Clock spring frayed and uncoiled. Unknown steering issue till clockspring checked. Airbag inflator is unoperational. Current clockspring recall for Ford does not cover this vehicle. Widen your recall. Most owners would believe it to be a power steering issue with pump and fluid, like we did.
2008 Ford F-250 steering problems
80 complaints (41% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 77,000. 5 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 80
- of this car's complaints
- 41%
- typical mileage
- 77,000
- crashes
- 5
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Hydraulic power assist: pump1
- Gear box (other than rack and pinion)1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Ford F-250 steering problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Ford F-250 steering
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Alleged Loss of Steering
The Office of DefectsInvestigation (ODI) opened PE13-014 after identifying five complaints alleging steering gear failure in model year (MY) 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pick-up trucks and to evaluate the relationship between the design history of the steering gear assembly and the alleged defect.As background, ODI investigated steering gear sector shaft fractures in approximately 1.3 million MY 1999 - 2001 Ford Super Duty pick-up trucks and MY 2000 - 2001 Ford Excursion sport utility vehicles in Engineering Analysis EA01-009.The investigation determined that the sector shaft failures were the result of extraordinary, possibly multiple, impacts and not the result of fatigue.No defect in design, manufacturing or materials was identified in the sector shaft.EA01-009 was closed August 19, 2003 with 169 complaints, resulting in a rate of 12.9 incidents per 100,000 vehicles after approximately one year of service.Ford increased the diameter of the sector shaft from 1.375 inches to 1.625 inches at the start of MY 2005 production, increasing the resistance of the steering gear assembly to torsional overload by approximately 48% and changing the failure mode from sector shaft fracture to cracked or broken sector shaft gear teeth.The redesigned steering gear assembly was used in approximately 1.1 million MY 2005 through 2009 Ford Super Duty pick-up trucks, including the subject vehicles.Figure 1 shows the basic steering system design used in Ford Super Duty trucks investigated in EA01-009 and PE13-014. Figure 2 shows the locations of failures resulting from impact related torsional overloading of the sector shaft for the subject vehicles and the prior generation Ford Super Duty trucks investigated in EA01-009.Figure 3 shows an example of a failed sector shaft investigated in EA01-009 and comparisons of fracture surfaces of sector shafts failing from fatigue loading and from torsional overload.Ford provided field return part analysis of failed steering gears from MY 2005 through 2009 Super Duty trucks found evidence of broken sector shaft gear teeth and piston damage consistent with incidents of single event overload (Figure 4).Laboratory analysis found no evidence of fatigue or material property defects in any of the fractures.Analysis of complaint rates by vehicle build month showed no patterns indicating potential manufacturing quality issues and no difference before and after Ford introduced design changes to the input shaft and sector shaft seals in July 2007 to address potential leak concerns (Figure 5).Analysis of failures by time in service indicates a random failure pattern/distribution, consistent with incidents of impact induced overload (Figure 6). The complaint rate for the subject vehicles after approximately 5 to 6 years, 7.1 incidents per 100,000 vehicles, is lower than the rate observed in EA01-009. Furthermore, similar to the condition investigated in EA01-009, a number of incident records include evidence of impact loads (e.g., curb strikes) and several alleged crashes include incidents in which information suggests that the steering gear failure was most likely a result of crash forces, rather than the cause of the crash.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be reviewed at ww
PE13014
What 2008 Ford F-250 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Death wobble
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH on a bridge, the vehicle drove over potholes and the vehicle experienced the death wobble, causing the steering wheel to shake uncontrollably. The contact firmly gripped the steering wheel and decelerated to 30 MPH to prevent the vehicle from shaking. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that several independent mechanics had previously replaced the tires, control arms, shocks, struts, steering damper, and pitman arm, as well as performed an alignment; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Several times steering has been lost while making a turn. Thusfar accidents have been narrowly avoided. I have worked with the Ford dealer and replaced all major components in 2022. But the problem has started again. Most times the steering wheel is difficult to turn in parking situations; other times the steering wont work at all. I have had to swing wide into the oncoming lane during a turn to make the turn.
Experiencing the ford “death wobble”. Around 50 mph going over small road transition the vehicle start shaking violently and I have no control. The only way to stop it is come close to a dead stop in the middle of a highway.
When decelerating, such as taking an off-ramp, it loses power to the brakes and steering, which makes it unsafe.
I just purchased this beautiful f 250 truck 2008, from the automotive company in chantilly, virginia. I went out on the road and immediately discovered the truck had a major steering problem. It is described as I cannot keep it in the lane I am traveling in because of steering wobble and playing the steering and wanders into incoming traffic. I also checked up underneath and there were loose tie rod brackets and other components that I do not know the names of. It's a real shame when the salesman you purchased it from when I texted this to him will not call or text back, very deceitful.
Bring truck to 60 or above it starts to shake and wobble to the point I can't go highway speeds.. I have only owned this truck for a couple months.
While driving down the interstate our truck started shaking violently and my husband had to stop the truck to get it to stop shaking. This happened twice during our trip.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford f-250. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH, the vehicle started shaking. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to spitzer ford (543 w maple st, hartville, oh 44632) and informed that the track bar, ball joints, tie rod joints and possible steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer also informed the contact that he would be notified in the event there was a recall associated with the VIN for the failure experienced. It was suggested that an extra heavy duty steering damper be installed on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 48,048.
Questions about the 2008 Ford F-250 steering
Does the 2008 Ford F-250 have steering problems?
Owners have filed 80 complaints about the steering of the 2008 Ford F-250, 41% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2008 Ford F-250 steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 77,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Ford F-250 steering?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Ford F-250 have bad steering?
The Ford F-250 model years with the most steering complaints are 2012 (112 complaints), 2011 (102 complaints) and 2008 (80 complaints).
Other 2008 Ford F-250 problems
Suspension 35Engine 34Brakes 19Tires 16Transmission 14Electrical 12Acceleration 8Fuel system 6Airbags 5Body 5Seat belts 4Driver assistance 3Wheels 3Lights 1Visibility 1
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