NHTSA Complaint #10557240 — 2011 FORD F-250

I WAS TRAVELING SOUTH ON HIGHWAY 99 IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA NORTH OF VISALIA, CA. I WAS MAINTAINING MY SPEED IN THE FAST (SECOND LANE) LANE BETWEEN 65 AND 70 MPH ON A PORTION OF THE HIGHWAY THAT WAS RECENTLY LAID WITH FRESH ASPHALT. THIS OF COURSE, MADE THE ROAD SURFACE VERY SMOOTH ALTHOUGH THERE WAS SOME TRANSITION PORTIONS OF THE ROAD SURFACE WITH A FEW ROUGHER SECTIONS. GOING OVER ONE OF THE TRANSITIONS THE FRONT END OF THE TRUCK BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. I IMMEDIATELY ATTEMPTED TO SLOW DOWN WHICH WAS VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC BOTH BEHIND ME AND TO THE SLOW LANE TO MY RIGHT. I BELIEVE THE OTHER DRIVES SAW MY SITUATION AND ALLOWED ME TO PULL TO THE SLOW LANE TO GET CONTROL OF THE TRUCK. ONCE MY SPEED WAS REDUCED TO AROUND 35 TO 40 MPH, THE SHAKING STOPPED. THE PASSENGER WHO WAS WITH ME WAS UNDOUBTEDLY SHAKEN UP - NO BUN INTENDED. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME I EXPERIENCED THE "DEATH WOBBLE" THAT SO MANY OTHER FORD TRUCK OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS ABOUT THREE MONTHS EARLIER WHILE TRAVELING ON THE GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY IN BAKERSFIELD, CA. MY SPEED AT THAT TIME WAS 60 MPH AND BEGAN TO SHAKE UNCONTROLLABLY AFTER PASSING OVER A CONCRETE TO CONCRETE TRANSITION IN THE ROAD. FOLLOWING BOTH EVENTS I TOOK MY TRUCK TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. MY DEALER IS JIM BURKE FORD, BAKERSFIELD, CA. THE FIRST TIME INTO SERVICE THE DEALER CHANGED OUT THE STEERING STABILIZE AND SAID ALL OTHER FRONT END AND STEERING COMPONENTS CHECKED OUT FINE. THE STEERING STABILIZER CHANGE OUT WAS FUNNY BECAUSE I HAD REPLACED THE ORIGINAL ONE AND INSTALLED A NEW BILSTEIN BRAND STEERING STABILIZER ON THE TRUCK A FEW MONTHS PRIOR. I HAVE ENJOYED THIS TRUCK BUT IT IS BEGINNING TO SCARE MY AS I'M CONCERNED ANOTHER EVENT COULD RESULT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. PLEASE HELP US FORD TRUCK OWNERS. THANK YOU. *TR