4.0
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 30,454 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
While traveling freeway speed, hitting a bump on the road causes an uncontrollable shake in the front end and causes the truck to go towards the left, that only goes away after hitting the brakes and slowing down 10-15 mph. A representative from Ford calls it the "death wobble." I had the truck into Ford before the warranty expired and they replaced a steering stabilizer shock, but the problem never went away totally. Ford confirmed the problem, and diagnosed it as track bar ball joint worn, excessive play, shimmy shock worn. The dealer is aware of the defect in their trucks, but refused to take responsibility for it and said it's just because the parts were worn out. They didn't say anything about any parts being worn when they replaced the steering shock, less than 10000 miles before. Vehicle was unsafe to drive with the "death wobble." Ken garff Ford was willing to pay for the oem parts to be replaced, and now the death wobble is gone. However, Ford has known about this problem for 15 years and refuses to take responsibility for the defect.
- West Valley City, UT, USA
Ford calls it a death wobble they say it's a common problem. Sad when dealership tells you that. Steering stabilizer several other parts will need to be bought to repair this problem. Wobble out of control on the highway can't understand how they can have such unsafe parts that could kill several people. Sad!
- Carbon Hill, IL, USA
I am experiencing a profound "death wobble" in the front end. When driving on the highway and going over uneven pavement, an uncontrollable death wobble occurs and the whole front end shakes violently (causing the tires to skip on the pavement surface-loosing traction) and this "rhythm" cannot be controlled until the speed is brought below 25 miles an hour. This is especially dangerous in a curve in the road. It would be easy to loose control and crash into something/someone! everything on my truck is factory stock. The tires are good and I have made no modifications to the suspension. The dealer acknowledges the problem and wants me to replace good parts at my expense which does not fix the problem. This seems like a definite design flaw. There are many aftermarket parts available that claim to fix the problem. I do not want to put them on because I don't want to give Ford a reason to blame the problem on the aftermarket parts. This seems to be happening to many other people and looks like a serious safety issue!
- Yoe, PA, USA
My Ford F-350 has experienced the death wobble at speeds from 50-75 mph, it's random and doesn't show any warning signs, it is extremely scary and unnerving to experience. Hitting the brakes makes it violently uncontrollable. My truck has been to the dealership twice for this repair. It has been returned to me in worse shape then before I took it in. I have done tons of research and have found this is a very common problem with all F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 trucks and there should be a recall issued! this death wobble is going to get someone killed it, if it hasn't already. I own 3 Ford Super Duty trucks so far 2 of them have experienced this uncontrollable situation and my 2019 F-550 is showing the same signs as my other 2 trucks before they actually death wobbled. Ford knows of this issue and so does the NHTSA. Please do research and an investigation so this can be taken care of for all Super Duty owners! or stay away from these trucks if you are a consumer. They have replaced my track bar, steering stabilizer shock and some sort of slugs which I have never heard of. So we will see when I get it back this time if it's any better.
- Keenesburg, CO, USA
My 2016 F 350 has the death wobble took it to dealership they repaired the alignment stabilizer arm and let me go and got on the interstate10 headed to houston got speed up 75 mph and hit bump and almost lost control of the truck,18 wheeler almost run me over; it scared so bad I have a pacemaker I thought I was having a heart attack!!
- Houston, TX, USA
Hit a bump at 55 mph on highway and the front end began to violently wobble/shimmy. Vehicle is uncontrollable until slowing to minimal speed. Vehicle was taken to the dealership at 38K miles and told there was nothing wrong, keep tire pressure monitored constantly. Monitored pressure and vehicle began repeating this phenomenon at 58K. Paid $3169.63 for repairs however, violent episodes continued. 100K miles the truck repeats the violent behavior 3-4 times daily. Dealership has indicated that Ford is aware of the problem but does not have a fix.
- Parkville, MO, USA
There is an uncontrollable shaking at 60 miles an hour or higher, after investigation it seems that there are hundreds of cases, the shaking has been called " the death wobble" dealerships don't seem to know whats going on and Ford not giving any good solutions. This cant be seen with pictures there is hundreds of videos in youtube about this issue.
- Longview, TX, USA
While in motion at highway speeds, traveling in a straight line, the vehicle shakes violently to the point of almost losing control. The shaking begins when the vehicle drives over a seam, bump, or hole in the road when at highway speeds. It causes the steering wheel to whip back and forth at a high rate of speed almost like a motorcycle when the handle bars whip back and forth (tank slapper). It is not always in the same place on the highway and does not always occur at the same time or place and speed. It can catch a driver off guard and has to be fought to gain control of the vehicle due to the violent nature of the steering wheel. The phenomenon is known by the manufacturer as the "death wobble" and they have a tsb for the problem, but are failing to take responsibility for the issue and are passing the cost to repair on to the consumers. This is a safety issue and can cause loss of control of the vehicle if the shake is severe enough. I took my truck in and they replaced the steering stabilizer. This did not fix the problem. It occurred again on the highway while traveling at highway speed, again in a straight line. Braking does not stop the violent shaking. The shake only stops after the vehicle has slowed considerably. This is a widely documented issue on the internet and several people have video evidence of the issue. It is not related to only this year vehicle. Ford has a severe suspension issue which must be corrected by the manufacturer. Recall and repair.
- Jackson, TN, USA
I experienced death wobble while driving approximately 70mph after hitting a rough patch of straight road on the highway. Extremely violently shaking! I ended up in the shoulder of the road. I could not control the truck until I got to a near complete stop. There was a total loss of control. Miraculously avoided a wreck on the highway.
- Pueblo, CO, USA
2016 Ford F350 powerstroke (29,947 miles), while traveling down smooth interstate pulling 5th wheel camper when speedometer gets to 61mph the steering wheel begins to vibrate. When speed is 62-63mph the entire truck begins to violently bounce causing near loss of control. The "wobble" was so severe while reducing speeds the truck was bouncing all over the highway lanes, fortunately tractor trailer drivers were alert and immediately slowed down which allowed us to regain control of the combination. Appears speeds less than 61mph the steering is better with less vibration. After dropping off the 5th wheel again we approached 60 mph with some vibration noted. When 62mph was reached again the steering violently began wobbling as it bounced the truck extremely hard on the pavement. It should be noted the highways used were in very good condition with no visible or noticeable defects.
- Manteno, IL, USA
October 8, 2018 at 3:45 pm heading North bound on us highway 55 at mile marker 191.8 towing a fifth wheel rv, hit rough pavement which caused uncontrollable oscillation of the steering wheel and violent shaking of the entire vehicle. You must slow the vehicle to under under 10 miles an hour to regain control. This same type of situation happen on August 4, 2018, which I returned the vehicle to the Ford dealer who stated they could not find anything wrong, because they could not duplicate the issue.
- Columbia, IL, USA
Uncontrollable steering after driving over expansion joints on the highways or rough roads or streets. Once you drive over these areas, the steering wheel begins to violently shake to the left then the right. The truck is shaking violently and makes it difficult to control the vehicle. You must slow down to almost a stop to stop the violent shaking and regain control of your truck. This has happen two times in a row and I went straight to the Ford dealer who replaced parts. On the second time this happen, I had to cut between the highway workers back blocking truck and the highway workers repairing the road because I could not control the vehicle at the highway speed. It has happen again and the truck is back in at the Ford dealer.
- Columbia, IL, USA
Vehicle bounces very dangerously causing vehicle to swerve into other lane. Pot holes shake vehicle into other lanes. Brakes do not hold well during shaking. Myself inside shake very heavily as well feeling like a bobble head. Steering becomes very difficult while shaking. It is so bad speaking is difficult during the shake. This happens at any speed above 55mph. This occurs most on highways but also on city streets.
- Tujunga, CA, USA
While driving at 60 to 70 miles per hour you get a slight shimmy in the back end. As you progress the shake gets worse. The Ford shop where I live has a rush in rush out work ethic, they don't listen to the one paying the bills. I have tried several shops to find the problem, no results.
- Meridian, MS, USA
- Moab, UT, USA