2015 Ford F-350 SD suspension problems

SUSPENSION

What component or system failed? The Steering and Suspension system failed. Specifically, the front axle hubs, track bar, and U-joints failed, causing a violent loss of steering control known as "Death Wobble." These components are currently available for inspection; however, they were diagnosed as "FAILED" and requiring immediate replacement to make the vehicle safe to drive. How was safety put at risk? The failure caused violent, uncontrollable shaking of the steering wheel and front end at highway speeds. This resulted in a near-total loss of directional control, putting the driver and surrounding traffic at immediate risk of a collision. The defect made the vehicle impossible to steer safely above 45 MPH. Has the problem been confirmed? Yes. The failure was reproduced and confirmed by an independent certified service center, AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway. Their inspection explicitly diagnosed the front axle hubs, track bar, and U-joints as "FAILED" and unsafe. The repair estimate to correct these safety defects totaled $6,128.09. Has the vehicle been inspected? Yes. It was inspected by AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway (a certified Ford dealership) immediately following the incident. Were there warning symptoms? The symptoms (violent wobble) appeared immediately after purchasing the vehicle. During the pre-purchase test drive, the selling dealer's agent physically manipulated the steering wheel ("pulled the wheel") to prevent the wobble from occurring, concealing the pre-existing safety defect. The failure manifested fully as soon as the vehicle was driven at highway speeds without the agent's interference. Summary: The vehicle was sold with critical safety components (hubs, track bar) in a "FAILED" state. The selling dealer (AutoNation Ford Corpus Christi) concealed this known safety hazard. The vehicle is currently a roadway hazard until the $6,100+ repairs are completed.

NHTSA complaint #11715853 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

My truck is been having a death wobble for years now. It's scary, I changed tires suspension and I still have the issue.

NHTSA complaint #11710270 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

My truck started "The Death Wobble" a few years ago. I have replaced shocks, tires and ball joints. The problem recently became almost undriveable on the highway as any small bump at a legal (70 MPH) triggered 5 instances on a trip to and from a destination that was 70 miles away via the interstate. I have ordered additional parts based on internet research to try to fix this issue, however in my research it is clear the is a COMMON issue. Why is this allowed to continue?

NHTSA complaint #11668678 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Severe death wobble with speeds over 50. Steering to left at that speed and vehicle shakes severely. Going interstate speed, vehicle almost comes off pavement and shakes all over. Brought in numerous times for issue and never rectified.

NHTSA complaint #11651712 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Truck experienced death wobble at posted speed limit and steering could not be controlled until I could slow vehicle. Earlier the death wobble happened and took it to the ford dealer and the service reported nothing wrong. I replaced the tie rods steering damper installed new shocks and springs and cannot be corrected

NHTSA complaint #11609430 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I have experienced what is called the ford death wobble on multiple occasions however yesterday it happened 3 different times while traveling with my [XXX] nephew and elderly mother. It terrified both as it almost caused an accident yesterday. This is not acceptable to pay $53 thousand for a vehicle that you feel unsafe to drive! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11604976 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Death wobble

NHTSA complaint #11597115 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle began shaking violently. The vehicle was slowed down to approximately 40 MPH and the shaking ceased. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

NHTSA complaint #11588735 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I was driving on the freeway today at approximately 70mph when I hit a slight bump. The front end began shaking violently forcing me to brake and slow to approximately 30mph before it stopped. I believe this type of incident is referred to as a "Death Wobble". Fortunately, I wasn't injured nor was anyone else and traffic was only moderately busy. I checked the front suspension and couldn't find any issues. The truck has 104,000 mi on it and is well maintained.

NHTSA complaint #11581030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The death wobble if I’m on the highway it’ll start wobbling to the point of no control. I have replaced shocks and joints tires pretty much everything but it still does it. I looked it up and was told to report here.

NHTSA complaint #11568762 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Front end suspension has on several occasions began to violently shake. It appears that the driver side front wheel begins to bounce rapidly after hitting large or small defects within the road surface. This occurs only when driving on highway type roads where posted speeds typically exceed 55. (Texas has some posted speeds of 80 mph and I drive this area often) Numerous times during this occurrence I have had little to no control of my truck's direction of travel. The only solution to date that has worked is to slow down to a near stop while still in the middle of high speed traffic. When this "death wobble" occurs, I have zero control of my vehicle as far as steering is concerned. We no longer allow our children to ride in the truck with us as this has become a dangerous driving environment. Additionally the violence of this wobble aggravates an pre-existing medical issue within my neck and head. (Veteran with (2) TBI's and severe nerve damage in my neck) The dealership has confirmed the issue and suggested I replace the front suspension and my tires. (My tires still had 20K+ miles left on them) The vehicle has been taken to a dealer for the vast majority of it's service and maintenance. I have mentioned the "death wobble" on several occasions' and even agreed to have the entire front end suspension along with all four tires be replaced. This seemed to have fixed the issue in the short term, but it has returned with considerably more violent shaking than before. I asked the dealer to repair again, but they refused without additional payments, as the repair is now more than 90 days old. No warnings are given prior to this violent shaking other than the initial jolt. Even with a warning, traveling at 60-75 mph along with confined traffic the chances of becoming involved in a possible life-threatening accident become extremely high.

NHTSA complaint #11566823 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I just had new breaks and rotors, shocks and some small front end parts replaced. Alignment also completed. While driving south on I-17 down from sunset point at 75 mph the speed limit, I went over a small bump or hole on the road and the death wobble started and violently began to wobnble from passenger side to driver side, or jumping or boucing 6" to 12". items in the door storage and on the dash where tossed about. I began pumping the breaks until the wobble stopped at about 35 mph. I have owned four f 350 one ton trucks with over 500,000 miles driven. this is the first time I have had this happen. I was asked by another f350 owner if I had ever had this happen before. I now know WHY IT IS CALLED THE DEATH WOBBLE. I cant believe I made it through this. There a BIG PROBLEM HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

NHTSA complaint #11560980 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

when i hit a bump or pot hole the truck front end goes out of control at speeds of about 50 to 70 mostly making it shimmy out of control.i have replaced most everything on the front end at my cost and it still does it.what is scary is that you dont know when it is going to happen.this truck is a 350 ford super duty ford with 92464 miles.i understand there is a Defect on the front end of these trucks.this is a big truck to hold when it starts.Someone is going to get killed or kill someone else if they dont get this taken care of and im makeing notice of this problem.

NHTSA complaint #11560218 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I lost control of the vehicle on the highway due to a "Death Wobble" in the steering system. It threw me into the next lane and I was lucky to survive. This happened on an interstate highway at about 55 MPH. It included violent shaking in the steering after passing over a minor bump in the road and came without warning. Ford replaced the steering damper under warranty. I still get this condition but not as bad as the original. Ford tells me everything looks fine but I am totally uncomfortable with this situation.

NHTSA complaint #11557880 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

While driving on Louisiana’s poorly maintained I20 at @70 mph, we hit a bump & our 2015 F350 began violently shaking. We almost lost control, but managed to shift from left lane to shoulder in heavy traffic. Inspected tires & saw nothing amiss. Continued on trip back to TX & it occurred 2 more times whenever we hit a bump. Freaked us out & we were terrified each time we hit a bump, but drove under the posted speed limit & made it the rest of the way home without incident. Called our Ford Dealer 1st thing Tuesday morning Sep 5th & were told they could not schedule us for an appointment til Sep 18th!! Located a mechanic who was familiar with this “death wobble” and he had parts ordered & stabilizer bar installed on Sep 13th. Have not driven in LA yet to confirm this fixed problem but mechanic has a Ford that did same thing & it fixed his truck.

NHTSA complaint #11545144 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Truck began to shake violently and did not stop shaking until I slowed to 20 mph. Safety risk of not being able to control the vehicle and having to slow on busy highway. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer. The components have not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. No warnings or other symptoms.

NHTSA complaint #11543282 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The vehicle goes into a violent shaking of the front end and steering wheel (Ford death wobble). It has happened many times in the last two or so years. It can start at any time when the truck is traveling over 60 MPH but it is usually associated with a bump in the road. It usually stops when I slow to 40-45 MPH. I replaced the track bar ball joint and the steering stabilizer shock and the truck didn't shake for several months but now the problem has returned. When the problem started the truck was probably under 100,000 miles and now has a bit over 130,0000.

NHTSA complaint #11531392 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Was driving on highway on December 10, 2020 and when entered bridge doing approximately 70 mph experienced extremely violent frontend shaking (death wobble). Had to pull to shoulder of highway and stop to reduce it. This occurred again during same trip under similar conditions. Thought something on frontend had broken, but all seemed to be alright upon visual inspection. Plan to take into Ford dealership on December 12 to have it inspected. Truck has 118,000 miles on it. This is a very dangerous situation as it occurs at higher speeds and could result in accident.

NHTSA complaint #11496897 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I was going approximately 70mph on the interstate and hit a bump and the vehicle began to shake violently and I had to make an emergency stop in the middle of the interstate to get it back under control! I’ve been told this is the death wobble. The vehicle has approximately 125,000 miles. This was very serious!

NHTSA complaint #11493050 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I have a 2015 F350 and I have experienced the "Death Wobble" I was hauling my 5th wheel RV and I was going 60 MPH and it felt like my entire front axel was getting ready to fall off my truck. I have my family of 4 in the vehicle. Both of my sons ages 8 and 3 years of age, my wife and myself. It was by far the scariest this I have ever experienced. Ford knows about the problem and still has not issued a recall. I am wanting to file a class action lawsuit.

NHTSA complaint #11486047 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The contact owns a 2015 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble and began to violently shake and vibrate causing the driver to nearly lose control of the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the tie rods, drag link, steering components, and performed a wheel alignment to repair the failure; however, two days after retrieving the vehicle the failure reoccurred. The contact indicated that the failure occurred at speeds exceeding 50 MPH. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.

NHTSA complaint #11480190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

When I go over 45 mile an hour it has the death wobble. Have almost had a few accidents due to this. What is the fix for this??

NHTSA complaint #11479156 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

When traveling over 50mph, when I go over an uneven area of road the vehicles front end vibrates violently (AKA Death Wobble). I cannot utilize the brakes to slow the vehicle, I have to let the vehicle slow on its own down to about 40-45mph before the vehicle settles down. This issue has been going on since late last year. Two visits to the dealership have failed to correct the issue. Research on the internet reveals this is a known problem by Ford, yet they refuse to issue a recall.

NHTSA complaint #11475346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

when I get up in speed or drive over a bump in the road, the steering wheel shakes vigorously and it feels like the whole truck shakes. I have to slow down to get it to stop. very scary.

NHTSA complaint #11465131 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

3 times in the past year my 2015 F-350 truck started to wobble and shake increasingly after a slight bump at approximately 55 MPH. Once it started, it continued to increase instability and control of the vehicle. I immediately slowed and pulled over carefully to a stop and got out to examine the vehicle. There wasn’t anything I could find externally that I hit that would cause the vehicle to react the way it did. I was able to continue driving without a repeat until several weeks later. This has happened 3 times in the past year.

NHTSA complaint #11464356 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I have had two incidents of the "death wobble" violent shaking of the from end. Thought a wheel was coming off. Pulled off the road and checked wheels. All seemed OK and I continued to drive home without incident. The first incident occurred in summer of 2021 and ford dealer said they installed a damper. Cost was $315. Now in April of 2022 I experienced another, more violent death wobble. I have another appointment with the dealer and I assume they will "band aid" again. I think Ford should recall and fix their problem before someone gets hurt. I pull a 10,000 5th wheeler and am very concerned about out safety at this point. I will upload copy of last year's "band aid" fix. Please advise. [XXX] PA INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA complaint #11462463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Over 5 times my truck become uncontrollable at highway speeds; 60mph or greater. A seam, groove, joint or other minor imperfection in the road instigates a violent shaking from the front of the truck. The only recourse is to jam on the brakes, at which the shaking subsides and control returns at approximately below 40 mph. As this normally happens at highway speeds, the loss and control and spontaneous braking required takes adjacent drivers by surprise very nearly causes an accident. I have owned this truck since it was new and purchase from Tommy Vaughn Ford. I regularly have the vehicle serviced at Hellman Ford in Stafford, TX. I've returned to Helfman 3 times since October 2019 with this problem. Initially they replaced some components which did not help, secondly I was told I needed new tires and that was the cause which I did purchase the next day which seemed to remedy the issue for 10,000 miles, and the most recent visit after the latest incident I was told they could not recreate the shaking, could not find anything wrong and no action was taken. I have not driven the truck in the two months since the last incident and is available for inspection if needed. Episodes do not result in any sort of warning light on the dash.

NHTSA complaint #11461253 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

If I incur a bump while traveling 60 mph, the front end will violently shake and rattle. The only way to stop this condition is to come to a stop. The vehicle feels totally out of control when this occurs. It is also very dangerous coming to a stop on a highway or interstate.

NHTSA complaint #11451532 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

A little over 2 years ago my truck started the death wobble. I didn't know at first what it was but after internet searches I quickly came across the so called "death wobble". I have taken it in to the dealer multiple times They have changed a few parts when taking it in, at my own expense, but never have fixed the problem. It is progressively getting worse and is very dangerous to drive. Not just for me but for the public as well. When the truck starts to do the death wobble there is not much you can do but hold on. Ford should be responsible for fixing the problem with there own.

NHTSA complaint #11445536 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Every time I hit any sort of bump on the road (I.e the the lip on a highway overpass approach, or any standard road lip or bump) I lose complete control of my truck, it violently shakes and I have to come to a complete stop to get rid of it, which is dangerous when in traffic, I’ve owned the truck for a year and a half and have never been able to fix the problem, the local ford dealership I purchased the truck from said it’s not a listed recall and they can do nothing about it, there is no diagnosable problem that anyone can figure out, I’ve been told these year trucks have this problem, I’ve lost control multiple time with myself and my girlfriend in the vehicle and barely recovered from having many major accidents and being a danger to others driving on the same road as me.

NHTSA complaint #11444868 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.