Ford F-350 SD pulling problems

Filed Jul 15, 2024 · Driver assistance · NJ

Within the first 200 miles of ownership i noticed the truck pulls right and is difficult to steer left with the lane assist control switched off. The dealership i bought it from has replaced the electric motor which controls the lane assist and has performed 2 alignments. The dealership stated Ford instructed them to change the steering motor, the condition still exists. The dealership then stated other trucks on their lot act the same way and according to Ford if more then 2 trucks act this way it is a condition of the truck's design. I have request a Ford engineer update the software on the truck because older models do not act this way. I am concerned the situation can worsen and the truck can drive off the road or the electric motor will over heat from trying to correct all the time. The truck has been at the dealership since 6/28/2024.

Filed Jul 13, 2024 · Driver assistance, Steering · FL

It is hard to explain to people and some people might not fully understand what they are even feeling if they are not in tune to how the steering system works normally vs with some type of assist. I don't use the lane keeping assist (button on steering wheel) because it is not comfortable for me where the truck wants to be in relation to the lane. But even with lane keep assist off i could feel different amounts of "intervention" occurring. First i described it as the input force required to turn the steering wheel either direction was different. Like it would be super easy to turn right but took lots of effort to turn left. So my dealer also replaced the steering assist motor. Then i felt like the issue just inverted and was easy to turn left but hard to turn right. But as i have already put almost 7,000 miles on it i have become more in tune to what is happening. It is most affected on roads with a high crown and it is attempting to counteract the crown in the road but is not quick with making adjustments so if you are in the far left lane with a crown to the left and you change lanes to the center lane with no crown it will have a heavy pull to the right for about 30 seconds or more then can sometimes level itself back out but it is super tiring to drive this truck on the road for long periods of time. But yesterday i had a breakthrough. I went into the center radio screen under the Driver Assistance, In Pre-Collision Assist and turned off the Evasive Steering Assist. BAM FIXED There is no pulling or pushing and the input force required to turn left and right is equal. So this did at least confirm the issue is some level of intervention is happening that should not be.

Filed May 14, 2023 · Steering · VA

Ford F-350 SWR, long bed, King Ranch. Purchase date: 6/20/2022, new. Problem with this truck is steering wander. While traveling extra attention has to be given to the location of the truck. Take your eyes off the road for a second and it's scary. You are assured you will be in a different location than expected, either off the road or on the wrong side of the yellow line. I pray I don't hit a pedestrian or cross over the yellow line into another vehicle. Since 2011 I have purchased 2 F150's, 1 F250, 3 F350's. None of the previous models and only the 2022 F350 had this characteristic. The wander was confirmed by a supervisor of the Surry County paramedics. He was referring to a F450. This is unsafe to drive. It should not be difficult to fix, just make them like the older models. It's ironic but the alarm came on saying i needed a coffee break. There are many cost saving implementations on this truck which may be ok but not this one. This problem has been taken to the selling dealer but they said could not fine a problem, but the toe-in was increased.

Filed Dec 9, 2022 · Steering, Suspension · TX

Repeated “death wobble” where the steering components oscillate rapidly left and right causing a lack of steering control. One repair attempted. Later occurrence and another repair. A third event, this time while pulling a 14,000 pound 5th wheel trailer. At about 63 mph the wobble started. I braked, the truck pulled left and I could not maintain my lane. An 18-wheeler behind me moved to the left lane due to my braking and we almost collided due to my not being able to steer. I did get it under control to get back in my lane and avoid the collision. This has been worked on by two different dealers and is about to be looked at again by the original dealer. Almost every front-end component has already been replaced.

Filed Aug 20, 2021 · GA

Going 55 MPH down a two lane country road hit a washboard patch of roadway, front end of truck shook violently and loss of steering control and truck pulled to the left into oncoming traffic. Upon reduction of speed shaking ceased and was able to regain control of vehicle. The very next day on the very same patch of roadway exact same incident occurred with the truck. Three days later on a different roadway and going about the same speed 55 MPH, the truck violently shook, lost steering and proper braking ability. The truck pulled hard to the left into oncoming traffic and I was not able to regain control until the truck slowed to approx 15 MPH. This last incident was about three times worse than the first from a loss of control standpoint. Luckily in all three incidents no one was approaching in the oncoming lane. Very dangerous! I returned the vehicle to my local Ford dealer, they inspected and stated they could not find any worn parts such as ball joints etc but they did replace the front steering stabilizer under warranty, my truck only has 30,000 miles. Doing some online research I see this is a common problem for Ford Superduty trucks 2017 and newer. It is known as the "death wobble" aptly named as I am sure someopne has lost their life and/or being seriously injured from this defect.

Filed Dec 4, 2019 · Steering, Suspension · 15,000 miles · CA

On dec 2, 2019 I was driving my 2019 ford f-350 (with 15,000mi) on insterstate 505 at approximately 65-70mph while overtaking a tractor-trailer. With no obvious cause, the front wheels / steering of the vehicle began shaking uncontrollably. I assumed there was some sort of major wheel damage or blowout of a tire and tried to pull over. The vehicle was very hard to steer and I did not have adequate speed to get safely past the semi, so I slowed down in the fast lane and pulled to the right behind the semi. Once stopped I inspected the vehicle and was surprised to find no obvious damage. I resumed driving without any apparent issue. About 45mi further down the road the exact same issue happened again at 65mph. This time there were no vehicles nearby on the highway so I slowed below 30mph and the vibration stopped. I accelerated back to 65mph without the vibration issue and continued my trip home. The intensity of these vibrations is very extreme and the vehicle is almost uncontrollable when they are happenening. There is no way to avoid or anticipate that they will happen, and the only remedy is to slow or stop the vehicle immediately, which is extremely dangerous to do in a freeway environment when the steering is barely working. My vehicle is using original, unmodified stock tires, wheels, and suspension components and is ovf relatively low mileage (15,000mi).

Filed Nov 6, 2019 · Suspension · 15,000 miles · AZ

I started to hear a clunking in the front end of my 2017 f350 when going over bumps (low speed and high speed). I took it in to the dealer and the said I had excessive play in my tie rod ends, so they replaced them along with a lower control arm. About a week later, I started hearing the noise again and when I would go over bumps in the road, even at low speed, the truck would want to wander. I took it in a second time and they found the anti sway bar had excessive play, so they replaced that. I asked why a new 1 ton truck would already need front suspension components replaced and they said they didn't know. The truck did drive better for awhile, but shortly after I started hearing the noise again. I had to get the oil change, so I asked them to check on it while it was in there. They said they did the oil change but couldn't check the noise complaint because they didn't have time. They did however do another 42 point inspection and said everything was ok. I brought it in about a week later because the noise was still there. They told me that they couldn't replicate the problem, but the tech said it could be coming from the rear leaf pack because, "sometimes the trucks come from the factory with the rear leaf springs lubricated and they aren't supposed to be", so he sprayed degreaser on them and they couldn't hear any noise anymore. I asked why the factory would do that, and again, they had no answer. I drove it with the service manager (around the corner) and of course it didn't make the noise. I took it home hoping the problem was solved, but I soon realized that the truck still makes the clunking noise when going over bumps, even backing in my driveway and it still wanders, even pulling into one direction when I go over bumps/transitions on the road/highway at low and higher speeds. I have made a complaint to ford and will be contacting a lemon law attorney.

Filed Oct 17, 2018 · Brakes, Steering · 10,000 miles · AZ

My 2017 ford f350 has now experienced three events referred to as "death wobble" or shimmy which causes severe shaking of the entire truck and especially the steering wheel. First event in bakersfield calif where I hit consecutive bumps in the freeway while traveling 65 MPH. Had to slow to less than 40 MPH to get it to stop. Second event was towing my 5th wheel down a 6% grade into verde valley arizona. Heavy braking caused the same death wobble in addition to the truck pulling to the right. Speed was 65 MPH. Third event was leaving mccarren airport in las vegas nevada where hitting a freeway bridge transition caused the death wobble again. Truck has been to local ford dealership. Alignment checked ok, tracking bar torque ok, wheels ok, ball joints ok. Brake hose did not pass pressure test and was replaced under warranty. Dealership cannot find cause. I sincerely believe this is a design issue or oem parts installed at factory were defective at time of installation. This is my fourth superduty 4x4 supercrew. My other three never had this issue. In investigating this issue I found two automotive related websites where 35 plus late model superduty owners complained about this same problem.

Filed Aug 16, 2017 · Tires, Wheels · 28,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford f-350 sd equipped with b.f. Goodrich rigid trail t/a (na) tires, size: lt 245/75r17. While the contact's son was driving 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently pulled to the right without warning. Upon inspecting the tires the next morning, the contact discovered that the front passenger tire was flat. The contact stated that the spare tire was placed on the front passenger side of the vehicle and the original tire was taken to be water tested for leaks, but none were found. There was also a crack in the rim. The vehicle and tire were taken to keystone ford (301 walker rd, chambersburg, pa 17201 (717) 264-5104) for inspection and diagnostic testing. The dealer informed the contact to take pictures of the tire to send to the ford manufacturer to determine if the would replace the rim and tire. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle failure mileage was approximately 28,000 and tire failure mileage was 8,000.

Filed Aug 14, 2017 · Tires · 32,000 miles · VA

Purchased new federal 35-12.5r20 couragia mt tire, wheels TPMS mounted and balanced installed on 2016 f-350 with 19340 miles at first we had a lot of trouble with the TPMS the dealer said that they sometimes don't work and to just ignore the light. I knew that was wrong and kept checking tire pressure at 65 psi tires road rough and pulled to the right I took it to my local shop and they checked alignment and said it was perfect. Also said a tire must be out of round causing the rough ride. Dealer for tire is 1,500 miles away continued driving vehicle and on a trip it got so bad that I removed the tire from the truck and came home on the spare after inspecting tire you can clearly see broken belt situation two of the other tires are showing same signs of problem called dealer and hot major runaround after two weeks got a persons cell phone number she is trying to help. It says her company won't allow certain things so I paid 160 to ship tires to utah. 2,000 miles away to see if they will give me any credit towards new tires calls and emails to federal tire company go unanswered anthem tire will not give me the name of their distributor I feel like they are going to make it so difficult that people will just give up, they're should be warranty info given with each new tire