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.
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.
- New Market, AL, USA
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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.
While driving over 50mph the steering wheel and front end of truck violently shakes, unable to steer or control vehicle until you either completely stop or slow down immediately which most times is dangerous due to driving on the highway. In addition, it seems more prevalent when there is the least of bumps in the road that triggers the event. This has happened at least 10 times since we travel. The truck has fairly low mileage, around 37k but this issue has happened more the past 2 yrs. We primarily use the truck to tow a large 5th wheel camper therefore having a load behind you adds tremendous challenges and DANGER! This is NOT a wheel balance or front end parts wear issue but a design fault of some sort by Ford. There desperately needs to be a solution or recall forced upon Ford to remedy the situation immediately.
While driving down parkway on 10/22/2022 at about 1530 hours at about 74 miles per hour the steering wheel started severely shaking uncontrollably after hitting a bump in the road. I immediately started slowing down and finally came to a complete stop. If someone had been in the other lane I-??m sure we would have wrecked. It has been reported to the dealer. The dealer was already aware of this same problem with other Ford F-250s. He referred to it as the -??Death Wobble-??.
In August of 2022, I took my 2017 F-250 King Ranch to the Ford dealer to get it looked at/inspected for previous death wobble occurrences. The dealer replaced, under warranty, pretty much all of the steering items that may affect the wobble. October 4th, 2022; I was traveling during fall break with my wife and three kids on the highway at approximately 60-65 mph while pulling our 34' 5th wheel over a rough patch on Interstate 20 in Texas. The truck started shaking uncontrollably from the front end and after slowing below 50 mph, the shaking stopped. This same issue occurred 5 more times over the course of our camping trip. The truck has 43,000 miles on it, and we mostly use it to pull our 5th wheel. I had warned my wife about this but not the kids since they are younger; When the first instance happened, all three of my children started freaking out and thought we were going to crash and/or die because it was shaking so violently. It was unnerving as a father because we are supposed to keep our family safe, and my kids count on me to do this! The rest of the vacation they were constantly worried that it was going to happen again and put us in further danger or others on the road in great danger. I will be contacting my local Ford dealer again to look into this problem. It is sad that someone will have to die from this before something is done"!?!"
At roughly 50mph while on a left hand curve over slightly uneven pavement the front end of the truck started shuddering and bouncing with loss of control in the steering such that only after significant braking could I regain control of the truck and realized I was in the next lane over to the right. Vehicle was brought to Ford dealer and they replaced a stabilizer bar that had a "dead spot" in it. While the problem is slightly better, it is by no means resolved. Waiting for a call back from the service manager of the dealership after being told today that the repair they had done was all that Ford was willing to do. Vehicle is still under warranty. Purchased 2017 vehicle in march of 2021 with 17,500 miles on it. It now (September, 2022) has 25,000 miles on it.
I hit a bump in the road and the steering wheel started shaking uncontrollably, to the point I had to stop. When I looked under the vehicle I saw the steering dampener broke off
Truck is in the shop for sixth time for death wobble. Front end vibrating at speeds over 60mph. Something you have to bring the truck to a stop on highway to stop shaking.
Ford Death Wobble. The vehicle violently shakes when it hits a bump in the road and only stops if you slow the vehicle or stop completely. You nearly lose control of the wheel. A steering damper was placed on the vehicle as advised by Ford and the problem has not resolved. It has only continued to get worse. The vehicle has had regular maintenance per the Ford warranty plan purchased with the vehicle. Ford should have a recall on all vehicles reported with this problem.
When driving over uneven pavement or really bumpy roads, the front end of my truck shakes uncontrollably and I have to slow down really quickly or come to a complete stop in order for it to stop. It really freaked me out the first time it happened and now it's happening more frequently and I don't know what to do about it. I'm seeing that I'm not alone in this issue and if Ford knows about the issue and complaints, then they need to do something about this before I or someone really gets hurt.
Death wobble when driving more than 50 MPH when crossing a seam or expansion joint on the roadway, less than 18,000 miles on the truck, used like a car, not a work truck. Became worse over time, becoming violent shaking with the slightest bump. My wife was afraid to drive the truck. Had to slow to less than 45 mph whenever approaching a bridge, etc. The Ford dealership took two years to come up with available part to make the repair. Less than 45,000 miles and feels like it is starting again.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Helotes, TX, USA