2005 Ford F-350

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED BASED ON 78 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS OF SEVERE SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATIONS AFTER THE SUBJECT VEHICLES TRAVELED OVER AN UNEVEN SURFACE.ODI WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THESE COMPLAINTS BECAUSE MANY OF THEM ALLEGED LOSS OF CONTROL AND THE LOSS OF CONTROL OCCURREDAT SPEEDS ABOVE 50 MILES PER HOUR.AT THE TIME THESE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED, ODI WAS ALSO AWARE OF THE TSB 07-10-10 AND EARLY WARNING FIELD REPORTS THAT DISCUSSED THE SHIMMY CONDITION ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.SINCE OPENING THIS INVESTIGATION, ODI HAS CONFIRMED, BASED ON CONSUMER COMPLAINTS, WARRANTY DATA, TESTING CONDUCTED BY VRTC, AND ODI INSPECTION OF COMPLAINT VEHICLES, THAT THE OWNERS OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE EXPERIENCING SHIMMY EVENTS ON THEIR VEHICLES.HOWEVER, ODI HAS ALSO CONFIRMED THAT OWNERS TYPICALLY DO NOT MAINTAIN THEIR TIRES AT THE PRESSURES RECOMMENDED BY FORD ON THE TIRE LABEL.FURTHER, ODI HAS FOUND THAT IN ORDER FOR SHIMMY TO OCCUR, TIRE PRESSURES MUST BE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW (AT LEAST 20%) THOSE SPECIFIED ON THE VEHICLE TIRE LABEL.ODI CONSIDERS THESE UNSAFE TIRE CONDITIONS TO BE THE RESULT OF ONE OF THREE TYPICAL SITUATIONS.THE TIRES ARE BEING IMPROPERLY MAINTAINED, THE OWNERS ARE INTENTIONALLY SETTING THE TIRE PRESSURES LOW TO ENHANCE RIDE QUALITY, OR AFTERMARKET TIRES (NOT DESIGNED FOR USE ON THE VEHICLE) ARE INSTALLED TO CHANGE THE APPEARANCE OR FUNCTION OF THE VEHICLE.THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE INTENDED AND DESIGNED TO BE USED AS HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES AND AS SUCH REQUIRE THAT THE TIRES BE CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE LOADS FOR WHICH THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED AND MARKETED.IN ORDER FOR THE TIRES TO BE CAPABLE OF HANDLING THESE LOADS, THE PROPER TIRE PRESSURE MUST BE MAINTAINED.IN LIGHT OF THE INFORMATION GATHERED IN THIS INVESTIGATION AND FORD'S AGREEMENT TO NOTIFY SUBJECT VEHICLE OWNERS (NOW AND EVERY TWO YEARS UNTIL THE VEHICLES REACH TEN YEARS FROM THEIR PRODUCTION DATE) ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING PROPER TIRE PRESSURES ON THEIR VEHICLES, FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

ODI HAS RECEIVED 78 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS OF SEVERE SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY AND OSCILLATIONS COMMENCING AFTER THE SUBJECT VEHICLES TRAVELED OVER AN UNEVEN ROAD SURFACE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE INCIDENTS OCCURRED AT SPEEDS OF 50 MPH OR GREATER.THIRTEEN OF THE COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY ODI ALLEGE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND THAT THE VEHICLE CHANGED DRIVING LANES UNCONTROLLABLY.FOUR OF THE COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY ODI ALLEGE THAT THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD SURFACE AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLENT SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATIONS.IN ONE CASE THE CONSUMER ALLEGES THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD SURFACE, IT CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA.ADDITIONALFACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE OPENING OF THIS EA WERE EARLY WARNING FIELD REPORTS,SUBMITTED BY FORD, DESCRIBING SUSPENSION SHIMMY / OSCILLATIONSAND A FORD TSB (07-10-10) DESCRIBING THE SUSPENSION SHIMMY ISSUE AND HOW TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM.FORD HAS DESCRIBED SHIMMY AS SELF-EXCITED OSCILLATION OF THE STEERING WHEELS WITH ACCOMPANYING WHEEL TRAMP.THIS PE HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA) TO DETERMINE IF THE SHIMMY CONDITION THAT OCCURS ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE VEHICLE BECOMES DIFFICULT TO CONTROL OR STARTLES THE DRIVER, THUS PRESENTING A SAFETY RISK.

The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-65 MPH and coming up to a bridge, the contact stated that the roadway was a bit wet from ice and rain, and the contact stated that the vehicle ahead entered the bridge and started skidding, so the contact let up off the accelerator pedal; however, when the vehicle entered the bridge, the vehicle started sliding and the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed head-on into the concrete barrier surrounding the bridge and broke the two picking eyes that was welded unto the front sub frame of the vehicle. The contact stated that the front bumper was severely damaged, and he was concerned that that the air bags had failed to deploy. The contact stated that his chin struck the steering wheel, and his neck was hyper-extended. The contact sustained neck and shoulder injuries. The contact had not received medical treatment at the scene and was not transported to the local medical center for treatment. The contact stated that a Police report was filed and he received paperwork to request a copy of the Police report. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was later towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 228,000.

NHTSA ID

11652135

Incident

Mar 18, 2025

Mileage

228,000 mi

Vehicle stalls while driving and wont start again suddenly while operating. Fuel injectors won’t feed fuel line to restart or operate. Occasional start but then stalls continuously until battery dies from trying. Will start when priming the carburetor however will not stay running and stalls out.

NHTSA ID

11594346

Incident

Apr 14, 2024

Twice today, traveling at 75mph on highway [XXX] (northbound and then several hours later southbound) just north of Ardmore OK, I experienced a violent shaking of the steering wheel/front wheel shimmy. The vehicle was difficult to control due to the violent shaking that did not stop until the vehicle slowed to approximately 20mph. Once the shaking stopped the vehicle was okay to drive. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11574799

Incident

Feb 29, 2024

My 2005 F350 Diesel Pick up has suffered from the Ford death wobble on and off for the last 15 years. While navigating a left hand corner at speeds over 40 it begins to shake uncontrollably after hitting a small bump or pot hole until speed is reduced to 30mph or less. I have replaced bearings, uppper & lower ball joints, torque arms and other suspension parts without finding a cure.

NHTSA ID

11530347

Incident

Jul 4, 2023

Multiple times driving the truck at speed limit and hit small bump or a little bumpy part of road triggers the death wobble. Have to almost come to complete stop on highway to stop wobble.

NHTSA ID

11466661

Incident

Apr 5, 2022

The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle started to shimmy. The contact stated that at the time of failure the steering wheel was very difficult to turn. The contact stated that after slowing down the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that she received notification in the mail of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20E090000 (Steering, Suspension, Equipment) however, her vehicle was not included in the recall. The contact stated that neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11464386

Incident

May 12, 2010

The all very common issues with the year f350 and the 6.0 l. Engines, are as such. The malfunctioning FICM. THE high and low oil coolers, the inter coolers and head studs. Also leaking break fluid .

NHTSA ID

11462783

Incident

Feb 1, 2022

Oil leaking from more than 4 parts of the engine and was told it’s normal for this model. Also, when driving over a bump or uneven pavement the trucks steering and suspension drives out of control.

NHTSA ID

11447083

Incident

Jan 11, 2022

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 TRUCK: SOME TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH A 6.0L DIESEL ENGINE MAY EXHIBIT A HARD START/LONG CRANK OR NO START CONDITION DUE TO LOW INJECTION CONTROL PRESSURE (ICP). *PE

SLOW FUEL FILL--MIL ON WITH DTC P0191. *NJ

WATER IN THE FUEL TANK BEHIND REAR AXLE - 6.0L, 6.4L AND 7.3L DIESEL ENGINE. *KB UPDATED 2/29/08. *NJ

MISFIRE AND DTC P0300. *KB

BRAKE LINE MODIFICATION NEEDED DUE TO FRONT WHEELS COMING INTO CONTACT WITH THE BRAKE LINES. *KB