I'm a mechanical engineer. Driving F250 King Ranch, 8 truck bed. It has 20" tires (from Ford dealer). Driving at 55 MPH on slight curve on NC Hwy 74 (four lane). Sudden heavy wobble in front end. Unable to control truck and forced another car off road. Steering was un-controllable. Analysis of the 20 in. wheels suggest mass weight at 50 MPH may exceed the dampening capability of the joints on tie rods or sway bars. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE.. A Lawsuit should initiated for repair of this WOBBLE ISSUE. 18 Inch wheels mass rotational weight does not exceed sway bar CONTAINED conditions.

Please consider reducing tire size and replacing tie rod ball joints to correct this issue immediately

FORD MOTORS should take heed as I don't intend to be killed by this condition. Dealers are aware of this condition but factory not supporting any repairs.

Call me at 828 557 4589 for joining lawsuit. Ron Giersdorf , Andrews NC

DEATH WOBBLE. It is called that for a reason. Ford calls it a slight shimmy. Death Wobble occurs when the truck hits a pothole, or slight bump, bridge expansion joint etc when traveling between 50-70 MPH. After hitting the bump that causes this, the truck starts vibrating extremely bad sending the truck out of control to where you must slam on the brakes to get the speed under 20 MPH for it to stop. Extremely dangerous on the highway. I have almost rolled the truck over slamming on the breaks and getting into the dirt to avoid getting run over by everything coming behind me. This has happened numerous times. I am afraid to drive it long distance.

Ford released a service bulletin type paper that stated this whole thing is due to owners having the tires under inflated. This is exactly the opposite. As a quick fix you have to deflate the tires to 30 PSI or so, this provides extra cushion and shock prevention. Allowing the truck to absorb the shock better and not setting up a chain reaction is the key. I will take any doubters on a drive with me and I can demonstrate what happens. This problem has been checked out by my mechanics at Midas, The say it will cost thousands to fix. I already have started and it has already cost around $2000 so far and it is not done yet.

Ford is responsible for this and needs to come clean before someone is killed. DO NOT BUY A SUPERDUTY F-250 OR F-350 UNTIL THIS IS FIXED. ATTENTION FORD, BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS WHEN SOMEONE DIES.

I noticed a bad shimmy when hitting small bumps or ripples. If you were hard into a turn and you hit a bump, all you could pray for was that no one was coming the other way cause if you hit the brakes the ABS would kick in, leaving you with no control at all. I took it back to the dealer several times and got BS stories. The dealer said that Ford sent them a new set of line up specs. Raised hell and told them after they lined it up (actually before) with new specs, to put new front tires on it and they did. 1000 miles later the same cupping on the tires was happening again and the same shimmy. More BS from dealer, but I got another new set of front tires. This has been an ongoing problem with this truck. 3 new sets of front tires in 10,000 miles. After realizing that it was not going to be fixed, and that this being my first Ford truck , I decided that it would be my last especially 3 years later Ford sent me the most idiotic letter that I could ever imagine. After calling Ford direct and trying to find a resolution I was told that it was a characteristic of the truck and the letter said they realized there was a problem and to fix the shimmy that you were to decelerate and apply a small amount of pressure to the brake and that should take care of it. I guess that would be OK unless you're on the interstate doing 70 MPH with a trailer and an 18 wheeler on your ass. The Transportation Board should make Ford give everyone a 100% refund on these trucks--- but that's a government story and I dont think there is enough room on here for that. I knew I wasn`t dreaming when it came to my complaint and finally found this site. FORD SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR THE SORRY ASS STORIES THEY GAVE TO EVERYONE AND I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER BUY A FORD PRODUCT AGAIN-------GOING BACK TO THE ROCK

On Saturday May 29th 2010 I had my Ford Super Duty F 250 in for repair for violently shaking and losing control(This episode scared me terribly). I brought the truck to Good year right away and had the both front heavy duty shocks replaced(ulap) 315.00 and the steering damper 109.00 right outer tie rod 270.00 adjusting sleeve 31.00 tie rod @ pitman arm 283.00 right rear axle seal 118.00 wheel alignment 99.95 and pressure in tires checked.For a grand total of 1383.79 at a discount because we know the owner.Who takes care of us like his own.I was so happy I called my sister and asked if she would like to go up north to plant flower at our Grandparent's and father's cemetery.We drove the 45 mins drive all highway with out a problem planted flower and took a drive on the back road for old time sakes.We finally decided we would head back on getting on the highway 15 at exit 61 we hit a very small bump at 70 klm and the truck violently shook losing control if i applied the brakes had to hold on for dear life and pray it would stop.Finally the truck regained control when I got home I decided to look up on the internet if there was anyone else with the same problems.....To my surprise there are many this truck is a DEATH TRAP!!!!!!!! Please beware when you are driving this truck there is no warning when it happens all it takes is a small bump on the road and you and your loved ones my not be coming home.Our family could of been planting flowers at our graves Thank God we made it home! NO THANK TO FORD WHO IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Purchased a 2006 Ford F-250 King Ranch, 4x4, quad cab, 6.0 diesel, auto trans. a few months ago. Never really drove on highway much until recently, I drive from NJ to Pittsburgh, PA every weekend (and back). Truck has an out of control front end shimmy...can/'t drive over 55 mph or, if I do and hit a slight bump in the road, the trucks front end shimmies so bad, I can/'t see out the rear view mirrors they vibrate so bad from the front end shaking. The steering wheel takes all I have to keep it in my hands. This has GOT TO BE FIXED, (((NOW!!))) An accident is definate, especially in the snow months!! Damage Resulting = NONE YET!! I have no choice but to drive this truck, I am in the military, serving on active duty and just can/'t go out and buy another vehicle! Ford needs to fix this ASAP. All Toyota had was a bad accelerator pedal and look how quickly they are fixing that!! WAKE UP FORD...THIS WILL NOT GO AWAY UNTIL FIXED!

when i got this truck it had 300 miles now it has 45000 all highway towing a trailer. at first the shaking was bad so i went and bought a rancho stabilizer and 4 new shocks. that fixed it for 3 mounths but now it is back. early this year I got a letter in the mail from ford saying that their has been a problem with trucks shaking but it was normal on a truck with a solid front axle. i have owned 6 trucks including a 97 f450 and a 01 f250 diesel and niether had the problem that i am having. the ball joints all seem ok no play in them the steering seems tight it is driving me crazy you spend over 30,000$ for a truck that shakes so bad you feal like a tire is going to fall off.

Here's the thing, don't buy Ford!!!! My 2006 F-250 was so bad I had to get rid of it. Ford will not help, trust me I know. I have now lost approx. $30,000.00, trading the hoppin piece of poop in on another Ford-F250 2008, between the loss I took on the 06 and all the money I put under it over a years time. Had all the after market stuff you can do beefed up, Fabtec everything, the 4 X 4 shop couldn't figure it out. Now I get a letter from Ford that they know there is a problem and that my 2008 could do the same thing. But quess what, it hasn't been able to because its been in the shop for the past 5 days, and I am back in a rent-a-car (Ford Focus piece of poop) which I am quite use to, since I think I have had about 10 in the past year, this time everything went out doing 60 mph, on a state road the truck just pretty much shut down, transmission, computer went hay wire, they don't know whats wrong with it. Since Ford will do nothing to help and I guess the courts won't make them fess up, someone is going to die in one of their death wobble trucks, I hope its not one of you, but let family and friends know who to sue, when you don't come home. I can't believe that I have taught my daughter how great our country and judicial system is and that she can do anything she wants in life, and now she's asking me why know one will do anything about a truck she would not get in ever, after it did it once with her in it. HOW can a court say they won't take this case, with so many of us out there. I wish the judges wife was driving one.

As to the Hyper Shaking, which is a great way to describe the problem. I have owned a few ford trucks. This is my first F205 Super Duty, as I got a larger Trailer. The problem happened at about 65-70 then was taking to Galpen Service for repair. They could not find the problem. It happened again and they replaced the steering dampener. it helped, but it came back. The problem is traced to the front axle. It is a design flaw that binds when the truck hits a bump at the right speed. It is awe full to drive when pulling a load. it also happens empty too. I am taking it back to Galpen and addressing the issue as the Axle needing to be replaced. The truck has a new suspension and lift kit with heavy duty rancho shocks. Helps a little, but not a cure. Anyone with concerns please feel free to email me at douglas at depalmamotorsports dot com. I will post the results of my next service.

Glad I got the extended warranty.

Douglas

After reading the complaints listed I see that several other people have the same problem I am having. I was driving at 60mph and came to bump in the roadway. When I drove over it I almost lost control of the vehicle into the oncoming traffic lane. The veh. pulled hard to the left and had I not had a good grip on the wheel I would have it an oncoming veh. head on. The problem has been with the veh for a good while but it now seems to be getting worse. I have had other F250's and never had a suspension problem like this. It reminds me of older cars that when shocks or suspension wore out the car would shake and pull if you would go over a rough area and you would have to slow down to regain control. I'm sure Ford is aware of the problem but because of their financial situation they could care less. They better do something soon before there is a fatality providing there hasn't been one already.

Previously when the truck bed was empty we have had mild episodes of shaking, which would resolve itself without braking. However, today we had an earth-shattering hyper-shake, which we wouldn't subside. We had a small load of fencing in the bed and were rounding a curve on rough pavement at about 50 mph. The shaking in the front end was so bad that the brakes didn't even seem to slow the truck down and we had serious steering control problems. Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic, but the Toyota truck which had been tailgating us dropped back about 20 car lengths after our violent shaking and skipping episode of approximately 20 seconds. We are going to pursue this issue with Ford and our local dealer and will update our profile if we get any satisfaction on this issue.

I have an 06 f 250 super duty super cab xlt with an 8 foot bed.Ive had issues with EXTREME highway shaking. When it happens to me I'm usually going over 60 mph, and it happens when I hit a bump in the road, to me it feels like it is coming from the back end of the vehicle,like the wheels are now bouncing instead of rolling,the shaking is extremely violent,and I have to slow down to apx. 40 or less mph to make it go away.Sometimes it would last almost a full 30 seconds,but I never seem to have any steering issues,the vehicle is still in my control,but maybe thats because my instinct is to just go straight and slow down.In any case, I've had 2 people witness this while in the truck with me at different times and both of them turned white with fear,this is not just a little shimmy,like an unbalanced tire or something, it is a major design flaw and Ford better do something about it!

I just had the same problem with my F-250. Driving in fast lane on the freeway next to a semi. Semi was a little close and I moved over and started to run over those ribbed markers on the road (the ones that make noise when the tires run on them). Well that was at about 65-70 mph when all of a sudden the truck started to shake violently. Enough that I almost couldn't hold the wheel. Well with wife and kids (and me) hanging on, I was about to sideswipe the semi and just as luck would have it there was an exit on the left and I took it. As soon as I started to slow down to a stop and got off the highway and checked to see that everyone was ok, I looked the truck expecting to see a blow out. All tires were fine and everything else looked fine as well. This is one that Ford will fix or they can take this death trap back! If you have any information on this please feel free to e-mail me at scfedor@yahoo.com Good Luck

We noticed this shake between 40 and 45 miles an hour, took it in approximately 5 times with Ford claiming to never even notice the shake. Finally they admitted to it shaking and replaced something in the steering. This did not fix the problem at all. I let it go for a while because of all the other problems I've had with this truck. The shaking has gotten worst, and now it is starting to shake between 50 and 55 mph. If you hit a bump while braking at the speed of the shake it is scary and uncontrollable. It will bounce you over into another lane a bit. I have begun to feel unsafe. This is a bunch of BULL! I believe Ford is very aware of this problem, but will not confess. We purchased a 99 chevy brand new off the lot and never had any of these problems. I'm sorry but this truck is a total piece of you know what. It's a little sour if you know what I mean.

My f-250 has 8000 miles on it and is the worst highway truck or vehicle I have ever driven. In my 750,000 miles of driving nothing was ever like today on I-287 in ny and nj. I've had the hop down for awhile. it's a bouncy truck I thought.. Holy ----! I thought when the shake happened it was the end of the truck and myself. Once was on a bumpy curve , I stopped somehow took a deep breath and got out to see if the wheels were still attached to the truck. I drove another 100 miles and on my way up I-287 in NJ (awesome road one of the best and smoothest I've been on) all of a sudden I'm out of control and the truck feels like re-entry into the atmosphere and it will break up in a million pieces. Going to Ford in the AM this is way to scary....

The latest news regarding my 2006 Ford F-250 Super Duty's is that a beefier, heavier duty aftermarket Monroe steering dampener has not solved my "hyper-shake" problem. My trucks continue to experience this extreme side to side and up and down shaking at normal highway speeds, which leads to a loss of steering control until speed is decreased to 40-45 mph. If anyone has experienced this problem with their truck or has any information regarding factory or aftermarket solutions, please post your thoughts. Thanks.