3.1
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 44,160 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford econoline E-350 sd. The contact was driving approximately 15 mph and making a turn when a loud noise emitted outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the front driver's side upper and lower ball joints. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.
- Medfield, MA, USA
I was have problems with the front end of my vehicle, I brought the vehicle to my mechanic to investigate the problems. He inspected the control arms, ball joints and rebalanced the tires. He basically didn't do anything to change the problem. The following day I was driving the van to work and noticed the front end getting worse. I then called into the shop to make another appointment. When I was driving to the mechanic the van steering went and the van became uncontrollable, since I was only a few miles away I managed to get it to the shop. After further investigation by the mechanic he told me that the steering box was bad and indicated it was very unusual for a 2008 with only 60,000 miles. I told him to fix the vehicle and when he went to the parts dealer to pick up a new steering box they indicated they are selling allot of these over the past couple of years. When he remove the steering box from our vehicle for further investigation he noticed that the failure was a fractured mechanical part. Which means it was a catastrophic failure, usually a steer box will get loose due to wearing components and eventually fail...this broke!!! he asked me to check will Ford to see if this steering box in 2008 E350 vans is a recall item, which it wasn't. he told me if this failure was at highway speeds it would have resulted in an accident and may have been fatality. I looked for recall information and found nothing, I'm now reaching out via the NHTSA to highlight this issue in hopes that they can alert people and bring it to the attention of the manufacturer. I also wouldn't mind some pay back for the $1,200 bill I received from our mechanic.
- Brighton, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2008 Ford E-350. The contact stated while driving various speeds, the vehicle continuously made a clanking sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ball joints and center steering shaft broke; as a result, both components need to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 48,000. Updated 07/06/12 updated 07/12/12
- Lockport , NY, USA
The steering on this van is very "loose" causing it to wander and require constant correction at all speeds. At normal highway speeds, hitting any bumps causes the back of the vehicle to skip or shift requiring significant steering correction and causing the vehicle to be very unstable. Mechanical inspection reveals no failure with any parts. (shame on Ford for this vehicle)
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
There has been no crash to date. The complaint is related to the poor driving performance of 2008 Ford F350 12 passenger vans. The steering control is very poor and may cause accidents. There is so much "slop" in the steering that you can feel the vehicle sway back and forth while driving. In some cases, at higher freeway speeds, the van starts to fishtail (like a travel trailer with too much weight in the back). We have asked our local Ford dealership to look at the problem, but, the steering is still bad. I have owned many Ford vehicles and have never encountered this type of problem before.
- Temecula, CA, USA
- Evensville, TN, USA