The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the contact rolled over a bump and the vehicle started to shudder and sway to the left and right violently. The contact slowed down to 20 MPH and regained control of the vehicle. The contact stated there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred two years prior. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer who installed dampers and a track bar on the front end. The contact had not yet taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic following the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
Ford F-350 shudder problems
18 of the 2,894 owner complaints about the Ford F-350 describe shudder or vibration when accelerating, most of them for the 2012 model year.
- owner complaints
- 18
- worst model year
- 2012
- typical mileage
- 132,500
By model year
- 20142
- 20131
- 20125
- 20112
- 20081
- 20041
- 20031
- 20021
- 19991
- 19981
- 19972
Often reported together
Tire blowout 3Stalling 2Pulling 1Power steering loss 1Loss of power 1Jerking 1Fire or smoke 1Grinding brakes 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 76 MPH with his wife in the front passenger seat, the vehicle shuddered uncontrollably and stalled. The contact and his wife were concerned for their safety. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle and pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence. The contact stated that as an independent mechanic, he used a code reader to retrieve diagnostic trouble codes for the fuel control module wiring harness failure. The contact related to the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 05V270000 (Electrical System). The contact stated that the fuel control module wiring harness failure had caused warning lights to fail to illuminate as needed. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle had previously been repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that an elbow vacuum tubing connector was previously replaced under the recall; however, the contact advised the manufacturer that the recall involved replacing the entire fuel control module wiring harness. The manufacturer informed the contact that the recall was already marked completed and no further repairs could be covered. The contact stated that the dealer and the manufacturer had failed to honor the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 190,019.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 65-75 MPH over a bumpy road surface, the vehicle experienced a death wobble. The contact stated that the steering wheel and the front end of the vehicle were shuddering violently, nearly causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that upon decelerating to 20 MPH, the vehicle failure ceased, and the contact pulled over to the side of the road temporarily. The contact resumed driving. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 20N04. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced a Death Wobble. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle and the steering wheel were shuddering violently from the right to the left, causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that he was able to regain control of the vehicle upon decelerating to 10 MPH. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to Litchfield Auto Repair, where the axle track bar ball joint, the steering damper, the drag link, and the tie rod or the tie rod end were replaced. Additionally, the mechanic performed the front alignment; however, the failure recurred while driving 75 MPH and hitting a bump. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was inspected, and the contact was informed that the previous repair was performed correctly. The dealer replaced the tires because the tires were worn out. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the steering column and the front-end of the vehicle started shuddering significantly. The contact depressed the brake pedal and slowed down significantly until the vehicle operated as needed. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure occurred a second time while driving over a bump on the roadway. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure recurred a third time while his wife was driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure could not be duplicated. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving at 55-60 MPH on cruise control, the vehicle hit a bump and started shuddering uncontrollably, causing the steering wheel to shudder as well. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that as he was losing control of the vehicle, he depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle stopped shuddering. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The contact stated that the vehicle was not yet diagnosed; however, the dealer replaced the steering bar. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving at 50-65 MPH, and sometimes at slower speeds. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
3 times, while driving at highway speeds (55 -70 mph) the truck front end has entered into a violent oscillation, with steering wheel juddering. Rapidly slowing to a stop or <25 mph has allowed control of vehicle to be regained. Fortunately this has only happened in light traffic and while following a straight road allowing vehicle to be pulled to shoulder. I am not sure what would happen if vehicle was in a turn or in heavy traffic unable to reach the emergency lane. First time this happened I assumed front shocks were bad and had them replace. However this has not fixed the problem as it has happened twice since, after running over expansion joints on a bridge/interstate interface and expansion joint on the road. Have since learned this is not an isolated issue unique to my vehicle.
We have been maintaining our vehicle and had no warning lights at the time our truck died . At the time of the incident it had oil and water. We were driving on the florida turnpike at full speed when suddenly, the truck started shuddering, and then it completely lost power. A cloud of blue-white smoke came out of the back of our truck. We were lucky to be able to get off of the turnpike to a safe place. We could have been killed. The mechanic has determined that the engine is locked up and can't be fixed. Our truck only has 134,000 miles - it should not have blown up like this.
I have a 2008 ford f-350 that I experienced a violent, shuddering, vibration at approximately 75 m.p.h. On interstate-75 yesterday, 09/19/2020, that almost caused me to crash. I looked online and there are many, many people who have and are experiencing the same, dangerous problem. I firmly believe that there should be a recall of the affected f-250 and f-350 vehicles and ford should repairs these vehicles before anyone is injured or killed, if there hasn't been such a trajedy or tragedies already.
Driving at highway speed (55-75 MPH) the front wheels will start to shimmy and shudder causing steering wheel and front tires to oscillate severely (death wobble) when driving over rough surfaces. This causes entire vehicle to shake uncontrollably. This has caused loss of steering control and can only be be stopped by stopping or slowing vehicle. (unsafe at highway speeds with traffic following)
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Ford is recalling certain model year 2011 f-150 vehicles manufactured from september 9, 2011, through september 22, 2011, and model year 2012 f-250, f-350, f-450 and f-550 heavy duty vehicles manufactured from september 12, 2011, through september 22, 2011. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard number 114, theft protection. the transmission can be shifted out of the park position without pressing the brake pedal due to brake shift interlock switch problem.
- Risk
- This will allow the operator to inadvertently shift the vehicle into gear without the brake pedal being depressed, increasing the risk of a crash or injury to a nearby pedestrian.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake shift interlock switch function and replace the switch if necessary, free of charge. The safety recall began on december 22, 2011. Owners may contact the ford motor company customer relationship center at 1‑866‑436‑7332.
Recall number 11V582000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: control module (TCM/PCM/tecm)
- What is wrong
- On certain trucks equipped with a 6.4l diesel engine, excessive temperatures in the diesel particulate filter in the exhaust system may result from excess hydrocarbons in the exhaust.
- Risk
- Lack of power or rough operation, unusual noises from the engine or exhaust, white smoke from the exhaust, and potentially a visible flame out the tailpipe can occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will reprogram the power train control module. The recall began on april 3, 2007. Owners may contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673.
Recall number 07V139000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: gear position indication (PRNDL)
- What is wrong
- Under certain conditions, the snap ring that locates the park gear on the output shaft of the transmission may fracture.
- Risk
- When the gear is placed in park, the park gear would notengage, allowing the truck to roll freely if the parking brake is not properlyset. This could result in an accident.
- Remedy
- Install improved snap ring and revised transmission extension housing.
Recall number 90V101000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford F-350 shudder
Which Ford F-350 years have shudder or vibration when accelerating problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2012 (5 complaints), 1997 (2 complaints) and 2011 (2 complaints).
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