Suspension Torsion Bar Problems of Ford F-150 - part 1

I stepped into my vehicle to go to work, and the torsion bar broke. Snapped into two pieces. Was thankful I was not driving. I have been told by the tow truck driver and the mechanics, that they have never seen this before, and that a piece of 1" round steel should not just snap.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford F-150 🔎.

While parked in the driveway owner was getting something out of the vehicle and the torsion bar broke. Owner contacted the dealer, who replaced the torsion bar. Currently vehicle was having a vibration problem, but the owner stated that the vehicle needed a heavier suspension.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford F-150 🔎.

The r/h torsion bar broke at low speed turning into a parking lot. The bar is being replaced at the dealership. They say they have never seen this before. After seeing all the reports on line, I find this hard to believe.

On December 30, 2003, I sent the following letter to Ford motor company and as of yet have not received a reply. Hopefully you can give me some pointers on how I should proceed. Thank you, david moritz david moritz 404 3rd Ave NW 605-532-5343 clark, sd 57225 enclosed are pictures of the torsion bar from my 1998 Ford F-150 pickup. VIN# 1ftzx18w4wkb15005. It has 56,000 miles. The portion that is pictured is the front. The bar broke while sitting idle in my garage. I had been out of town for the weekend so the pickup had not been driven for two days. I found the center piece on the garage floor. From rust spots in the broken area, it appears that it had been cracked for some time. I have owned the pickup for about three years. Almost all of my driving has been highway driving. During that time it has very little off road driving. I am not a hunter or land owner. It has been used for hauling cargo, but not extended use. It was involved in an accident and I have also enclosed the repair records from that. The damage was to the right side. There was no suspension damaged noted. I have looked to see if there were any recalls on it, and have found none. The mechanic who replaced it for me said he had never seen a torsion bar break like this. This is a repair that I dont think I should have to pay for. I have enclosed my statement. I am just thankful that I was not driving the vehicle when it broke. It concerns me that there may be other suspension problems. What I would like to know is what can be done? is this a flaw in the pickup that needs to be addressed? I am also writing to the national highway traffic safety administration to ask for their help in what process I should follow. I can be reached during working hours at 605-532-5343, at my address at 404 3rd Ave. Nw, clark, sd 57225 or by e-mail at mortprnt@itctel. Com. I will be waiting your reply. David moritz.

Driver side torsion bar snapped ,causing front left corner of vehicle to drop unexpectedly possibly damaging sway bar, shock absorber and related bushings. Ford customer service stated there is no coverage, recalls or service bulletins that cover damage/defect. There have been reports of similar issues with expedition and Ford models.

The vehicle was parked, when the left torsion bar failed.

Right side torsion bar snapped in two going across parking lot.

Driver side torsion bar broke driving 60 on freeway. Made truck veer hard to left almost hitting guard rail. Thank god my son didn't hit it. Brought the truck used and of course dealer said it wasn't under warranty that we had. Only the 60 days or 2500 miles from time of purchased. Only had in 25 days.

The front torsion bar broke. The torsion bar had experienced a brittle fracture at the hexagon to cylinder interface.

Passenger side torsion bar broke while parked in parking garage. Don't know what would happen if occured at normal driving speeds. Scary drive home as truck was laying down on right front severly. Took to garage this morning. Five minutes later, woman comes in and says she has a broken torsion bar. You guessed it, another 1998 Ford f150 4x4. Looked at hers, was on drivers side, similar shaped failure as mine, said hers was just parked in driveway when failed. I am afraid to let wife drive my truck now.

Torsion bar snapped causing truck to lean to one side. I was told I was fortunate I wasnt driving it at the time they had many ( over 50) break some while driving. Dealer should replace at no cost to owner only had 21,552 , 1998 F-150 dealer wanted 500. 00 at first then claimed part was defective and I would have to pay labor( jack demmers in wayne,mi. 48185) please help this isnt fair.

The torsion bar had broken while the vehicle was parked. Ph the torsion bar was replaced and the front end was aligned. Scc.

Front right torsion bar snapped while vehicle was parked in my driveway.

While driving, right front torsion bar snapped during regular driving.

While vehicle was parked in driveway torsion bar broke. This caused the front end of vehicle to drop to the ground. Please provide any further information.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford F-150 🔎.

Rt torsion bar failed when setting in driveway. It seems as though this is safety concern that nhsta needs to reopen as there appear to be many other identical failures reported. I was suprised to learn that, when the dealer worked on the vehicle, there was no recall related to the torsion bar failure.

Front torsion bar exploded while vehicle was parked in consumer's driveway. Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further details. Consumer has damaged parts.

Torsion bar twisted off on the drivers side causing front corner to drop 6" to 8" inches. And a loss of suspension on that side. Later the passenager side snapped.

Torsion bar broke without prior notice. When bar broke entire front end of vehicle fell in. Dealer made repairs at consumer's expense.

Vehicle was parked inside of garage. Consumer noticed that vehicle was leaning on left side. Vehicle wasn't like that when she pulled inside of garage that evening. Vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. Mechanic told consumer that torsion bar had broken. There were no injuries. The dealer says there was a high failure rates of 1997 and 1998 models.

Dealer told me there were no previous known problems with the torsion bar.

Torsion bar snapped as I shifted into reverse in my driveway.

Torsion bar broke while vehicle was parked in garage.

Torsion bar severed. Defect was discovered while vehicle was parked. Private mechanic has not provided any information as of yet for cause of defect. Please provide any additional information/attachments.

Rt front torsion bar broke while sitting in the drive way.

Torsion bar on left side broke while backing out of driveway. Dealer notified and informed that vehicle was not covered under a manufacturer's recall, and out of its warranty. Please feel free to provide any further details on this matter.

Front torsion bar broke while parked in garage; dealer/manufacturer were notified; manufacturer informed consumer that they would pay all except 20%, which would be at consumer cost. The consumer states that there were many other owners of this model vehicle with torsion bars problem, but the manufacturer was not even trying to make better quality parts available.

While truck was parked in garage the driver's side torsion broke. February 1999 the torsion bar on the passenger broke while driving at 20 mph. Fortunately in either case no injuries. This is not a normal failure, but after contacting Ford directly and the dealer where the truck needed to be towed eiter stated this is a problem. My family now feels for their safety next time we drive in the truck. I need to be convinced that can't happen again and that there was problem with the torsion bars used on that year truck.

While parked and vehicle still running left front of vehicle just dropped. Consumer had no prior warnings of problem. Contacted dealer, and the dealer has not had a chance to look at vehicle. The torsion bar snapped causing the front of the vehicle to drop. The consumer believed that the torsion bar had material defect.

Rt torsion bar broke while driving aprox 50 mph. Front rt of truck dropped and was hard to control.

Passenger's side right torsion bar collasped and broke which caused passenger's side of vehicle to drop down on one side. Consumer has contacted dealer, dealer has replaced torsion bar. Please provide any further details.

Front torsion bar broke on left side while driving at a low rate of speed, causing wheel to go into an angle and frontend to fall.

Front torsion bar broke overnight while parked. Manufacturer is aware of defect. The torsion bar was replaced by the dealer.

While vehicle was parked torsion bar snapped ,and front end fell down. Contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to fix problem at no cost.

Sudden an spontanious breakage of torsion bar at low speed without hitting any obsticle or pot-hole in road.