2011 Ford F-250 Steering Problems

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving over a bump at a high rate of speed, the contact experienced the death wobble and the contact temporarily lost control of the vehicle. The contact slowed down and the violent shaking ceased. The contact stated that the tie rods, ball joints, and other front-end parts were replaced to reduce the risk of the failure recurring. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH and towing a trailer, the contact experienced the death wobble. The vehicle drifted from the far-left lane over to the far-right lane and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The contact called a local dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was then referred to the manufacturer and was provided a case number. The manufacturer advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 263,000.

NHTSA ID

11675333

Incident

Sep 22, 2016

Mileage

263,000 mi

When driving over 55mph and hitting a bump, pothole, etc....the death wobble starts taking excessive force to keep the truck on the road with the steering wheel nowhere aligned to where the tires are aimed. Dealership stated they wouldn't take the vehicle on trade due to the steering box needing to be addressed first. no warning lamps illuminate. Happens every time while driving from mileage 170K - 189K.

NHTSA ID

11637880

Incident

Apr 4, 2024

We have experienced the well-reported Death Wobble multiple times - beginning approx in 2020 - going approx 55 mph on a one-lane highway and hit a slight bump in the road. Could not control the vehicle, the steering wheel started shaking violently as we headed for a concrete bridge. Had to stop the vehicle completely. Then we experienced the same Incident on different roads. We had the vehicle front end fixed by a reputable mechanic, and we’ve ended up having the front end suspension rebuilt, so far 3 times. The latest incident was in 2024, we experienced it again driving about 60 mph. This truck is standard stock - has not been lifted or modified in any way. We do not drive it very often as it is used as a farm vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11618620

Incident

Oct 12, 2020

This truck consistently gets the death wobble even after having several things repaired on It to fix the problem. This needs to be looked into. This has happened several times with this truck

NHTSA ID

11594609

Incident

Jun 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 68-70 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump and experienced a death wobble. The contact attempted to turn the steering wheel with force, but the vehicle crashed into a guardrail. The contact developed blisters on the palms of his hands from gripping the steering wheel, but medical attention was not received. Police arrived on the scene; however, no police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, and the contact was informed that he needed to pay for the diagnostic. The vehicle was then towed to the residence, where the contact replaced the steering gearbox, ball joints, tie rod ends, track bar, shocks, front springs, and wheel bearings. The failure recurred. The vehicle was later taken to three different independent mechanics; however, the cause of failure was not found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.

NHTSA ID

11541734

Incident

Aug 30, 2021

Mileage

167,000 mi

Keeps having a death wobble when I hit a bump going faster than 50 miles per hour that can't be controlled or stopped without pulling over to a stop or near stop.

NHTSA ID

11540987

Incident

Aug 8, 2023

YOU ARE DRIVING ALONG AT ANY SPEED ABOVE 45 OR ABOVE AND HIT A BUMP OF ANY KIND OR ROUGH PAVEMENT ON ROADWAY.IT WOBBLES AND SHAKE LIKE A DEATH WOBBLE OF WHAT IS REFERRED BY SOME MECHANICS .WE BELIEVE ITS POSSIBLE TO BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH STEERING BUT IT WILL SHAKE RATTLE LIKE A YOU BLEW OUT A TIRE

NHTSA ID

11513120

Incident

Mar 6, 2023

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and switching lanes and depressing the brake, the vehicle started to shake abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that after decelerating, the vehicle stopped shaking. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted and informed about the failure. The manufacturer confirmed that the VIN was not under recall and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 160,000.

NHTSA ID

11500183

Incident

Sep 4, 2022

Mileage

160,000 mi

Going over unsmooth roads ,or very little change in road height,vehicle shakes violently have to come to complete stop and risk getting ran over in middle of highway interstate or whatever couple close calls but no accident,YET

NHTSA ID

11494258

Incident

Oct 25, 2022

I own a properly maintained 2011 Ford F-250. Today, 14 instances of what is commonly know as "Ford Death Wobble" occurred to me on the interstate highway while I drove 250 miles. Violent front end shaking at speeds over 55mph after driving over rough bridges or bumps in the road. Several times I almost lost control of my truck it shook so badly. I had to sharply decrease speed below 35 mph before shaking would stop and I could regain control. I can easily reproduce this problem, but I learned to drive no faster than 50 mph the rest of the way home on the interstate in order to mostly avoid further cases of violent shaking. In addition to almost losing control of my truck, having to slam on my brakes to reduce speed put myself and other vehicles at risk on a highway with fast-moving vehicles. I will be taking it to a Ford dealer tomorrow to see if they can resolve this very dangerous defect.

NHTSA ID

11485109

Incident

Sep 18, 2022

Death Wabble. Truck uncontrollably shakes in the front end while driving on the highway over 50mph. Extremely scary. It seems like the truck may flip over. Reducing speed below 25mph is the only way to stop it from shaking. Cannot apply brakes while shaking because the truck shakes even more. Allowing the truck to reduce speed on its own is the only safe option.

NHTSA ID

11470268

Incident

Apr 18, 2015

Wobble in front end

NHTSA ID

11458782

Incident

Mar 29, 2022

The steering is lock up while drive you Issued a recall for Meijer model vehicle but my vehicle is not included and the steering is locking up while driving down the road that acts like the power steering pump is going out this having the same problem with the cylinder as the others

NHTSA ID

11426989

Incident

Jul 29, 2021

This truck developed "death wobble" after a simple tire rotation. At approximately 53mph, any bump in the road surface would cause the front end to shake violently and cause the truck to be uncontrollable. While violent, it locks the truck into an unsteerable condition and only hard braking can stop the truck. the truck shuttered violently until stopped. From the repairs it appears a combination of weakening shocks and steering stabilizer cause the front end to shutter mildly and probably constantly until the bushings on the track bar are worn enough to cause problems. Then any alteration in front end components, like rotating the tires will unbalance the entire precarious set-up. Once "death wobble" has occurred, it becomes more violent and happens more often until the truck is fixed. Worst of all, there is no single fix or known fix for this problem. The owner if forced to spent thousands of dollars trying every known fix until the problem stops. It was so violent, I was concerned the truck could possibly destroy itself. I was astounded the entire truck did not shake itself apart, it was extremely violent and made steering impossible. I had to drive back to the tire shop at 45mph and carefully avoid even the most minor bump in the road to stop the truck from shaking itself to pieces or killing us.

NHTSA ID

11423865

Incident

Jul 1, 2021

Own a 2011 F250 super duty and have experienced the death wobble on numerous occasions. I’m getting concerned because it has been getting worse. It takes longer for the oscillation to dissipate as I do my best to slow down without losing control. Please help all who have experienced this to get resolution without the high cost that is related. It is a danger to ourselves and possibly others as I control the vehicle on a busy highway and others have to brake. Thank you, Bill

NHTSA ID

11421341

Incident

Jun 17, 2021

EXPERIENCE DEATH WOBBLE EVERY TIME I MERGE ONTO THE HIGHWAY. RESULTS IN LOSS OF CONTROL AND IS VERY HARD TO CONTROL AND MAINTAIN IN MY LANE.

NHTSA ID

11414217

Incident

Apr 27, 2021

Mileage

101,000 mi

FRONT END SHIMMY THAT IS FELT IN THE STEERING WHILE MOVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.

NHTSA ID

11407045

Incident

Jan 16, 2020

Mileage

61,000 mi

TRAVELING ON INTERSTATE ONRAMP GETTING UP TO SPEED AND AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH HIT A SMALL BUMP AND FRONT END STARTED TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY TO THE POINT I HAD TO SLOW TO 30 MPH FOR IT TO STOP ALMOST CAUSING ACCIDENT. ACCELERATED UP TO 75 MPH AGAIN WITH NO ISSUE. APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT I WENT ACROSS A BRIDGE AND THE BUMP AT BRIDGE TRANSITION CAUSED THE TRUCK TO AGAIN VIOLENTLY SHAKE UNTIL I SLOWED DOWN TO 30MPH. NO MODIFICATIONS TO THE VEHICLE SUSPENSION. TRUCK HAS 112000 MILES. DEALER SAYS NOTHING WRONG EVEN THOUGH IT HAPPENED WHILE TESTING IT. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERYTIME I HIT A BUMP. BUT IT DOES HAPPEN 2-3 TIMES PER MONTH

NHTSA ID

11404693

Incident

Mar 5, 2021

Mileage

112,000 mi

ALMOST KILLED ME AND MY FAMILY FROM DEATH WOBBLE ON THE HIGHWAY. TRUCK VIOLENTLY SHAKES WHEN BUMPS ARE HIT GOING OVER 50MPH. EXTREME SAFETY HAZARD. HIT A BUMP ON I-25 AND SHOOK ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC. THIS IS ABOUT 6 TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE AND THE DEALER SAYS THERE ARE NO ISSUES WITH THE TRUCK. I KNOW 8 FORD OWNERS WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11398145

Incident

Feb 18, 2021

Mileage

18,000 mi

I'M EXPERIENCING THE DEATH WOBBLE WHILE DRIVING AFTER HITTING A BUMP IN THE ROAD. IT HAPPENS ON REGULAR ROADS AND INTERSTATES. I HAVE CHANGED ALL FRONT END PARTS AND SHOCKS, GOT NEW TIRES BALANCED AND ALIGNED, AND IT'S STILL NOT FIXED. I'M TOLD THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT CAN BE DONE. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A YEAR. IT HAS HAPPENED ANYWHERE BETWEEN 40MPH AND 70MPH.

NHTSA ID

11397675

Incident

Aug 1, 2019

Mileage

160,000 mi

DEATH WOBBLE. AS I WAS ACCELERATING TO ENTER FREEWAY TRAFFIC MY RIGHT FRONT WHEEL HIT A POT HOLE ON THE ON RAMP. I WAS DOING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. THE TRUCK IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO A WOBBLE THAT WAS ALMOST UN-CONTROLLABLE. I WAS ABLE TO SLOW MY TRUCK AND DRIVE TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY. I INSPECTED THE FRONT END, TIRES, SHOCKS, STEERING DAMPENER (WHICH WERE NEW) AND DID NOT FIND ANY PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ID

11389501

Incident

Jan 19, 2021

Mileage

200,000 mi

FORD F-250 CREWCAB WITH NO AFTERMARKET PARTS & FORD RECOMMENDED RIMS/TIRES: A MONTH AGO I NOTICED WOBBLING/SHAKING SIMILAR TO THE DESCRIBED 'DEATH WOBBLE'. PLACED TRUCK IN FOR SERVICE AND A RECOMMENDATION FOR A SOLUTION. WHILE DRIVING OVER 50 MPH AND THE VEHICLE RUNS OVER BUMP ON THE HIGHWAY, THE STEERING WHEEL AND TRUCK WILL SHAKE VIOLENTLY. AS THIS SO CALLED DEATH WOBBLE OCCURS I WILL COAST OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE AND COAST TO A STOP. I HAVE NOTICED VEHICLES BEHIND ME SLOW DOWN QUICKLY AND I AM ASSUMING THEY ARE SEE TRUCK SHAKE VIOLENTLY, TOO. IF OTHER DRIVERS ARE SEEING THIS DEATH WOBBLE OCCURRING I AM WONDERING IF THESE DRIVERS ARE TAKING EMERGENCY AVOIDANCE ACTIONS WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT TO OTHERS. HOW SAFE ARE F-250/F-350 TO BE ON THE ROAD? THE PICKUP HAS BEEN THE SHOP TWICE FOR REPAIRS AND NOW I NEED TO CONTACT THE SHOP AGAIN FOR THIRD RECOMMENDATION. ALL OF THE FORD RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED BUT THE DEATH WOBBLE RETURNS AGAIN IN LESS THAN 60 MILES. I CANNOT SELL THE PICK-UP BECAUSE I KNOW THE PICK-UP HAS THE DEATH WOBBLE. 'SO NOW I AM STUCK WITH A PICK-UP THAT CANNOT BE DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY. PLEASE POST ANY SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A REPAIR FOR THE DEATH WOBBLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

NHTSA ID

11383163

Incident

Dec 12, 2020

Mileage

131,546 mi

LET ME START BY SAYING THAT MY TRUCK DOES NOT HAVE ANY AFTERMARKET CHANGES - IT IS COMPLETELY STOCK/OEM. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (60MPH+), THE FRONT END OF MY TRUCK SOMETIMES SHUDDERS SEVERELY AFTER GOING OVER SMALL ROAD SURFACE CHANGES SUCH AS JOINTS/SEAMS IN THE HIGHWAY. AT FIRST IT ONLY OCCURRED DURING SWEEPING HIGHWAY TURNS, BUT IT HAS PROGRESSED TO HAPPENING ON STRAIGHTS AS WELL. THE SHUDDER IS SO SEVERE THAT THE STEERING WHEEL NEARLY SHAKES OUT OF MY HANDS AND THINGS IN THE STOWAGE SPOTS ON THE DOORS ARE SHAKEN OUT. I NOW HAVE TO SLOW TO <30MPH IN ORDER TO SETTLE THE FRONT END WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO HAVE TO SUDDENLY DO ON A HIGHWAY. THE INITIAL EVENT OCCURRED AT ROUGHLY 80K MILES AND ONLY HAPPENED A FEW TIMES A YEAR. I NOW HAVE 130K MILES AND THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED 3 TIMES WITHIN THE LAST MONTH. I'VE RECENTLY REPLACED ALL SHOCK ABSORBERS AND THE STEERING DAMPENER, HAD AN ALIGNMENT AND THE TIRES BALANCED AND ROTATED - TO NO AVAIL. THE TRUCK IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP WHERE THEY ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM BUT HAVE TOLD ME THIS IS RELATIVELY COMMON AMONG FORD SUPER DUTY TRUCKS. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ONLINE I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS ONLINE COMMUNITIES DISCUSSING THIS PROBLEM THAT HAS APPARENTLY BEEN OCCURRING WITH FORD SUPER DUTY TRUCKS FOR OVER A DECADE AND IS STILL OCCURRING ON NEW UNITS WITH AS FEW AS 15K MILES.

NHTSA ID

11374095

Incident

Aug 17, 2018

Mileage

80,000 mi

MY TRUCK VIOLENTLY SHAKES AFTER HITTING A BUMP OR GROOVE. I AM BARELY ABLE TO CONTROL IT AND IT WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU BRING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP.

NHTSA ID

11366398

Incident

Oct 17, 2020

Mileage

226,000 mi

WHEN TRAVELING OVER 50 MPH WHEN MY VEHICLE HITS A BUMP, I GET A "DEATH WOBBLE" WHERE THE FRONT END SHAKES UNCONTROLLABLY. THE ONLY OPTION THAT I HAVE IS TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN TO 35 OR BELOW TO GET IT TO STOP. I'VE COME CLOSE TO EITHER LOSING CONTROL OR GETTING HIT FROM BEHIND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. I CAN REPLICATE THIS EVENT BY GOING OVER DIFFERENT BUMPS IN THE ROAD. I HAVE RE-ALIGNED MY VEHICLE, REPLACED THE BRAKE SYSTEM, INSTALLED A NEW STEERING DAMPNER, ROTORS, ETC, TO NO AVAIL. FORD DEALERSHIPS PLAY STUPID AND ACT AS IF THERE'S NO PROBLEM, I'VE TAKEN IT TO MULTIPLE MECHANICS AND THEY INSIST THAT IT'S FAULTY PARTS WITHIN THE STEERING AND SUSPENSION. WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT REPAIRED IF POSSIBLE, BUT DON'T HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS AS TO WHAT THE TRUE CAUSE IS. PLEASE ADVISE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMPLAINTS . THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW IN 2011. IT HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE AS IT GETS OLDER.

NHTSA ID

11362563

Incident

Oct 2, 2020

Mileage

150,000 mi