The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle started to shake, and the steering wheel seized, with the DEF warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over, and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that there was coolant leaking from the EGR cooler, causing the EGR cooler to fail. The contact was informed that the EGR cooler needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,081.
Ford F-250 steering lock-up problems
14 of the 4,361 owner complaints about the Ford F-250 describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2008 model year.
- owner complaints
- 14
- worst model year
- 2008
- typical mileage
- 105,000
Is there a fix? There are 3 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20141
- 20111
- 20084
- 20061
- 20021
- 20012
- 20002
- 19992
Often reported together
Pulling 1Steering noise 1Power steering loss 1Overheating 1Jerking 1Engine failure 1Brake failure 1Ball joint 1
What owners say
Steering wheel locked up getting off exit when applying brakes, this has happened 4 times.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford f-250. While driving over 60 MPH, the vehicle shook and the steering wheel locked. While the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle shook uncontrollably. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (koons silver spring ford, 3111 automobile blvd, silver spring, md 20904 (301) 890-6100) where it was diagnosed that the ball joint, brake pads, and stabilizer bar needed to be replaced. Also, fluid was leaking on the shocks and the strut needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failures recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 58,100.
Making a left hand turn in my f250 sd , the steering locked and would not straighten out quickly as normal. I had to quickly animal steering back to neutral position barley missing opposite lane traffic. As I straightened the truck out I felt the wheel being pulled to the left and right by itself. I decided to take my hands off the wheel and it darted to the left. I straightened it out and held the wheel fighting the jerking of the wheel. After a couple of miles it seemed to stop. I brought it to my mechanic. He said my front left caliber is sticking. I decided to do a complete brake job. 4 new calibers, rotors, brake hoses etc. Also he aligned the front and checked all steering components. He could not find anything wrong with the steering. I got the truck back and it stopped really good. Unfortunately the following day the steering acted up. My mechanic could not duplicate what I experienced . Knowing that he checked everything, there could only be two items left. Steering pump or steering box. I had the mechanic change the steering pump and flush the steering system. Now after spending a ton of money on all of this I was hoping it would be solved. After the steering pump had been replaced it seemed to drive like new. The next day im driving the truck feeling that the problem is solved when I made a left hand turn, I heard a loud popping noise and felt my steering wheel and column shake. Steering locked again and I had to nail the brakes so I would not collide with the median. I barely got the wheel to straighten out. This time the truck was pulling left to right more defined. I did all I could to keep it straight. Luckily I was only a couple of miles from my house. I could not go over 20mph or I would have lost total control of the truck. I later had the truck towed to my mechanic and he is going to replace the steering box. Lives are at risk.
Takata recall steering lock up and complete brake failure when turning and decelerating. Three occurrences in last 3 months. Last 1-10-2017
My vehicle was being driven out my driveway while making a right turn the steering wheel locked up. Then to the left the same. While sitting still I could turn the steering wheel all the way to the left none stop. Fluid is full. While driving straight steers fine until I turn a little to right or left then it gets tight. I noticed from 2002 to 2006 their were steering problems unsolved.
Slowing down exiting to the left off hi-way after about a half an hour at 70mph. Brake pedal felt like it kicked back, both brakes and steering locked up, slid unto shoulder, then everything released like normal. Brought to dealer, they replaced hyro-booster system and fluids. Issue seemed corrected, exiting right on hwy no issue, however everything locked up again first time exiting left. After 10 days researching issue, dealer assured replacing damper assembly(?) and all four tires would resolve. Issue happened again same day as pickup. Being towed back to dealer for third attempt to correct.
After "shutter" incident (this has occurred since purchased new) vehicle steering would no turn to the left. After repeated attempts a full right turn then fast forced left turn a pop/ crack occurred which then allowed restricted left turn. Steering locked several more times while trying to safely exit the highway.
When the brakes were applied at low speede the power steering locked up which made it difficult to steer vehicle.
When applying brakes steering wheel locks up, causing loss of steering control. Consumer states dealer has not corrected problem. Please provide any further information.
Related recalls
Steering: gear box: shaft sector
- What is wrong
- On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, if the intermediate shaft yoke separates from the steering gear input shaft, the steering system becomes disconnected.
- Risk
- This could result in loss of steering control, potentially resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the steering intermediate shaft yoke to determine if the yoke is fully seated on the steering gear input shaft. If the yoke is fully seated no service is required. If the yoke is not fully seated and bolt groove and spline is visible, the intermediate shaft and bolt will be replaced as well as the bolt at the steering column connection. Owner notification began on may 30, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 03V196000 · Recall details
Steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion)
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: medium duty trucks and chassis-cabs. One or more of the four rivets on the lower steering shaft flex coupling may not have been crimped during the sub-assembly process.
- Risk
- If a rivet is not crimped, the flex joint can rotate on the shaft and there would be a reduction in or loss of steering control.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the lower steering shaft rivets and replace any shafts with uncrimped rivets.
Recall number 98V116000 · Recall details
Steering: steering wheel/handle bar
- What is wrong
- Keys attached to the key ring of an ignition key while it is in the vehicle ignition can become lodged in the steering lock receiver as the steering wheel is being turned.
- Risk
- The lodged keys can cause loss of steering control, whichcan result in an accident when the vehicle is being used on the highway.
- Remedy
- A shield will be positioned between the steering wheel and the ignition switch and held in place by the steering lock band.
Recall number 93V066000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford F-250 steering lock-up
Which Ford F-250 years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2008 (4 complaints), 1999 (2 complaints) and 2000 (2 complaints).
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