I have difficulty maintaining control of my 2016 Ford F-250 (purchased in 2019) after hitting any bumps going highway speeds, and is notably worse if this happens during any non-straight sections of highway. Commonly referred to as the "death wobble," it does truly feel like the front end of my truck no longer has traction with the road and I am unable to steer the truck safely until the "wobble" resolves, typically once I reduce my vehicle speed under 40mph. There have been instances when I have hit a bump on the highway while the highway is curving to the left or right and my truck will skitter into the next outside lane without my control and have luckily avoided crash/injury. When I am towing my camper (31' 5th wheel), the issue seems to be deflected back to the trailer so I hit a bump and the front end movement gets transferred to the back so I have my trailer whipping back and forth until I reduce my travel speed. I have brought this issue to the attention of more than one Ford dealership and have had my vehicle inspected. I have had the steering damper replaced twice without resolution. One dealership noted a tire arm with "some play" which I chose to have replaced without any significant change in this issue. This dealership did acknowledge there was some steering/control issues with the truck prior to the part being replaced. They also recommended I replace my tires to reduce this issue, which I did, and have not noticed a change either. I maintenance my vehicle as recommended and this issue has been ongoing since 2021. At no point has any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms appeared for this issue. My traction control light doesn't even illuminate when I have lost control of my vehicle and moved into another lane involuntarily.
2016 Ford F-250 SD steering complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 118, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Upon hitting small road bump while accelerating to highway speed, steering wheel started violently shaking (death wobble), had to decelerate quickly to regain control. Upon later inspection found steering damper bad and some resulting ball joint play in several areas due to bad steering damper.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was stiff and made rattling sounds while making a turn. The air bag warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the horn, cruise control, phone, and radio buttons on the steering wheel were inoperable. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that parts were expected to become available in the third quarter of 2023. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
A notice of recall was received July 2022 by my family with the following numbers: Safety Recall Notice 22S35 / the federal safety agency Recall 22V337. I called the federal safety agency today to follow up on this notice, which in July 2022 I was told by Parsons Ford the fix was not available as of yet. [XXX] with the federal safety agency gave me a number to Ford's customer care hotline. Ford contacted Malloy Ford in Winchester VA which is suppose to call us when an actionable fix is available. They have no clue when that will be so I contacted the federal safety agency again today which now says there is no recall on my vehicle. So are we driving a vehicle that could potentially kill us or not. Why would the recall disappear within hours of talking to the federal safety agency & Ford? INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
When I drove over 50mph and hit any bump the front of the truck shakes wildly. Online says DEATH WOBBLE. This has been going on for 4 months. When taking my children to school 20+ miles away on the highway this has happened several times to and from school on the same day. Other vehicles move out of my line to avoid me while I slow the truck to under 45 mph. They are scared and nervous about getting to school safely. My mother and wife refuse to drive the truck after experiencing this while driving. The fuel injector now also has a problem. The truck is going in to be serviced for the failing fuel injector and death wobble hopefully today if Waldorf MD Ford has openings I am awaiting a call back. It has not been inspected yet only diagnostic at AutoZone showing the fuel injector error code. No warning was given prior to this happening, the truck was riding smoothly, hit a bump in the highway and went crazy. Then it did it again and again and again.
I was experiencing what is known as the "death wobble" in my 2016 Ford F250 FX4 truck. The truck only has 56,000 miles but is out of warranty. I recently spent $1326.00 to have the problem repaired. Apparently this is a major problem with these trucks. I have the repair bill but didn't include it with this statement.
Entered a highway on-ramp, accelerating to 65-70 mph, drove over a rough patch of road and truck front end began to shake violently(death wobble) we were very lucky to be able to slow down without being involved in an accident. I spent $5000 this past summer that was suppose to have fixed this problem.
On a highway, 65-70 mph, drove over a rough patch of road and truck front end began to shake violently(death wobble). Happened three times on same day, same trip. On all occasions we were very lucky to be able to stop or slow down without being involved in an accident. I spent $5000 this past summer that was suppose to have fixed the problem.
Truck was driving 70 mph going to TN when it started shaking and grinding or awful noise. Lost control of steering d/t shaking. Slowed down and pulled over to side of road to check vehicle equipment. Made call to my son who said it's the death wobble, advised to slow below 60 mph. No death wobble again unless I hit a bump then it started again.
At highway speed on Interstate-95, I hit a rough patch of asphalt paving and front end of vehicle began to shake uncontrollably. Vehicle continued to shake violently until speed was significantly reduced below the flow of traffic thus creating an extremely dangerous situation. All 4 shocks and steering stabilizer were replace with upgraded Bilstein brand products bya Ford master mechanic within the last 6 months.
Violently shaking can not control truck, I’ve looked this up and it is known as the death wobble. It looks like they have recalled /027 but not 2016 models what can be done about this. It has happened about 6 times in 3 days
There was a violent shaking from the front end od my Ford F250 Super Duty trucks happening on the freeway while driving over 50 miles and hour. This has happended 3 times in the last 6 months. It is very dangerous and causes other vehicles around to try and get out of the way. It only stops after reducing to a dangerously low speed on the freeway. It is very scary and life threatening in my opinion. Please recall and correct!
At speed on interstate after hitting bumps in the roadway front end started to wobble bad. Had to slow down below 45mph to get wobble to stop.
Ford sent me a recall #22S35 regarding a clock spring contamination of the steering wheel date (5/2022) notice beginning in 6/2022 to have it repaired by making an appt with a local dealer however, the dealer service advisors at Tustin Ford in Ca told me in multiple calls to them that Ford does not have the parts built yet. Please advise John J. Rochefort (949) 285-7171 [email protected]
The airbag light is on as the spring in the steering column has become contaminated which caused audible cracking sounds in steering column, degrading steering and the horn not to function.
I have had multiple repairs done and several components replaced and im still fighting a death wobble issue. It occurs at normal opersting speeds above 40mph when you travel across bumpy surfaces.
Death wobble occurred this morning for the first time ever. It was terrifying for me and my children. I had to slam on the brakes so hard that I nearly slid off the road! The fact that Ford doesn’t acknowledge this is ridiculous. I hope and pray that this does not occur with my children in the vehicle, or while I’m hauling my horses.
violent shaking from front end at moderate highway speed experienced when bumps road or when driving on groved surfaces. problem confirmed by ford mechanic and repaired at my expense. Approximately one year later same violent shake. same ford dealer replaced parts originally repaired by them. from time to time a less severe shake has been noted. Have repair invoices. concerned this problem will result one day in loss of vehicle control.
Traveling on uneven road leads to uncontrollable driving when u hit a bump the front end shakes to the point you have to stop even when passing a vehicle on interstates ( my incident) my mechanic has changed numerous parts , rotated tires ( installed 06 21) i cannot let my wife drive this truck for fear of her not being able to control the shaking if she hits a bump especially while on the interstate I just think she would freak out I did the first time now I am very cautious when driving but in Louisiana it is impossible to miss a bump
While driving on a highway I went over a bump in the road and the vehicle started shaking violently and I could not control it. I applied the brakes and slowed to about 30 mph and the shaking stopped. No other motorists were involved.
the front end started the death wobble and i lost control and ended up in the dirt in the center divider of the freeway.
On 08/01/2022 at approximately 1400 hours, I was driving my 2016 Ford F250 4x4 and towing a 5th wheel trailer weighing approximately 14000 lbs. I was traveling at approximately 60 MPH when I hit a small bump on I-215 which caused a violent shaking from the front end of the vehicle (condition commonly referred to as "death wobble"). I immediately released the accelerator to try and correct the violent shake, but the condition continued. I attempted to brake, which caused the condition to worsen and brake efficiency was greatly reduced. Allowing the vehicle to coast and slow down without brake input was the only way to correct the condition. Once we slowed to below 45 MPH, the condition was no longer present. I inspected the front end suspension and steering components of the vehicle. I discovered the ball joint (Ford Part# MCF-2225) securing the track bar to the front axle was warn and had excessive play in it. This play allowed the front axle to have lateral movement perpendicular to the vehicles travel. All other suspension and steering components checked okay. After replacement of the track bar ball joint, the condition has not reoccured. The defective ball joint is available for inspection, however it fell apart when pressed out of the front axle. This issue caused a severe reduction in steering and braking, putting myself and those around me at risk. As the truck is no longer in warranty, it has not been seen by the dealer or a third party. There was no warning prior to the condition occurring.
While driving south on interstate 59, I crossed over a bridge and when I went across the bridge to highway connection and it had a bump in it at this point and at 65 mph the front end went into a violet shimmy and with cars on both sides of me it was all I could do to keep from colliding with the other cars before I could get the truck stopped and off the road. I have inspected all the front ball joints and wheel bearings, can't determine what caused it, but now I'm scared to drive it.
The front-end of vehicle begins to violently shake after crossing over a rough spot in road or driving over grooves in road. The only way to stop the violent shake is to extremely slow or stop the vehicle.
Writing about the so called "death wobble" of the steering wheel. It happens over 50 mph and when hitting even smallest pot hole or a bump.
My truck regular experiences violent shakes when I hit bumps in the road when traveling over 45MPH. I was on a bridge today and had to slow traffic to less than 30mph to control the shakes. The last 4 times I have entered the freeway at a specific entrance I have experienced the violent shakes, requiring me to enter the emergency lane to gain control.
My vehicle violently shakes when hitting even the most minute bump in the road, known to some as the "death wobble." I took it to the dealership to inspect and Ford will not fix it, unless I pay. It is a safety issue and in the last month, I've had four instances where I have stopped traffic behind me while the truck was shaking and it literally bounced its way into another lane. I am a service member and I'm pretty sure if I am injured, the military will sue Ford for the hospital bill. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by Ford. There are no warning lights or warning before it occurs, other than I know to drive real slow and not hit bumps. It cannot be trusted on the highway, so I avoid it now. The first time it happened was in 2021 and I've talked to Ford since, but there is no safety recall.
On approximately 26 May 2022 I was driving down an entrance ramp to I-77 and the front end of the truck started shaking very severely -- violently. This was without any warning and I had never experienced anything like this before on this vehicle, or any other vehicle I had ever driven. I took my foot off the gas and pretty much coasted to the side of the road to a stop. I caught my breath, suspected there was an issue with the shock absorber, and slowly accelerated again and merged onto the interstate and drove the rest of the way home. There were no more similar instances like this for several days. When I got back to my RV I check the shock and could see no problems. On 5 June I went to a local Firestone Service Center for an alignment check and to see if they could find a problem. They made minor corrections to the alignment; told me they could find not problems, even though they told me the tech said there was a lot of vibration at about 55 MPH when he took it for a test drive; and then advised me to take it to a Ford dealer for review. On my drive back to my RV I experienced about 4 more instances of very severe and violent front end shaking of the truck, typically when I was at 55 MPH or faster. In each case the shaking would not stop until I pulled over and came to a stop. On Monday, 6 June I visited two Ford dealerships and one independent repair shop to try and get an analysis and fix. I have been able to make an appointment for 8 June. During the drive back to my RV on the 6th I experienced 3 more vibration events. One of these was as I was decelerating and exiting the interstate and was traveling at about 45 MPH. This front end vibration shakes the front end of the truck and steering wheels extremely bad. I was able to maintain control but it would not take much to send the truck into a sideways skid. From what the Firestone tech told me I believe they were able to confirm the vibration issue, but they did not communicate the severity very well.
The truck has the death wobble. I had dealer balance driveshaft 2x, as well as, the dealer adjusted the alignment again... The truck is still experiencing sustained steering wheel oscillation and I am again experiencing the death wobble, less than 1,000 miles after the most recent repair. It is very unfortunate that consumers purchase 50k+ dollar trucks and so many people are nervous driving them down the road. Ford keeps the montra up of such as the following: continuous improvement. Review the data, the data will tell the story. Change points. Root cause and permanent countermeasures. I have reviewed the historical f250 crew cab 4x4 complaint data on this site (the federal safety agency) and the data does tell a story. That story is very clear that ford is not continuously improving the death wobble issue on the super duty, instead it has gotten worse. There has been a change point with this fourth generation f250. (2017,2018,2019) as of 11/21/19 the fourth generation f250 super duty has had more the federal safety agency suspension and steering complaints for the death wobble than the previous two generations combined. (9 years. Second generation 2008-2010 and third generation 2011-2016) the current repairs (countermeasures) are not effective and are not permanent. This can clearly be seen in the descriptions of the complaints on the federal safety agency. The repairs either do not fix the problem at all or are only a temporarily band aid for the issue. This is truly a safety concern and to date nothing has been implemented to correct the issue. Please, open an investigation and force ford to permanently address the issue.
When driving my 2016 Ford F250 Diesel at 70MPH I hit a bridge transition on Interstate 24. It had a bumpy transition between the road and bridge itself. The trucks front end started shaking violently and the steering wheel was difficult to control from shaking side to side. At first I thought that I blew a tire or that one of my front wheels was about to come off. I hit the brakes to try and get the shaking to stop to no avail. I had to slow down to about 20 mph before the shaking stopped. In the meantime there was a semi behind me that almost rear ended me and had to swerve violently to avoid rear ending me because I had braked unexpectedly. The road conditions were wet with moderate rain and 60 degrees F. I continued driving and it happened 3 other times in the same trip. Two of the other times happened at a rough bridge transition and once was when I hit a pothole at highway speed. Because the truck is a heavy duty truck, I often pull a trailer loaded with granite (up to 26000 lbs GVW. That Day I was carrying a 9500 lb forklift on the trailer transferring it to a jobsite which made bringing the truck slowing down even more dangerous. The next day I called the Ford Dealership to tell them of the problem and the service writer said "oh, you got the Death Wobble". That sounds horrifying in and of itself. I asked him if Ford takes care of this and he said "no, I don't see any recalls on it." This is something that Ford absolutely should take care of. I don't know what causes it, but it is terrifying when it happens and I feel lucky that that 80,000 lb semi didn't devour the back of my trailer and truck. I have scheduled a service appointment to look at the problem but I have little confidence after reading about this issue online that Ford will take any responsibility for this issue. I feel that this is something Ford should be FORCED to fix. Sincerely CONCERNED/SCARED
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2016 Ford F-250 SD?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history