What is the “death wobble” on Ford trucks? It’s as scary as the name sounds. The death wobble is a violent shaking that happens to the front end of many Ford F250 and F350 Super Duty trucks. It typically occurs at speeds over 50 miles per hour. It can also happen after going over bumps or grooves in the road. To stop the shaking, drivers must quickly slow way down or even stop completely.
2013 Ford F-250 steering problems
37 complaints (39% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 121,000.
- owner complaints
- 37
- of this car's complaints
- 39%
- typical mileage
- 121,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
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 2013 Ford F-250 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Truck has uncontrollable death wobble and is totally unsafe to drive, its a danger to be on the highway
While driving my truck it will suddenly start shaking in the front end. Steering wheel is hard to hold on to because it's shaking so hard. I was going around 60mph when it started. Felt like I was losing control of the truck. This has happened 3 times in the last 2 months. I have contacted Lance Cunningham Ford here in Knoxville, TN on 2/5/24 and made an appt with them on [XXX] to look at my truck. In a disabled veteran and this really caused some major anxiety with me and Ford needs to make it right. Death wobble as it's known as isn't safe. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Driving more than 70 MPH the truck started to move suddenly and I could not control it until I got off the road, until I was unable to control the truck by reducing the speed to 20 MPH
The steering wheel shakes violently at speeds of 50-55 mph. The vehicle drives without any issues then without any warning or warning lights the vehicle starts shaking to the point you lose steering control and must immediately slow down until the shaking stops. This vehicle is available for inspection if needed. The safety of myself as well as others is due to the loss of steering at higher speeds and the need to immediately slow down. When this occurs it is often in highway traffic. This vehicle has been inspected and new shocks and steering damper as well as new tires were installed. The problem still exist.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 70-75 MPH and driving over a bump in the roadway, the vehicle experienced the death wobble. The contact stated that the steering wheel and the entire vehicle were shuddering violently, almost causing loss in control of the vehicle. The contact decelerated to 45 MPH and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics, where the front end of the vehicle, the wheel alignment, and other unknown parts were inspected; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving on bumpy road surfaces. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.
Ford 2013 F250 Death Wobble, it is real! It is scary! It is unpredictable and extremely dangerous. Something in the design of the front end needs to be fixed ASAP. My latest experience with this happened on 7/13/23. The worst death wobble that I have ever experienced happened today on the freeway at full speed (65mph). The first time today, my truck started to violently shake, prompting me to immediately slow down from 65mph to about 30-40mph during my morning commute to work/in traffic. Then, again a minute later, but this time it was seven worst! The death wobble started again at full speed and the front end started shaking uncontrollably and drifted my vehicle from the number 2 lane into the number 1 lane with other cars doing same speed. This violent shaking caught the attention of the other drivers and everyone slowed down, so I could make it into side of the road. 65mph to 30 in just seconds and crossing into another lane.This could have killed someone, including myself and my family. No, not inspected yet. No messages.
My wife and I were traveling on interstate and hit a rough section of road outside Nashville when the truck started to shake uncontrollably, and we nearly hit the center concrete barrier. We had to completely stop before the violent shaking stopped. The next day the same thing happened on another rough section on the interstate. We had cars on both sides of us so could not immediately move to the road shoulder and had to slow down in middle of interstate to stop the violent shaking and nearly hit a car. I am surprise we did not get hit by someone rear ending us due to having to stop in middle of interstate with traffic traveling 70 MPH. I have been reading up on what happened, and people are calling this abnormal sustained wheel oscillation or death shake. I want to make sure this is incident is logged and reviewed as someone will end up getting killed due to this issue if happening on other F250 Trucks.
As I was driving down the interstate at about 75 mph I encountered a worn out area in the road that I could not avoid due to traffic. The truck immediately began shaking violently and I was horrified. I thought I had perhaps had a tire blowout, and immediately pulled onto the shoulder to inspect. Realizing my tires looked OK, I got my wits about me and began driving again. To my surprise, the truck behaved as if nothing had happened. I drove the truck for another year with no issues until about 2 months ago when it happened again two different times, once going about 70 mph and the other at about 62mph. I was finally able to get the truck to a shop where repairs were made to the tune of > $1200.00. I thought I could breathe easier now driving it, but it happened again last week. It is a terrifying experience, and I can hardly wait to get rid of this death trap.
Repeating death wobble. Have replace all suspension and steering parts 3 times and the wobble returns.
Questions about the 2013 Ford F-250 steering
Does the 2013 Ford F-250 have steering problems?
Owners have filed 37 complaints about the steering of the 2013 Ford F-250, 39% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2013 Ford F-250 steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 121,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2013 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 2013 Ford F-250 problems
Suspension 48Engine 10Fuel system 9Wheels 8Body 5Acceleration 3Airbags 3Brakes 3Driver assistance 3Lights 3Seat belts 3Electrical 2Visibility 2Seats 1Tires 1Transmission 1
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