3.1
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 44,027 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.
Death Wobble in 2011 Ford 350 Super Duty double cab long bed. 1st time happened Oct 29th 2022 heading to Gail TX. Construction on road and went down a bump and it started then. 2nd time & 3rd time (Nov.2022) within a few minutes of each time, going down a road and hit bumps within a couple of miles of each other and did death wobble again. As I have a Down Syndrome daughter and a grandchild still in a back facing child seat, this death wobble is a definite safety issue in transporting them. I am currently waiting on a mechanic to look at it. Have not yet had time to take to Ford dealer in town closest to me.
- Lovington, NM, USA
My low mileage 2011 F350 has what has been called a "DEATH SHAKE". If while driving at highway speeds I hit a bump the wrong way the front wheels seem to go in non-parallel directions, causing the vehicle to bounce from side to side. During this time there is no control or steering possible. The goal is simply to hang on and not get thrown from the seat. (The bouncing from side to side has destroyed my relatively new shocks.) Braking hard to slow the vehicle will eventually realign the wheels and allow me to regain control. This has been happening for over a year. In September 2021 I paid over $2,500 to Capital Ford, Hillsborough, NC for the problem to be repaired. They replaced a rod and ball joint in the front end, aligned the front wheels, and told me the problem was fixed. I still have the problem. I am very surprised, and apparently lucky, that I have not been involved in a major accident or run off the road into something while my truck was bouncing from side to side and I had no control. (I have ended up off the road but have been lucky enough to have not hit anyone.) When this happens, vehicles around me get as far from me as they can as it is quite clear something very dangerous is happening. My wife's internet search turned up many F350s with EXACTLY the same problem. This is where I learned this was called a "death shake". Her search also showed that Ford does not seem to know what to do about the problem, as they have no standard fix for the repair and many "fixed vehicles" still exhibit the death shake. At this stage I don't know what to do with the vehicle. Its book value is over $20,000, yet I don't dare sell the vehicle as it may kill someone. I clearly can't afford to junk it. Ford apparently doesn't know how to fix it. It's that or Ford isn't willing to admit this is a major design flaw and is unwilling to incur the cost of a recall. My only hope at this stage, is for the NHTSA to order Ford to recall and fix the F350 front ends.
- Hillsborough, NC, USA
On 5/8/21, while driving at approximatly55-60 mph, I hit a pothole on hwy231 South (4 lane) and the front end of my 2011 F350 truck started to shake violently and became hard to steer. I had to almost stop before it quit shaking. I was afraid we (wife & I) were going to loose control and hit another vehicle. I took it to a repair shop and after inspection, they told me there was a problem only a Ford dealer could fix. The shop had seen this before and Ford refused to tell them what parts were needed to do that fix. On 5/12/21, I took the truck to tallassee automotive Ford dealer for repair. After inspection, they said they knew the problem and could fix it for $1100 (or $11?? something. I was flabbergasted at the amount, but had to have it fixed and agreed. They oredered parts and called two days later to come pick it up. Upon arrival, they said my bill was $1450. I complained loudly that they told me $1100 something. After consultation between someone I did not see, they agreed to discount it by $300. Later someone told me they had heard of this Ford problem and I should look it up online. I did and found stories about something called the "death wabble." My purpose for this complaint is to add my voice to the group of pepople who have had a similar experience and may require Ford Motor Company to take responsibility for their obvious design flaw that could cause injuries or death to unknowing people. As for the repairs, it seems they replaced everything between the two front wheels and the steering column. Not being a mechanic, I do not know what caused this or what was really necessary to fix it. No symptoms before this incident indicated there was anything wrong with my truck. There were no warnings or events that could have made me check out any problem like this situation. I have not contacted Ford Motor Co., the police, or insurance company. Looking on the internet, it is apparent Ford is aware of thiis problem and claims no responsibility.
- Wetumpka, AL, USA
When the truck reaches speeds over 60 mph, the vehicle will go into an uncontrollable shake, the death wobble. The driver looses partial control and has to fight to keep the truck in a single lane for safety until the truck speed gets under 45 mph. There is no warning for the wobble. We have checked the alignment, the tires, the tie rods, the suspension and steering, brakes and bearings and all are in mechanical order. We drive on a highway daily with traffic speeds from 60-75mph. I do not have photos, but we do have a short video of it happening.
- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
My Super Duty is doing a death wobble which is violent shaking in the truck it only happens on the highway and there is no warning to when it happens and doesn't happen all the time my friend has 90 of those trucks and more than half of his are doing it Ford replaced everything in the front end and he drove 5 miles and it started to do it again Ford has no idea how to fix the problem and it's happening to the whole line of super dutys I have almost killed myself and other people because of this problem I don't know what else to do Ford is going to take it in and see what they find but I am not confident that they will be able to fix it my truck is stock with 68K mileage 2nd owner every service has been done at the same dealership they either need to do a recall or give me another truck because I have called everyone been to multiple dealerships and each one told me that it was a different problem in the front end the truck is still under warranty this first started in June and has happened every time I get on the highway at least once so I stopped driving on the highway because someone is going to get killed and because Ford won't acknowledge that there is a problem the warranty won't cover it if you send me a way to send you a video of this I will Ford headquarters is going to try and get this fixed or possibly buy back the truck but it is paid for and I don't want a truck payment so I would only accept something like a new truck or more than what it is worth which is 40000
- Wayland, MA, USA
Driving about 60 mph on new highway, steering wheel started rocking violently just about lost control, steering wheel whipped so hard the spoke on the steering wheel hit and hurt my thumb. Took truck to dealer who found everything within Ford acceptable specifications. Dealer said wear was found recommended replacing all moving parts in front suspension plus new shocks and tires. $4000
- Babb, MT, USA
Our truck lost all power and quit running while we were traveling on US50 at approx. 55 mph we were towing our 37ft fifth wheel at the time. It was 100+ degrees and we had to wait for over 3 hour for road assistance to arrive. Our truck is a 2011 with only 42,215 miles on it. Ford doesn't know exactly what caused this to happen, but needed to replace "dpf" pressure sensor & filter and all egt sensors. This was very dangerous for us. Our truck gave no warning and our truck has been maintained for all routine services and recalls, no assistance offer from factory. We purchased this truck because Ford stated that this diesel engine was reliable and dependable. I question how something like this could happen with absolutely no warning. Thank goodness we are all safe. My husband, me and our dog. Truck has been repaired $$$ big dollars to repair. Ford needs to make a recall on this item, step up this is a safety issue.
- Fairfield, CA, USA
- Greenwood, LA, USA