While driving at freeway speeds (typically above 50mph) the vehicle will have extended steering oscillation (violent shaking of the steering wheel) after going over normal expansion joints in the roadway and other roadway bumps. It is impossible to control the vehicle steering when oscillations start. Sometimes the only thing that stops the oscillations is slowing, and leaving the freeway. No warning messages or lamps appear. When brought to dealership for repair, was told to contact manufacturer customer service.
2009 Ford F-250 steering problems
32 complaints (59% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 68,000.
- owner complaints
- 32
- of this car's complaints
- 59%
- typical mileage
- 68,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Gear box (other than rack and pinion)1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford F-250 steering problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2009 Ford F-250 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Driving and suddenly the entire vehicle will start to shake until slow or near complete stop. I think it’s called a death wobble
Death Wobble. Hit a dip in the road steering wheel and whole truck Shakes out of control until you slow WAY down or stop.
I was driving down a city street and my 2009 f250 started to violently shake and I could barely control the steering wheel, it was like I had blown all 4 tires or the suspension had fallen apart. I was talking to my sister on the car speaker when it happened and she could even hear the shaking and started yelling to make sure I had not wrecked my vehicle. I pulled over in a parking lot and everything looked fine, all tires in tact, suspension still on the vehicle. This has happened 3 more times while driving on a city street and also once on a packed interstate. I called a ford dealer and they acknowledged this was known as the "death wobble" but would need to charge me $120 to diagnose the issue. This is not only scary but also very dangerous and could cause injury or even death. I checked google and see lawsuits and ford acknowledge the issue but no recalls and I would have to pay the repairs and save my receipts! Ford needs to fix this! That is too big of a vehicle to have this kind of known issue and no recall to repair!
When driving speed between 35 and 40 MPH, the steering starts wobbling back and forth. Have to slow down and pull over. Road is a 4 lane straight street. Has happened twice. Truck as 43,000 miles. Taking to a mechanic today for assistance in diagnoses. Looked up on the internet and this seems to be a common issue with this model. Having the stabilizers checked.
I have had multiple episode of death wobble. I have had the front end suspension rebuilt twice and have had the problem return, mechanics say its the worse they have ever seen. I've had to replace body mounts because they were destroyed by the violent wobble. This happens at speeds over 45 miles an hour and only stops when slowed down to about 35 miles an hour, which is very dangerous on the interstate
While driving on a highway at 65-70 miles per hour, if your front tires hit a small bump, especially on curves, the pickup front end wil go into an uncontollable wobble and you must immediately hit your brakes to get it to come to an almost dead stop before it will quit. You can end up in the other lane or cause the person following you to rearend you or end up in the ditch. So far, we have been lucky when this has happened as we live in a farming area and not heavily populated but are afraid to haul cattle to sale with this pickup which is what we need it for. This started around at around 88,000 miles on speedometer. We have reseached this and talled to others and found it is called the "death wobble".
Track bar failing. Causing 'death wobble' while driving at highway speeds during braking and when hitting small bumps
While in motion, this vehicle has had violent shaking at highway speeds 60-70mph and at low speeds of 30-40mph. The steering wheel violently shakes from side to side along with the entire truck shaking violently. It nearly caused an accident twice while traveling on the highway with very light load in the bed (approximately 110lbs). This has been coined the "death wobble" from other f-250 owners that have experienced this issues as well. It seems that hitting a bump causes issues within the suspension and steering.
My truck going highway speeds has had numerous issues with death wobble. If you don't know what that is it's where the truck starts shaking violently and the only way to control it is to cone to a complete stop which in the middle of the highway is very dangerous. This has happened many times with me and my family in the truck.
Questions about the 2009 Ford F-250 steering
Does the 2009 Ford F-250 have steering problems?
Owners have filed 32 complaints about the steering of the 2009 Ford F-250, 59% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2009 Ford F-250 steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 68,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2009 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 2009 Ford F-250 problems
Suspension 28Engine 7Wheels 6Tires 4Fuel system 2Transmission 2Visibility 2Acceleration 1Driver assistance 1Electrical 1
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