10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,022 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Ford F-250:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #56

Mar 042020

F-250

  • 60,000 miles
Ford F250 with death wobble. I have replaced all front end components $1,700 and new tires $1,200 tiires rebalanced and rotated. 4 times to local dealership but problem still continues. Do I have to die in the vehicle to get someones attention?

- Clinton, TN, USA

problem #55

Mar 032020

F-250

  • 157,000 miles
Severe shaking in front end around 60mph. Truck becomes uncontrollable and very dangerous. "death shudder"

- Monroe, GA, USA

problem #54

Feb 012020

F-250

  • 170,000 miles
When traveling at speeds in excess of 50 mile an hour the vehicle is subject to doing a death wobble when crossing uneven pavement or hitting bumps. The vehicle shakes so violently that it becomes hard to control and has to come to a stop to regain full control. I have this nice truck that I have to avoid interstate travel because of fear of hurting myself or someone else. I have had bearings and track bar replaced, had truck realigned and tires balanced to try to fix the problem with no luck. I'm getting ready to purchase a steering stabilizer to try but I'm running out of options and money to sink in truck but it has to be fixed. After a lot of research and talking to others with similar problem it sounds like Ford needs to step up and have a fix for the problem. They charge premium prices for their products but mine has to set at the house or travel back roads to stay safe. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

- Morganton, NC, USA

problem #53

Dec 232016

F-250

  • 78,000 miles
My truck has the death wobble I brought this issue in several times at this time no one could tell me what the issues was over the years it became worse I fixed some of the issue at my own expense still have issues worried I may die or kill someone else when the wobble occurs

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #52

May 012019

F-250

  • 115,000 miles
Driving vehicle last year both my wife and myself experienced what is now know as 'the death wobble' where the front end begins to shake wildly above approx 60 miles per hour. Made an appointment with my local dealer to inspect/fix the problem and was informed my vehicle was experiencing 'death wobble' (service advisors words)common to F250's. over 1400 dollars worth of repairs were made in June of 2018. Reported symptoms again to my dealer when truck was brought in for normal service. Was advise steering box needed to be replaced within the next year. Our driving habits are to avoid any pot holes or other road anomalies we know about on the highways we drive on because the wobble can still be felt. My plan is to have the steering box replaced this week which will cost over 1000 dollars.

- Greenville, GA, USA

problem #51

Jan 052020

F-250

  • 56,000 miles
Between 55 and 65 mph when you hit a bump in the road the truck begins to shake violently and you almost loose control. The only way to recover control of the vehicle is to slow down to almost a stop. It is called the death wobble. My truck is stock from the factory and only has 56,00O miles on it.

- Bessemer City, NC, USA

problem #50

Jan 012019

F-250

  • 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving above 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly experienced severe vibration in the front suspension after driving over uneven pavement. The failure occurred on several occasions. During the failure the driver was not immediately able to stop the vehicle while the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer paramount Ford of valdese located (101 malcolm blvd, valdese) who replaced all four tires and the steering stabilizer shock and ball joints were replace by the independent mechanic but the failures recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000.

- Morganton, NC, USA

problem #49

Jan 232020

F-250

  • 121,000 miles
Getting the death wobble, have replaced the shocks and damper, not luck. The steering wheel shakes violently sometimes when hit a bump at 60 miles per hour. Its terrible.

- Dallas, NC, USA

problem #48

Oct 032019

F-250

  • 50,000 miles
Currently have 53K miles. Problem rare, started at 10K or less. With our wilthout pickup camper loads: At 60mph or higher when hitting bridge expansion joints or rr tracks (particularly at angles) in which one wheel strikes irregularity first, a violent wheel and steering wheel shake begins. Must immediatly slow vehicle to stop it. Complete loss of vehicle control when active. Total of perhaps 6 occurrences. Currently in shop for investigation. Serious safety issue.

- Missoula, MT, USA

problem #47

Oct 112018

F-250

  • 100,000 miles
We have experienced death wobble on the highway multiple times. This is absolutely a safety hazard and needs to be addressed before someone is killed. Having to slow down rapidly to 30 mph on the interstate is not safe. Our truck is under Ford's extended warranty. First they blamed it on the tires so we had them replaced and that did not fix it. Now, they have replaced the entire front end twice without a resolution. The truck now shakes slightly at all times no matter what speed.

- Eads, TN, USA

problem #46

Sep 132019

F-250

  • 56,000 miles
The front of the vehicle would wobble violently upon hitting a bump or hole in the road at speeds as low as 50 mph. Aggressive breaking was required to maintain control and stop the wobbling.

- Castroville, TX, USA

problem #45

Nov 142019

F-250

  • 92,000 miles
When you are driving down the highway and reach about 50 mph the wheels on the truck shake uncontrollably and it jerks you off the highway almost causing a wreck.

- Afton, OK, USA

problem #44

Nov 012019

F-250

  • 86,700 miles
I was driving about 55 mph on the parkway, a straight road, when all of a sudden my truck started to shake and wobble to the point I almost lost control. This happened twice and I took it to my Ford dealer. They knew what I was talking about and called it the "death wobble". they checked everything in the front suspension but said nothing was wrong. It has done this 4 more times. It is all I can do to control the vehicle and get it stopped. It almost caused me to have an accident. I can not make it happen, it does it when it wants to. My Ford dealer wants me to duplicate it for them.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #43

Nov 022019

F-250

  • 157,000 miles
The first time it happen (last week) I was going down the highway going 55mph (pulling a trailer), clear sky, temp in the 50's. felt a slight shake in the steering wheel and in the floor board. Within seconds is when a extremely violent shaking started. I had to pull onto the shoulder immediately. It happen again this morning going down a different highway about 60mph, clear sky temp 42 outside and it was the worst yet. My entire entire 2012 Ford F-250 was violently shaking to the point it was so sudden and abrupt we couldn't stop fast enough to stop the shaking

- Providence Village, TX, USA

problem #42

Oct 132019

F-250

  • 176,000 miles
While traveling to Oklahoma, I was going 70 mph and hit a bump and experienced a violent shaking and had to slow to 45 too regain control. This was on 10/13/2019. I later learned that this is so common in Ford that it has the nickname ' death wobble"

- Sachse, TX, USA

problem #41

Apr 172019

F-250

  • 65,000 miles
My Ford F-250 Super Duty started what many refer to as the "death wobble" at 65,000 miles. The first instance of this occurred when my 18 year old daughter was driving the truck (with me in the passenger seat) to visit colleges. While traveling at highway speed (78 mph) we went over a concrete to asphalt transition and the entire front end started violently bouncing or wobbling back and forth like a shopping cart wheel would. She obviously panicked and I had to tell her to slow the truck to 25 mph (on a highway) to regain control. We ended up in median as there was total loss of steering control during the event. This particular trip was from houston to lubbock and I drove the remainder of the trip to and from experiencing the same death wobble another 4 times. I tooke the truck in and had replacement parts put in and condition continued. Returned the truck to legacy Ford in rosenberg, tx for fix and they indicated that they could not replicate the problem. Please note that the truck is 100% stock with good Michelin tires. A simple google search will yield hundreds of complaints of this exact problem.

- Richmond, TX, USA

problem #40

Jul 132019

F-250

  • 68,000 miles
While traveling on a freeway at around 65 mph, if I hit any minor bump or uneven surface during a sweeping curve, the whole front of the truck and steering wheel shakes violently until I pull to the side of the road. This is commonly referred to as the "death wobble". this has happened multiple times.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #39

May 232019

F-250

  • 126,000 miles
My 2012 F-250 has 126,000 miles on it and I have been experiencing a steering vibration at about 50-55 mph while driving over bumps and rough roads. About a week ago I was coming down a mountain highway and drove over some rough areas in the road at about 50 mph and the truck started vibrating and shaking violently. I had little control and almost went off the side of of the highway which has about a 2000 foot drop. I didn't think I would be able to stop but got it slowed down and the vibration went away. I have never been so scared. The past few days I have been reading online about Ford's F-250 "death wobble". I am certain this is what I experienced and have checked the front suspension and found no obvious problem. With as many complaints I have read about this issue I'm surprised there has not been any talk of a recall. I am a retired ase certified master tech dealership technician and from what I have read the main problem is the trac bar & ball joint wearing prematurely and not enough positive caster which is non adjustable for this model. I can see these components possibly causing this issue. Please do something before someone S killed!

- Mira Loma, CA, USA

problem #38

Apr 252019

F-250

  • 143,000 miles
At approx 60 to 75 mph upon hitting uneven payment or bumps in road the front wheels start an uncontrollable wobble, steering wheel shakes so bad can keep hands on to steer and no steering is possible, if brakes applied only gets worst, must coast down to a stop, U cannot steer. I replace all shocks and steering dampener, still had wobble after wards. Fords answer is to carry weight in the rear, and not to drive above 60 mph. This is unsat. I have been advised the caster setting which is not adjustable is only 1 degree forward and needs to be 3 degrees forward. Ford says this makes it harder to turn in a parking lot. Please help Ford do am recall before someone gets killed. In all 8 of my wobbles three I came across the center lane before I could stop and the others off road in the ditch.

- Goldthwaite, TX, USA

problem #37

Mar 182019

F-250

  • 155,000 miles
Experiencing a severe front end shimmy, also known as the death wobble. I've replaced tires and almost all front end components. This has been going on since I bought the truck used, and no one can seem to cure it. Happens whenever I hit a small bump on the highway and is extremely dangerous as the truck must be brought to a complete stop to end the wobble

- Palm Coast, FL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »