Ford F-350 SD shudder problems

Filed Aug 28, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · NV · fire

Wife was driving the truck(I was the passenger) while towing our dump trailer. After approx 100 miles into this trip the dash showed a "Reduced Engine Power Warning", and then shuddered. That was immediately followed by a "Service Engine Soon" warning on the dash, and the truck shut down as we were pulling to the shoulder. I smelled diesel fuel as we slowed to a stop. I got out and saw some smoke coming from under the hood. I looked under the truck and saw burning material falling from underneath, I shouted fire, and my wife exited while I retrieved our dog from the back seat. The cab was filling with smoke. Wife called [XXX] while I retrieved a few more small items from back seat. We stepped back and the truck was fully engulfed in flames in a few minutes. Fire crews were on scene after several more minutes, and by that time the truck was burnt to the ground. This truck was in excellent condition with no prior running issues or warnings of mechanical problems. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 19, 2025 · Transmission · 100,100 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-350 SD. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering abnormally while shifting from second through fourth gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a claim was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 100,100.

Filed Jan 14, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · 192,202 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving 60-63 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder and lost motive power and stopped. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated after the failure. The contact had to abandon the vehicle on the highway due to safety concerns. The vehicle was towed to his place of employment. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel pump had exploded through the fuel system line. The fuel line and engine were contaminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. Additionally, after the failure, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 192,202. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Mar 20, 2024 · Steering · IL

Vehicle steering began shuddering violently while driving at around 50MPH. I had to slow to around 25MPH to get the shuddering to stop. It happened again around 50MPH any time I hit a bump or pothole. At this point the vehicle is unable to be driven at highway speeds.

Filed Dec 13, 2023 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · MA

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission was shifting hard and was slipping. Additionally, the vehicle was shuddering while the transmission was shifting. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a transmission specialist, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Sep 13, 2023 · Steering, Suspension · 87,120 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 55-60 MPH with her in the front passenger's seat, the vehicle was shuddering significantly, and the steering wheel was shuddering back and forth. The driver lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle nearly drove into a ditch. The driver was able to maintain the vehicle on the shoulder of the road and came to a complete stop. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving, and the contact became aware that the failure mostly occurred while exceeding 54 MPH on a bumpy road surface. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the long and short steering drag link, the steering dampener, the track bar ball joint, and bushing needed to be replaced, and the vehicle needed to be realigned. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 87,120.

Filed Jul 19, 2023 · Steering · TX

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble. The contact stated that the steering wheel and the front end of the vehicle was shuddering and rocking uncontrollably, and the vehicle nearly ran off the road. The contact veered to the shoulder of the road. The contact stated that she turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the tie rod was replaced; however, the failure recurred several times while driving 60 MPH. The contact stated that the failure stopped after decelerating to 50 MPH. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Mar 27, 2023 · Tires · 34,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-350 equipped with AMP Tires, Tire Line: Terrain Pro A/TP, Tire Size: P35/12/R24, DOT Number: 04N9MATTW. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle began to shudder. There was no warning light illuminated. As the vibration continued, the contact began to lose control of the vehicle and the vehicle nearly swayed off the road. The contact was able to pull to shoulder of the highway. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact's wife discovered a bulge on the center tread of the front driver's side tire. The contact replaced the tire with a spare tire and drove to the residence. However, the same failure occurred on the front passenger's side tire two weeks later. The contact notified the tire shop who had sold him the tires, and a mechanic was sent to his residence to inspect the tires. The mechanic diagnosed that the failure occurred as both tires' belts popped up. The driver's side tire was replaced but the passenger's tire was not replaced. The tire failure mileage was 9,000. The vehicle failure mileage was 34,000.

Filed Jan 25, 2023 · Driver assistance, Steering · 10,000 miles · NM

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Numbers: 22V880000 (Power Train) and 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was foggy. Additionally, the vehicle was shuddering while driving and the vehicle would hesitate to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The power train warning light was illuminated. A message indicating a steering failure was displayed. The contact related the failure to the recalls. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact also stated that the tailgate of the vehicle would open independently while driving. The contact stated that the failure had been occurring intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Oct 17, 2022 · Steering, Suspension · TN

While traveling at Interstate speed (55-75 MPH), when you hit a certain bump or pothole or road irregularity, the front passenger wheel will begin vibrating which quickly grows in magnitude until the entire engine compartment and cab starts to violently shudder, to the point where all 4 tires begin losing contact with the road surface. The only way to regain control and reduce the harmonics is to apply maximum braking. However, as the truck starts to slow, the shudders will become more violent until finally dampening out appx. 100 yards later at around 40 MPH. Once damped out, the truck will drive smoothly and predictably again at speed until the next bump. As it stands now, I am afraid to drive the truck and my wife refuses to drive it. The big fear is having this happen while in a turn or in heavy traffic where the sudden maximum braking can cause an accident.