Ten problems related to ball joint have been reported for the 2012 Ford F-250. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
We have had numerous instances of "death wobble" starting at a 75,000 miles. All suspension is stock, tires are stock. I had brought the truck to the dealership 4-5 times (under warranty) and got the track bar replaced, track ball bushing, and ball joint, steering damper, increase in caster and even bought new stock tires to prove out the problem. I have 125,000 miles on the truck now after fighting this issue for years and have replaced all rod ends, track bar, bushings, steering damper, etc and the death wobble still persists. This is clearly a design issue and makes the truck dangerous to drive. The issue occurs primarily at highway speeds, while making a very slight left turn when a small bump is driven over such as an expansion joint. The severe vibration that shakes the front suspension violently back and forth does not subside until the truck is under ~20 mph (not a safe condition to be in when on the highway). During this period you can not hold the steering wheel under control, can not control the direction of the vehicle or stop quickly if required. This 'death wobble' has occurred approximately 20 time with the latest occurrence happening today.
Vehicle mileage approximately 70,000. At speeds between 35-65 mph any minor bump will cause truck to begin to vibrate throughout the steering system and subsequently wobble violently. Applying the brakes makes it worse until the truck slows down below 35mph. The truck is not able to be steered during this event. I have taken it to several reputable mechanics and they have assured me this discrepancy is in many F-250s and no one has the complete solution. I contacted Ford motor company customer service and they have no interest or expectation of a recall. They did tell me to take it to a Ford dealership for repair. The local Ford dealership gave me a quote to replace- tie rods, tie rod ends, ball joints, drag link, and �steering components�. They said it was the second truck brought in this week. The would warranty the parts but not the problem and this would help eliminate which components were the culprit. So in effect I'd be paying to rebuild the front end and not necessarily fix the most dangerous experience in I've had in a vehicle. Nhtsa please do a recall on this vehicle and help hold Ford accountable.
My 2012 F-250 has 126,000 miles on it and I have been experiencing a steering vibration at about 50-55 mph while driving over bumps and rough roads. About a week ago I was coming down a mountain highway and drove over some rough areas in the road at about 50 mph and the truck started vibrating and shaking violently. I had little control and almost went off the side of of the highway which has about a 2000 foot drop. I didn't think I would be able to stop but got it slowed down and the vibration went away. I have never been so scared. The past few days I have been reading online about Ford's F-250 "death wobble". I am certain this is what I experienced and have checked the front suspension and found no obvious problem. With as many complaints I have read about this issue I'm surprised there has not been any talk of a recall. I am a retired ase certified master tech dealership technician and from what I have read the main problem is the trac bar & ball joint wearing prematurely and not enough positive caster which is non adjustable for this model. I can see these components possibly causing this issue. Please do something before someone s killed!.
Tl- the contact owns a 2012 Ford F-250. The contact stated tthat while driving above 55 mph the vehicle suddenly experienced severe front end shaking and vibration after driving over an uneven pavement. The failure had occurred on several occasions. During the failure the driver was not immediately able to stop the vehicle while pressing the brake pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer paramount Ford of valdese(101 malcolm blvd, valdese) who replaced all four tires and the steering stabilizer shock and ball joints were replace by the independent mechanic but the failures continued to occur. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,000. Jft.
Violent shaking from front steering and suspension. Known problem with Ford service technicians and independent tire dealers. Ford calls it " death wobble". Most affected year models are 2006 thru 2012 per service writer . Problem starts approximately 42 mph in my truck on highways or city streets usually after a small bump in road. . Shaking in steering wheel and bouncing in cab. I had to come to a complete stop to stop the shake and bounce. The Ford dealer replaced track bar and ball joint. Then replaced four tires , balanced,and front end alignment. Truck now has constant vibration in steering wheel. Death wobble has occurred twice since repair. Going back to dealer. This problem has been reported and well known to Ford. No specific cause or fix has been offered. Supposedly Ford redesigned front steering and suspension in 2014 models because of this problem. The service writer, wendy, at silsbee Ford in silsbee, texas told me she did not know why Ford does not recall these trucks it is such a big problem.
The vehicle has 34,000 highway miles on it. This issue first began on i95 @ 29,000mi. When hitting a bump, such as bridge expansion joint, the vehicle begins to shake uncontrollably. The brakes do not work properly when this happens because the tires are bouncing off the road surface causing abs activation. The shaking gets worse until it comes almost to a stop. Very dangerous on the highway in lane 1 at 75 mph with cars all around. The problem is related to the track bar. This problem is unsafe and well documented on sites such as youtube. The track bar issue does occur on solid axel 4x4 vehicles with high mileage (200,000) but not on low mileage trucks like my f250. I have replaced track bar ball joint and problem was fixed but has now wore our again causing a recurrence of the issue. Very dangerous effecting steering and braking. I can send video of this occurring if needed.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-250. While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly began to violently shake and vibrate. In order to correct the failure, the speed needed to be reduced or the vehicle needed to be stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who installed a shim to the passenger side front ball joints, but the failure continued to occur. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
While driving down straight down the highway about 50 mph. I crossed a bridge expansion joint and the front of the pickup shook violently. I had to apply the brakes firmly and pull to the shoulder quickly. I thought the front end of the truck was coming apart and I was going to wreck. This had never happened before and there was no warning prior to the event. I had been driving about 20 miles before this occur. It happened again several days later. I only have 28k miles on it. My friend later told me this was the 'death wobble' and that he had it on his f250-2012. He said it required replacement of a suspension bar(track bar) on the front of the truck which I had done. No further problem have been noted since replaced. . 1 week ago. The shop where I had the work done said they have fixed about 70 trucks and it will occur again when the ball joint on the bar wears out again. I have a king ranch model with 20 inch tires that may be a contributing factor. Other people I know with f250s and 18 inch tires have not noticed this problem.
2012 f250 with the death wobble in in the front end. Driving truck down highway at 70 mph and the front end just start to shake and feel like the front end is coming out from under the truck. Had to almost come to a complete stop before it would stop shaking. Take truck to Ford to get fixed and I'm told that it will not be cover under warranty. The two front ball joints go out and the track bar at 39k miles. They tell me that it is not cover under the power train warranty. From what I'm told Ford know this is a problem and has not fixed it yet.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-250. While driving 40 mph, the front end of the vehicle shook and became difficult to control. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the drag link and the ball joints needed to be replaced. The vehicle also needed a front end alignment. The repairs were done; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000.