I purchased a new ford f250 truck, VIN 1ftnx20l33e, on april 17, 2003, from elkhorn motors in elkhorn, wi. On october 24, 2004, at around 45,000 miles, I rotated the tires front to back in wisconsin before a trip to florida. After this tire rotation, I noticed a tendency for the steering wheel to oscillate when I stepped on the brakes. I assumed it was related to tires and planned to replace them on my return. I picked up a 5th wheel in florida and started back on november 2. The oscillation in the steering wheel was much worse, seemingly aggravated by the change in cg with the trailer attached. Hard braking at high speeds worsened this condition but I was mostly able to avoid this situation for the trip home. The truck acted completely normal when the brakes were not applied. I replaced both front tires with new ones. I informed my mechanic of my symptoms and asked him to realign the front end if he was unable to find anything else amiss. He found the tie rod end threads worn so much that the adjusting sleeve wobbled inside it even though the bolts were tight. There was also evidence from rust patterns that the adjusting sleeve and tie rod end had been moving in and out. The tie rod and ball joint were replaced at a cost of about $285. The failure of this part presented a serious safety risk. Ford's position is that they are not responsible for this vehicle after the warrantee is over. They did not even ask if the parts were available. (they are.).
2003 Ford F-250 SD steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 15 of 15, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2003 ford f-250. It has severe handling problems. When you pull a trailer with it, the truck drives like the trailer is trying to steer it. If you pass another vehicle, it is almost uncontrollable. The back end starts to sway from side to side, which in turn causes the trailer to whip back and forth. Also during panic stop situations, the truck darts left and right and feels like it is out of control. I have talked to numerous ford dealers. One told me to change the tires and/or tire pressure. I tried from 35 psi to 75 psi in 5 psi changes, it didn't fix the problem. I bought another type of tires. They helped a small amount. Ford has replaced most of the front steering components. This helped for about 2000 miles. The local ford dealer has stated "your truck has handling problems, but there is nothing wrong with your truck". They will not find the problem or replace the parts I feel will fix it. I think the spring packs and suspension bushings are too soft. I know of another ford that had similar problems and ford bought the truck back from the consumer after admitting it had problems they could not fix. My wife refuses to ride in the truck when pulling a trailer or at highway speeds.
Power booster for power steering coolant leaks, blown turbo charger.
On going problems will stall at highway speeds can't pull across intersection loss of power trans will shift or not steering all over road smokes baddly when started
My husband was driving home whien his vehicle veered sharply to the left. At this point he could no longer control the vehicle. He then slammed into a large rock in the side of an eight foot bank. The vehicle then flipped onto its side and slid another 20-30 feet. Our vehicle is a 2003 ford f250 and now has $20,000.00 worth of damage. We tried to discuss this matter with a few of the employees of the ford dealership we initially bought it at. Someone in service told us something definatly didn't look right with the steering. The owner of the dealership then told us we would have a hard time proving that anything was wrong with the vehicle prior to the accident because of the extensive damage that is now done to the vehicle. We also tried discussing this matter with our insurance company. Our insurance adjustor told us that they most likely would not pursue the matter because "no one was critically injured or killed" in the accident. He also told me that he did not even take a look under the truck to see if anything looked out of the ordinary. My husband strongly feels that this accident was not his fault. We have no idea where else to turn for help. Please help us!!
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