2005 FORD F-250 SD Steering Problems

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD F-250 SUPERDUTY. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH OVER A BUMP, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE AND SHAKE. THE CONTACT LOST PARTIAL CONTROL OF THE STEERING AND THE VEHICLE SWAYED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A MECHANIC FOR THIS FAILURE AND WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWO ADDITIONAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THEY PERFORMED A SAFETY INSPECTION. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THERE WERE NO MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 51,000. UPDATED 07/29/08 *BF UPDATED 07/29/08

WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND TRAVELING OVER UNEVEN SURFACES OR BRAKING FROM HIGHWAY SPEED OVER UNEVEN SURFACES THE FRONT END BEGINS TO SHIMMY/OSCILLATE AND THE STEERING WHEEL BEGINS TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THIS IS OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY. *TR

MY FORD F250 SD 2005 HAS A VIOLENT UNCONTROLLABLE SHAKING IN THE FRONT END. THIS PROBLEM HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT AS THE TRUCK GETS OLDER. WHEN THIS HAPPENS I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND STOP. *TR

VIOLENT SHAKING AFTER HITTING POT HOLES OR EXPANSION JOINTS ON HIGHWAYS AT SPEEDS RANGING FROM 55 TO 75MPH. THE SHAKING CAUSES A COMPLETE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND WILL NOT STOP UNTIL SLOWING BELOW 40MPH. AFTER READING SEVERAL POSTS ONLINE I SEE THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THESE TRUCKS AND NEEDS TO BE FIXED BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 FORD F250 SUPER DUTY FX4 PICKUP THAT I PURCHASED TODAY. ON THE WAY HOME, AT ABOUT 65-70MPH, I HIT A BRIDGE JOINT WHICH SENT THE FRONT END INTO AN EXTREMELY VIOLENT WOBBLE. I HAD TO SLOW DOWN TO ABOUT 20MPH FOR IT TO GO AWAY. WHEN I GOT HOME, I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET, AND FOUND IT TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THAT FORD HAS ISSUED A TSB FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT I FEEL THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED BECAUSE OF HOW DANGEROUS THE ISSUE IS. THE CONSUMER SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TO REDESIGN A FACTORY ENGINEERING PROBLEM. THE WOBBLE WAS SO BAD THAT THE TRUCK MOVED INTO THE NEXT LANE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FORD F-250 SUPERDUTY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE LOSES CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHEN DRIVING OVER A SPEED BUMP OR A BUMP IN THE ROAD AT 30 MPH. THE VEHICLE BEGINS TO SHAKE UNEXPECTEDLY AND BECOMES DIFFICULT TO STEER. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER ONCE, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 32,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 16,000.

BOUGHT 2005 FORD F 250 4X4 CREW CAB WITH GAS ENGINE. 25000 MILES ON TRUCK DURING TEST DRIVE I DROVE ACROSS RAILROAD TRUCKS AT 60 MPH TRUCK BEGIN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY UNTIL BROUGHT TO COMPLETE STOP. DROVE TRUCK OVER RR TRACKS AGAIN AT SAME SPEED TRUCK DIDN'T REACT THE SAME TRIED IT AGAIN STILL TRUCK WOULD NOT SHAKE. AFTER SALE LEAVING EL PASO TEXAS ON I 10 INTERSTATE ABOUT 50 MILES OUT GOING OVER BRIDGE AT POSTED SPEED LIMIT OF 80 MPH TRUCK AGAIN STARTED TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY UNTIL SLOWED TO STOP. THIS TRUCK BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE AND ALMOST CAUSED A WRECK ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. I TOOK THE TRUCK BACK TO THE DEALER AND CANCELLED THE SALE. I AM REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD OF SEVERAL F250'S WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM AND FORD DOES NOTHING TO FIX THEM. VIN NUMBER ON TRUCK. *JB

VIOLENT SHAKING IN FRONT END AND STEERING WHEEL WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND HITTING A BUMP IN THE ROAD. LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL UNTIL SLOWING UNDER 45MPH. *TR

SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED MY 2005 FORD F-250 SUPER DUTY PICKUP I EXPERIENCED A VIOLENT VIBRATION IN THE STEERING, WHEN TRAVELING OVER 55 MPH, AFTER HITTING A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD. WHEN I BROUGHT MY TRUCK IN FOR SERVICE AND MENTIONED THIS EPISODE. THE SERVICE MANAGER ACTED AS THOUGH IT WERE AN ANOMALY, MAYBE THE ROAD CONDITIONS OR SOMETHING ELSE. THIS DIDN'T SEEM TO BE THE TRUTH, SINCE IT HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN. WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE LOCAL SERVICE MANAGER, HE SAID THAT THIS IS COMMON AMONGST THESES LARGE PICKUP TRUCKS, AND JUST TAP THE BRAKES UNTIL THE VIBRATIONS SUBSIDE, IT SHOULDN'T LAST LONG. YESTERDAY I WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 60 MILES AN HOUR ON THE HIGHWAY, WHEN I WENT OVER A SEWER GRATE IN THE LEFT LANE. THE VIBRATION BECAME SO VIOLENT THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OF THE STEERING AT ALL....

WHILE DRIVING AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS, AFTER DRIVING OVER A BRIDGE JOINT OR POT HOLE, THE BOUNCE OFTEN CAUSES THE FRONT END TO GO INTO A VIOLENT HARMONIC STEERING OSCILLATION THAT ONLY STOPS WHEN YOU SLOW DOWN. YOU HAVE SEVERAL SECONDS TO SLOW DOWN BELOW 35 MPH BEFORE THE OSCILLATION CAUSES LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE STEERING OSCILLATION IS VIOLENT ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO HAVE TO HAVE A STEERING ALIGNMENT AFTER EACH EPISODE. THE DEALERSHIPS HAVE A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) THE RECOMMENDS: FRONT END ALIGNMENT, REPLACE STEERING STABILIZER, CHECK TIRE PRESSURE, CHECK FRONT END FOR LOOSE COMPONENTS. I HAVE HAD THIS SERVICE AND IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THE TRUCK HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES AND THE PROBLEM IS NOT RESOLVED. *JB

(1) POSSIBLY TRIGGERED BY A MINOR BUMP IN THE ROAD (2) SEVERE STEERING AND/OR FRONT AXLE OSCILLATION RESULTING IN LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. THE OSCILLATION WAS MUCH MORE SEVERE THAN THE COMMON "DEATH WOBBLE" FROM OUT OF BALANCE OR OUT OF ROUND TIRES, AND APPEARED TO INVOLVE NOT JUST THE FRONT TIRES, BUT THE ENTIRE FRONT AXLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE, ONCE BEFORE THE FIRST SET OF REPAIRS, ONCE AFTER THE FIRST SET OF REPAIRS. VEHICLE RAN COMPLETELY OFF THE HIGHWAY BOTH TIMES. (3) THE FIRST TIME, THE STEERING BOX BROKE AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLENCE OF THE STEERING OSCILLATIONS, SO THE STEERING BOX WAS REPLACED. AFTER THE SECOND TIME THE VEHICLE RAN OFF THE ROAD, THE VEHICLE'S ALIGNMENT WAS CHECKED, THE TIRES WERE ROTATED, THE TIRE PRESSURE WAS ADJUSTED. THE DEALER PERFORMED ALL THE STEPS OUTLINED IN A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN, BUT SAID THAT THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG...

DRIVING 2-LANE HIGHWAY 55-70 MPH WHEN CHANGE IN ROAD SURFACE (BUMP, FROST HEAVE, ROAD BED SURFACE MATERIAL CHANGE) CAUSED FRONT END TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY, NEARLY CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL. ONLY WAY TO STOP SHAKING WAS TO SUDDENLY DECREASE SPEED TO APPROXIMATELY 35-50 MPH IN TRAFFIC ON RAIN-SLICK ROADWAY. THIS OCCURRED 4 TIMES IN COURSE OF 350 MILE TRIP, EACH OCCURRANCE BECOMING MORE VIOLENT IN NATURE AND REQUIRING MORE EFFORT TO MAINTAIN CONTROL. LAST OCCURRANCE WAS AS OPERATOR WAS PASSING 18-WHEELER...AS I PULLED ALONG SIDE, VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. AS OPERATOR FINISHED PASSING AND RETURNED TO LANE OF TRAVEL, HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY TO REGAIN CONTROL, NEARLY CAUSING SKID ON RAIN-SLICK ROAD AND ALMOST CAUSING FOLLOWING VEHICLES TO TAKE EXTREME MEASURE TO AVOID COLLISION. *JB

WHEN TRAVELING AT 70+ MPH ON THE INTERSTATE AND ENCOUNTERING A CHANGE IN ROAD SURFACE SUCH AS AN OVERPASS OR CULVERT BRIDGE THE STEERING WHEEL SEVERELY JERKS BACK AND FORTH. THE ONLY WAY TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM IS TO SLOW TO ABOUT 45 MPH OR LESS (CAN BE DIFFICULT IN TRAFFIC). I HAVE HAD THE WHEELS ROTATED, BALANCED AND I ALWAYS CHECK THE AIR PRESSURE BEFORE A TRIP. I REPLACED THE FACTORY STABILIZER WITH A BEEFED UP SINGLE DAMPENER AFTERMARKET BECAUSE THE FACTORY DAMPENER LOST ALL THE OIL THE SECOND TIME IT HAPPENED. IT HAS NOT REMEDIED THE PROBLEM! THIS IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN, NOW I CANNOT EVEN DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT ON OUR INTERSTATE FOR FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL! *JB

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 75 MPH AS I HIT BUMPS IN THE ROADWAY THE VEHICLE FEELS LIKE THE FRONT WHEELS ARE HOPPING. ON 5 OCCASIONS I WAS TRAVELING OVER AN OVERPASS WERE THERE IS A SEEM FROM THE 2 DIFFERENT ROADWAY SURFACES. THE VEHICLE SHOOK VIOLENTLY FEELING AS IF THE TRUCK WAS GOING TO LOSE CONTROL. THE VEHICLE WAS ALLOWED TO SLOW AND AT ABOUT 55 MPH THE SHAKING WOULD STOP. AT SLOWER SPEEDS THE SAME VIBRATION IS FELT BUT AT A MUCH LESS MAGNITUDE AND SEVERITY. THIS LOSS OF CONTROL AS WELL AS THE SLOWING IN LANES OF TRAFFIC COULD CAUSE SERIOUS LOSS OF CONTROL AND CAUSE OF CRASH. DEALER, BORMAN AUTOPLEX LAS CRUCES,NM, HAD NO ANSWER AS THE VIOLENT SHAKING WAS NOT DUPLICATED NEAR OUR CITY. ( ALL OCCURRENCES HAPPENED ON TRIPS). DEALER STATED NOTHING WAS WRONG AND THAT SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT PUTTING SANDBAGS IN...

F250, SUPER DUTY, 3/4-T, 4X4, 4WD, SHORT BOX. ALL SPEEDS IT IS NOTICEABLE. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (75+ MPH), ENCOUNTERING BUMPS, SEVERE SHIMMY IN FRONT END, NEARLY CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL OF VEHICLE. FLEET OF 7 TRUCKS ALL EXPERIENCE SAME, SOME WORSE THAN OTHERS. DEALER HAS DONE ALL POSSIBLE TO REMEDY, INCLUDING AFTERMARKET HEAVIER DUTY FRONT STEERING STABILIZER (AT OUR EXPENSE). INCIDENT DATE IS LAST DATE IT OCCURRED TO MY CRUISER TRUCK. IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME A BUMP IN THE HIGHWAY IS ENCOUNTERED WITH EVERY TRUCK OUR DEPARTMENT BOUGHT FOR USE AS LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE WOBBLE IS DEPENDANT ON THE SPECIFIC TRUCK AND THE SPEED TRAVELED. REALIZE THAT AS LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE VEHICLES, OFTEN THIS INVOLVES VERY HIGH SPEED. THE HIGHER THE SPEED, THE WORSE THE PROBLEM.