2008 Ford F-250

The Office of DefectsInvestigation (ODI) opened PE13-014 after identifying five complaints alleging steering gear failure in model year (MY) 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pick-up trucks and to evaluate the relationship between the design history of the steering gear assembly and the alleged defect.As background, ODI investigated steering gear sector shaft fractures in approximately 1.3 million MY 1999 - 2001 Ford Super Duty pick-up trucks and MY 2000 - 2001 Ford Excursion sport utility vehicles in Engineering Analysis EA01-009.The investigation determined that the sector shaft failures were the result of extraordinary, possibly multiple, impacts and not the result of fatigue.No defect in design, manufacturing or materials was identified in the sector shaft.EA01-009 was closed August 19, 2003 with 169 complaints, resulting in a rate of 12.9 incidents per 100,000 vehicles after approximately one year of service.Ford increased the diameter of the sector shaft from 1.375 inches to 1.625 inches at the start of MY 2005 production, increasing the resistance of the steering gear assembly to torsional overload by approximately 48% and changing the failure mode from sector shaft fracture to cracked or broken sector shaft gear teeth.The redesigned steering gear assembly was used in approximately 1.1 million MY 2005 through 2009 Ford Super Duty pick-up trucks, including the subject vehicles.Figure 1 shows the basic steering system design used in Ford Super Duty trucks investigated in EA01-009 and PE13-014. Figure 2 shows the locations of failures resulting from impact related torsional overloading of the sector shaft for the subject vehicles and the prior generation Ford Super Duty trucks investigated in EA01-009.Figure 3 shows an example of a failed sector shaft investigated in EA01-009 and comparisons of fracture surfaces of sector shafts failing from fatigue loading and from torsional overload.Ford provided field return part analysis of failed steering gears from MY 2005 through 2009 Super Duty trucks found evidence of broken sector shaft gear teeth and piston damage consistent with incidents of single event overload (Figure 4).Laboratory analysis found no evidence of fatigue or material property defects in any of the fractures.Analysis of complaint rates by vehicle build month showed no patterns indicating potential manufacturing quality issues and no difference before and after Ford introduced design changes to the input shaft and sector shaft seals in July 2007 to address potential leak concerns (Figure 5).Analysis of failures by time in service indicates a random failure pattern/distribution, consistent with incidents of impact induced overload (Figure 6). The complaint rate for the subject vehicles after approximately 5 to 6 years, 7.1 incidents per 100,000 vehicles, is lower than the rate observed in EA01-009. Furthermore, similar to the condition investigated in EA01-009, a number of incident records include evidence of impact loads (e.g., curb strikes) and several alleged crashes include incidents in which information suggests that the steering gear failure was most likely a result of crash forces, rather than the cause of the crash.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.The ODI complaints cited above can be reviewed at ww

All the fiberglass Bkack trim and the Gray door panels and the middle armrest are causing skin irritation to any person that come in touch with them. I havee owned this Truck for so many years, the problem started about 4 years ago, since I only use it for towing the camper I have ignored the issue for sure this very inconvenient to sell a vehicle with only 87k because of the manufactur cheap trim or other oweners didn't complain and ignored the issue. I have not taken the Truck to the Ford dealer because I have know doubt in my mind that they will tell me it's an 18 years old vehicle get another one. Yes I have the vehicle available for inspection at anytime. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my complaint.

NHTSA ID

11716602

Incident

Mar 5, 2020

What: 2008 Backup camera failure just like the 1.46 million in newer models. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? See details for current recall, copy/paste. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No, but am happy to let them. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No, camera simply stopped working around aug-25. I want you to make them include older year models in this recall. I purchased this vehicle from Vic Bailey Ford Spartanburg SC, financed for 72 months to pay off Jan-1-26. *If ford can sell it, and get financed, when still in the process of paying off, this truck SHOULD get the same considerations as newer ones when there is identical issues.

NHTSA ID

11707066

Incident

Aug 1, 2025

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Ford F-250. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was an independent dealer sale. At the time of the purchase, the mileage was 88,000. It was later discovered, after checking the Carfax report, that the mileage was 182,000.

NHTSA ID

11698887

Incident

Nov 11, 2025

Mileage

182,000 mi

Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires LT275/70R18 D1 I purchased these tires on 11/08/2019. My truck had 166,736 miles it now has around 202,000. I experienced a blow out where the total tread separated from the rear driver side side walls. The tread separated piece was in one piece. As if a re-tread tire. It caused extensive damage to my rear quarter panel among a list of other damaged parts. The tread was on the tires were still in excellent shape.

NHTSA ID

11673254

Incident

Jul 11, 2025

The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving uphill at approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was HOT before the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was then allowed to cool down, and water was added to the radiator. The contact stated that when the vehicle was restarted, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred 12,000 miles later. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced again. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

NHTSA ID

11668717

Incident

Mar 15, 2023

Mileage

185,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed over a bump in the roadway, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact inspected underneath the vehicle and became aware that the rubber body mounts were deteriorating and detaching from the frame of the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ID

11629055

Incident

Apr 5, 2022

Mileage

130,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-250 The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed fluid leaking from the bottom of the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the engine block of the vehicle had fractured. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine block had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11625228

Incident

Nov 14, 2024

Mileage

100,000 mi

UNKNOWN

NHTSA ID

11621870

Incident

Oct 25, 2024

In monitoring our technical service inquiries and technical service bulletins from Ford, there is the potential for moderate to severe steering wheel oscillation (wobble) to occur. After extensive testing and outside feedback, the following details have been established to correct or prevent steering wheel oscillation occurrences in lifted 05-16 Ford Super Duty 4wd pickups.

FORD: THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ON AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0713 AND/OR P0710 REGARDING TORQSHIFT TRANSMISSION. MODEL 2008-2009 F-53 MOTORHOME CHASSIS, LOW CAB FORWARD, 2008-2010 F-250, F-350, 2008-2011 E-350, E-450, F-450, F-550, 2011 F-53 MOTORHOME CHASSIS, F-50 COMMERCIAL STRIPPED CHASSIS. *PE

FORD: SOME CONTINENTAL TIRES MIGHT HAVE UNEVEN WEAR, VIBRATION, OR THE POSSIBLE TREAD DETACHMENT. 2008-2009 F250/F350. *RM UPDATED 8/3/11. *PE

FORD: 2005-2011 F250/F350. THE FUEL FILL NOZZLE MAY AUTOMATICALLY SHUT OFF TOO EARLY. *RM

FORD: IF THERE IS AN INTERMITTENT LACK OF POWER, SURGE, OR HESITATION WHILE DRIVING THE BRAKES WILL OVERRIDE ACCELERATION. *RM

FORD SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH BUTTON FOR OWNER LETTER. CATALYST Y PIPE WARRANTY EXTENSION.. IN SOME OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES, CERTAIN VEHICLE OPERATING CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE THE CATALYST SUBSTRATE TO CRACK OR MELT. THIS CAN CAUSE SYMPTOMS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AUDIBLE NOISE FROM THE CATALYST Y PIPE AND/OR MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ILLUMINATION. CSC LETTER WAS RECEIVED. *PE