Ford F-250 SD wheel problems

WHEELS

Experienced the oft reported death wobble while driving home from TN and had to limp my vehicle home while experiencing the constant, extreme and dangerous wobbling.

NHTSA complaint #11748379 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS:RIM

The contact owns a 2019 Ford F-250. The contact purchased four aftermarket steel rims for the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to have the rims balanced, and the contact was advised by the technician that the steel rims were not rated for a 3/4-ton vehicle. The contact stated that the seller's website had listed the rims as compatible for a 3/4-ton vehicle. The contact returned the rims to the seller; however, the contact felt that the seller should have correctly identified the wheels for the correct vehicle weight, because the vehicle was used to haul trailers.

NHTSA complaint #11715321 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

My complaint is with the OEM lug nuts applied on my 2023 Ford F250. I recently tried to check the tightness on my wheels lug nuts only to find out that the lug wrench provided with the vehicle when purchased new will not fit 90 percent of the lug nuts. Dealership has rotated tires at routeen intervals since purchased new in spring 2023. Service manager stated that his mechanics routeenly use the next larger socket to loosen and reapply nuts. They are a carbon steel with chrome cap. Evertime you use the wrong size socket you further distort the chrome cap. The caps are loose and swollen so I can not change out a flat without calling and waiting for roadside assistance. My vehicle is still well within the 36 month 36 thousand mile bumper to bumper warranty. Local service manager states that Ford will not warranty faulty lug nuts. It's a safety issue when the nuts are improperly torqued or over torqued because they are using the wrong size impact socket on an impact wrench. It's a safety issue if I get a flat in an area with no cell service, or stuck on the side of the highway and get rearended. Ford and it's dealerships are aware of the failure of these two piece lugnuts and recommend that I go buy single piece lug nuts from an after market manufacturer like Dorman. This is the second time I have been gooned by Ford on lug nuts, Walmart will refuse service if the required size socket cannot be applied to the lug nuts. Back in 2014 I needed two new tires on my 2010 F150 , local auto zone and they only had 8 nuts in stock but enough to do one flat tire, we were on vacation in Kentucky. Drove home with spare on, we live in Belvidere Illinois. These two piece lug nuts should be outlawed, and using the wrong size sockets should be some kind of code violation, and the correct final torque should be checked with an actual torque wrench, not a best guess setting with your battery impact wrench. My walmarts in Belvidere and Rockford Illinois follow these rules for good reason

NHTSA complaint #11699987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

My f250 experiences what is known as death wobble when driving over 50mph and hitting bumps. It's been happening much more frequently as of late. Only way to stop it from wobbling is getting over to the shoulder and slow down to approximately 40-45.

NHTSA complaint #11679392 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Driving on highway 70 mph. Drove a rough spot on highway. Pot hole patch. Death wobble started. Had to preform emergency stop to end death wooble. This is the 10th time this has happened.

NHTSA complaint #11659551 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I was driving on a 1200 mile trip with my 39ft camper. I came off an overpass bridge and my truck felt like both front tires had popped. My steering wheel was bouncing like crazy and luckily I was able to get the vehicle to a stop and off the road. My 2 children and fiancé were also in the car and were lucky not to be killed. After stopping I looked over the truck and trailer and saw nothing wrong. We started to look up the death wobble on this model and it appears many people have also reported it. This truck only has 44k miles on it. I reported it to ford and they have made it clear that they will not be doing anything, other than allowing my extended service plan to replace the same parts if they find an issue. After talking with ford, I was driving my truck again without the trailer and the same thing happened. Luckily I was able to gain control of the truck again. The first instance I was going approximately 70 mph and the second I was around 60 mph. I am now afraid to drive this vehicle with my family and unfortunately I’m still 1000 miles from home.

NHTSA complaint #11639644 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Vehicle experiences death wobble in the front suspension system. While driving, vehicle suddenly shakes violently and is difficult to control. Vehicle was repaired at an authorized Ford dealership in 2021 but has since experienced the same dangerous affects of death wobble. Vehicle was inspected by the authorized Ford dealership prior to repair who confirmed the presence of death wobble. There were no warning signs prior to the vehicle experiencing death wobble before repair. There have been no warning signs after repair since death wobble has recurred.

NHTSA complaint #11631689 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

We were going speeds of 65-70mph and hit a bump and the sheeting wheel started to violent shake and the tires felt like they were going to come off. This has happened 3 times now since we bought the truck last December. After some research, this is known in the ford community as the death wobble.

NHTSA complaint #11621522 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I had to replace lugs on my F250 due to swelling/warping. This could have been a major safety issue.

NHTSA complaint #11618843 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I experienced the Ford truck death shake for the first time while driving 53 mph on a county road. Truck went over a few bumps in a consecutive manner and the steering wheel started shaking uncontrollable. This went on for close to a minute, I had a passenger and her child in the truck and it scared everyone. This is insane! This is Ford's top of the line heavyduty truck!

NHTSA complaint #11616125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Death Wobble on several occasions very scary! speed over 50 mph vehicle began violently shaking had to get off roadway very dangerous almost uncontrolable!

NHTSA complaint #11608447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I experienced what I now have come to understand is called the death wobble. It was terrifying and I was going about 60 mph on an interstate that was under construction. I hit minor bumps and the whole truck began to wobble back-and-forth violently. it would not stop until I came down to about 15 miles an hour, after that steering felt loose. I thought I was going to die. The incident chewed up my tires with pock marks everywhere.

NHTSA complaint #11599834 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

The problem is commonly called "DEATH WOBBLE". The steering system enters an extremely violent wobble/shake making control of the vehicle nearly impossible. 2 independent service centers have addressed the issue. The first did repairs, including warranty replacement of a faulty part and the truck still has the "DEATH WOBBLE". The 2nd independent service center made note of the 2nd faulty replacement part (TRACK BAR) and reports "TRACK BAR BUSHING IS MOVING EXCESSIVELY. TRACK BAR SHOULD BE REPLACED." No other physical inspections have been performed. There were no vehicle warning lights due to this issue. There were a few incidences of the "DEATH WOBBLE" prior to my first appointment with an independent service center. That first appointment was approx. 2/19/2024, completed on 2/27/2024. Second time completed on 6/21/2024.

NHTSA complaint #11596584 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

On multiple occasions now I have experienced the death wobble after hitting a bump in the road. Today the vehicle shook so violently that it crossed into the lane next to me on a curve. I do not feel safe in the vehicle now and pray that someone addresses this problem asap before an innocent person is killed. This has not been inspected by any dealerships or insurance reps. No warning lamps or other anomalies observed. The vehicle currently has 53k miles on it.

NHTSA complaint #11592943 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Swollen lug nuts. Wrench provided won’t fit

NHTSA complaint #11587149 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Increase of speed on a rough tar highway road caused a violent Death Wobble.

NHTSA complaint #11563476 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Starting to exhibit signs of the death wobble at 46000 miles

NHTSA complaint #11553615 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

DEATH WOBBLE! Driving at any speeds from 30 MPH to highway speeds of 65-70 MPH, the front end (front suspension) of the truck will Wobble Uncontrollably in a Vehement and Violent Manner, making driving unsafe with loss of steering after hitting a small bump or dip in the road/highway. The condition is worse when pulling a 30 foot gooseneck trailer. I have replaced the front shocks, steering damper, and rear shocks and to no avail, the Death Wobble still occurs! This is Major Safety Concern and Life Threatening to myself and anyone on the road during the Death Wobble, and seeing the reaction of other drivers in the opposite direction should be cause for concern! My truck is at a dealer now for inspection of the front end suspension system (drag link, track bar, tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, tires, and alignment), to include the engine mounts, which were worn and deteriorating (I noticed this when I was replacing my steering damper) probably from the Death Wobble. The tires were balanced and rotated on September 9th by Discount Tire and the technicians there didn't see any problems with the tires or the wheels. I get my tires balanced and rotated about every 7,500 miles and I keep an accurate vehicle history of my truck.

NHTSA complaint #11546284 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

I was driving by myself with my two small dogs on the interstate at approximately 70 mph when I ran over uneven pavement. Without any warning my truck began to shake so violently the dogs became terrified and hid under the seats and I briefly lost control of the vehicle. I was certain I had blown a tire. I decelerated quickly and looked for an opportunity to move out of traffic and pull over. I am incredibly blessed that I did not cause nor was injured in an accident. My truck was completely out of control for approximately 90 seconds. As i decelerated the truck regained drivability and the violent shaking dissipated. I am unsure which actual components may have failed, but my vehicle is available for inspection at any time. My safety, that of many others traveling on I-95, and the safety of my two dogs were put at serious risk of bodily harm or fatality at the complete and total loss of control of the vehicle. The problem has not been reproduced because I had no idea what had caused it. In August of 2023 my vehicle was inspected at a Ford dealership in Brainerd, MN and the only issue that was discovered was a mildly leaking rear pinion seal but the rear differential fluid was still full. The real differential fluid was checked again just prior to Labor Day weekend at Jiffy lube in Aiken, SC and also found to be full. The vehicle has been inspected by a Ford dealership in August, 2023 but not by the original manufacturer, police, or insurance representative. Absolutely zero warnings were ever issued by the Ford onboard computer. This is particularly disturbing as my onboard computer lets me know when even one tire pressure is off. There was zero symptoms of the problem prior to failure other than a typical "rough" Ford ride, which was explained to me when I purchased the vehicle, for cash, in Virginia. I have since researched this phenomenon, dubbed "death wobble" and am furious that Ford currently has knowledge of this and yet refuses to act on it.

NHTSA complaint #11542502 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

When driving (Once going downhill 6% grade, several times driving level on the freeway and once on a 45 MPH road with ruts), the front end began shaking violently to the point I was losing control of the vehicle until I slowed down. The vehicle would be available for inspection upon request. Safety was impacted by the loss of control resulting from the vehicle violently shaking. I took the truck to a mechanic and he could not see any problems. Other than my mechanic, no one has inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to the event. I have dash cam video of the event.

NHTSA complaint #11542311 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.