violent shaking of the front end started. I had previously had this issue in 2018 on Highway 45 south, about 15 miles south of Meridian, MS, and returned the vehicle to the dealer and it was supposedly repaired while still under warranty. At present the mileage is not quite 24,000. Fortunately I do not do a lot of highway travel as this appears to be a current unaddressed problem with the Ford F250 Superduty and the F350. This is a very unsafe condition. I feel fortunate that I was able to get the vehicle under control and stopped.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned: Steering Dampner failed causing other issued in steering and front-end suspension failures. You can inspect anytime you want. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" Repetitive failure on these components put me and family at risk and other drivers to the loss of control Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes problem has been reoccurring from 16k mile to present just under 100K miles. Truck has been in the shop multiple times for the same repetitive failure. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, ford has inspected it, independent shops have inspected it, the BBB has inspected it. Ford has told me on more than one occasion to go after market. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Yes, on symptoms; loose steering and uneven wear patterns on the tires, then complete failure of multiple components.
I have a terrible wobble. At 36,000 miles I had this -??fixed-?? under warranty. I now have 54,000 miles and it is terrible and getting dangerous. I know this is an ongoing issue with f250-??s and terribly frustrating to have it -??fixed-??, but not really.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hagerstown , MD, USA