Ball Joint Problems of Ford F-250 - part 1

I've had my truck to the dealer previously for bad vibration in the front end and steering when on the interstate going 65-70mph after hitting an imperfection in the road. Dealer first replaced the steering damper in may/2020. The vibration continued, but wasn't as bad as previously experienced. Then last week the vibration worsened. I then experienced what was known as the death wobble. I was on the interstate and hit an imperfection in the road and almost lost control with a violent vibration in steering and entire body. Almost had a horrible accident with a semi tractor as I was trying to gain control. Worst experience I have ever had. Took it to the dealer the very next day, 4/21/2021, and they replaced the track ball joint. I bought this vehicle new, and now only 38k miles. I love Ford trucks, as this is my second f250 I've owned. The first one was a 2003, which I also bought new. I'm very frustrated with these front end parts wearing out prematurely. I had to pay for the repairs yesterday as my truck is out of warranty, which I feel Ford should have fixed this due to it's previous repair for vibration issues when rolling over imperfections in the road. I am now wondering if I should get rid of this truck after reading multiple topics on the internet of other owners having the same experiences. ## #vpic# 1 - check digit (9th position) does not calculate properly #vpic#.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford F-250 🔎.

While driving my 2015 f250 the front end began to shimmy and shake violently at 50 mph. Truck was wobbling all over and to begin quick deceleration and slight braking. Once truck dropped to about 20 mph the symptoms stopped. Looked over truck and saw no obvious issues . I drove slowly to repair shop and they checked over front end and stated would need traction rod, stabilizer and ball joints as this is known issues on 2005-2019 super duty vehicles. Ford dealer said they were unaware of any recall or issues but could check it out. If the other garage was corrected it would around $800 to 900 to repair. As I left and made right turn it again shimmied badly and I return to dealer. They suggested leaving truck and they could get to it in a few days. I feel this unacceptable from Ford for a obvious safety issue. Has the NHTSA been aware of this issue and is a recall to protect the consumer large investment in order? these trucks are not cheap and Ford touts teh moto, built Ford tough> please research and advise if there is a recourse for the consumers that are experiencing these safety issues. You can contact me doctor. Appliance@gmail. Com. Thanks for allowing me to express my concern for myself and others on the road that possibly receive life threatening injuries. Best and hope to here from you mike young branson mo. VIN: 1ft7w2n63fec46269.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford F-250 🔎.

When I operate my 2017 Ford f250 at speeds greater than 45 mph and encounter a pot hole or bump in the road the truck begins a terrible "death wobble". The steering wheel shakes violently and the entire truck shakes and rattles. The dealership replaced a steering damper as part of a Ford extended warranty program but now claim the problem will persist because I have worn ball joints and a drag link that needs replaced. I was told this would cost me over $1,100 and it is not covered by Ford although it is obviously a flaw and a result of the failed damper. I can't believe Ford is willing to ignore such an issue. My family won't ride on the highway in the truck as it is too frightening for them. The sad part is the truck has 25,000 miles and cost me $50,000 and I can't drive it or depend on it now.

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.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford F-250 🔎.

While driving at highway speeds my steering wheel shakes very violently when hitting bumps in road the shaking doesn't go away till I get vehicle slowed down to about 20 mph doing this on a interstate is very dangerous. This is happening more frequently on 10/7/20 this happened and it shook so bad air cleaner came off and vehicle lost power and stopped on highway. Vehicle had to be towed to a dealer. They found the maf sensor became dirty when air filter came off so they clean it test drove vehicle and verified vehicle shaking. They said suspensions looked good but had slight wear on track bar ball joint. They wanted to replace the steering damper and I showed them that it was replaced on 10/6/20 for the same shaking problem. I asked if this would repair the shaking they said they were not sure but it would eliminate it as a possibility. I declined their guessing game at my expense. This shaking problem is going to get someone hurt or killed and Ford needs to get a cure for this problem.

Vehicle is experiencing "death wobble". Dealership installed kc3z 3e651 b:damper assy to fix the issue. Problem re-occurred within weeks. Took it back to the dealer and they could not explain. This time they said the trac bar ball joint needed to be replaced. Replaced it and had the same problem re-occurring within days. This problem occurs randomly when driving over minor bumps, road seams in bridges, etc. With and without carrying a load. Indications are heavy vibrations in the front end/steering that will not stop until you let the vehicle DE-accelerate on it's own without using the brake.

See all problems of the 2011 Ford F-250 🔎.

Tl the contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph and driving over a bump in the roadway, the front end of the vehicle suddenly started to violently shake and vibrate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer autonation Ford located at 4355 jonesboro rd, union city, GA 30291, who diagnosed that the suspension needed to be repaired. The damper assembly, front suspension, ball joints, and tie rod connections were replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000.

Truck has 48,000 miles on it and when I was driving home from pennsylvanian (not pulling a trailer just driving home) when I was going alone the interstate at 65 miles per hour the truck started to shake violently. I braked and then back on the gas and it was fine. I've read a ton about the "Ford death wobble" and feared this when buying a f250 but didnt think that I too would be a victim of this poor design by Ford. I rotate and balance my tires every 5k to 15k miles and alignment checked okay. Very frustrating I have to buy new parts for a track that should last 100k+ without issues. I ordered an aftermarket (fox) stabilizer shock because the Ford oem one on the truck was shot (lost all its gas or leaked). Again only 48k miles what a joke! unfortunately the stabilizer shock hasn't completely solved the issue. When I hit bumps in the road I can feel the play in the wheel still and believe I need to go through and change all the ball joints and link ends. Do all this and again cross my fingers that it wont come back. Want to be part of the class action law suite. Just want a truck that works for as much as I paid for this thing from the factory. Sad Ford. I'm a die hard Ford guy but this is a sad day.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford F-250 🔎.

Purchased a 2019 Ford f250 super duty, super crew cab, four wheel drive truck. Drove great until 21k miles. The notorious "death wobble" common to these trucks has started. Driving I-25 last night, truck shook violently after driving over a bridge at 75 mph with loss of any control. Immediately let up on the throttle and allowed the truck to slow under 50 mph and the wobble corrected. Further investigation revealed nothing out of the ordinary with ball joints, suspension, etc. I will be going to the dealership to have this issue corrected. A relatively new truck with 20k miles should be just breaking in, not broken. A serious safety issue that is going to kill people if not rectified.

See all problems of the 2019 Ford F-250 🔎.

The steering on my 2015 Ford f250 has a very serious wobble. It occurs at highway speeds (55-70 mph), it is a very violent shaking that almost caused me to lose control of my truck. I have replaced the steering damper, shocks and steering arm ball joint. I am in the process of replacing all tie rod ends now as I am afraid to drive it over 50 mph.

Death wobble. Outside temp 49 degrees fahrenheit - seems to happen most when its cold outside. Driving 65 mph and front driver's wheel hit a couple of pot holes. Entire vehicle starts to wobble side to side. Had to pull over and slow down to get it to ease up, and then sometimes can get it to stop if I accelerate immediately after the slow down. After it happened the third time, we had a mechanic change the ball joint, balance and rotated the tires, then do an alignment. Both times that we have taken it to the dealership, they have claimed there is nothing wrong. Understand that they need to be in the vehicle when it happens, but looking over the complaints on this model so far, over half of the complaints are the same thing - some are listed under suspension, and some are listed under tires. There is obviously something going on here and I'm appalled that there's not been a recall.

See all problems of the 2018 Ford F-250 🔎.

Tl the contact owns a 2010 Ford F-250. While driving 70 mph, the entire vehicle shook violently and displayed the "death wobble". The contact released the accelerator pedal and the vehicle slowed down and pulled off the exit ramp. The contact was able to slowly drive to his destination. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the tie rods, trac bar, trac bar cushions, and trac bar ball joints all needed to be replaced. The contact called deacon jones Ford-Lincoln (3301 mclain st, goldsboro, nc 27534, (919) 736-3387) and was advised to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer acknowledged that there was a class action lawsuit for the "death wobble" failure. The manufacturer stated that there was no recall for the failure. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired by an independent mechanic. The failure mileage was 156,000. The VIN was unknown.

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Death wobble! dealership has replaced ball joint, bushing, new tires, some connecting rod � still happens!!! this is going to kill me or somebody!!! it happens at 70 mph and above. This is all over the internet � Ford knows about it; they just haven't fixed it.

At 75mph on a three lane freeway, I hit a bump in the road which resulted in a violent frontend shimmy that was so bad I had to pull over and slow down to 25mph to gain control. There was absolutely no warning and control of the vehicle was in question. This happened again shortly thereafter at same speed so I had to continue at 45 mph and drive on back roads to get home. On taking it to a Ford dealer they found "drag links and trackbar, ball joints had excessive play tech. Also found that steering dampener had too much movement. Replaced track bar ball joints, drag links and steering dampener. " how does this happen to a vehicle with only 30,000 miles, that has not been abused, not used in 4-wheel drive, freeway miles only, and never been in the dirt. After noticing online that it appears to be a huge problem amongst 2017 f250s, our concern is if this is a design flaw that will occur again. Next time I may not be so fortunate.

This truck starting doing the death wobble at about 50 mph. Ran over some rumble strips approaching a stop sign and the wheels shook violently. Put new drag link, tie rod and steering dampner, still did it. Put new trackbar and ball joint, bushing and had alignment still doing it. It is at dealer now replacing track bar ball joint, shocks and having alignment shimmed. Total cost about 3500.

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!.

When hitting a bump or a bridge at speeds in excess of 50 mph the vehicle would go into what is called a "death wobble" or sustained steering wheel oscillation. This was more likely to occur when the front drivers side hit the bump first or in a slight left hand turn when hitting the bump in the road. I have to immediately let off of the throttle and softly apply the breaks to about 25 mph to get the very aggressive wobbling to quit. During which time, the vehicle is very difficult to control. I have had stabilizer shocks, track bar assembly, ball joints, tires, alignments, etc completed and still experience this death wobble almost daily. It appears by reading about every forum available online, Ford is aware of this problem for years, but has failed to do anything to correct the problem. (see TSB 18-2268) for vehicles 2017-2019, but this is clearly a problem for older model vehicle also. Someone is going to die from this problem. It should be addressed.

At 125,000 miles, I began to experience the "death wobble". Hitting a rough spot on the highway, especially on a curve, the truck will randomly begin to shake. It begins in the front, shakes the steering wheel violently until I am able to slow down enough to stop it. I have replaced front stabilizer (steering damper), drag link, tie rod end, alignment, tire rotation, track bar bushing, ball joint, tie rods and another alignment. It still will randomly start to shake violently after I have hit a rough spot and especially in a curve at highway speeds. I cannot find anything else to replace. I have had two different mechanics work on the vehicle and we have together searched the web for other cures, but there are none to be found. It is not safe to drive my truck on the highway. . . The shaking becomes so violent that I become a traffic hazard and do not have enough control of the vehicle to handle it safely. The most recent event was today, 3/5/2019 but it has been happening, in between stays at the mechanic, since November.

Tl the contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph and attempting to overtake another vehicle, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact released the accelerator pedal, the speed was reduced, and the shaking was eliminated. The contact continued driving to his destination without further issues. The vehicle was taken to sterling Ford (5524 interstate 49 frontage rd, opelousas, la 70570, (337) 942-2686) previously, where the front ball joints were replaced however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 17,500.

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.

Tl the contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250 sd. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the �death wobble� when driving highway speeds and over unleveled land. The vehicle was unsafe to drive over 35 mph due to the violent shaking and vibration. An independent mechanic diagnosed the failure as the �death wobble� and replaced the tract bar, ball joints, steering stabilizer, steering damper, and performed an alignment; however, the failures continued intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 45,423.

At 36,000 miles 2017 f250 sd began to exhibit extreme loss of control with steering after traveling over uneven roadway. Road bumps caused violent shaking of the steering at speeds in excess of 35 mph. (death wobble). Dealer inspected and replaced track bar ball joint and non-functional steering damper. . . Drove 300 miles and wobble is back again. Very unsafe condition as malfunctions occur in traffic, no recall or technical service bulletin issued by Ford at this time. Someone is going to lose their life.

Tl-the contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that after 22,000 miles the vehicle started to do the "death wobble" on the highway. At speeds of 65 mph or more the whole entire front end would start shaking. The contact pulled off the road by slowing down by letting off the accelerator and slowly pulling off to the side of the road. The contact then got back on the road the vehicle did not have the issue again for the rest of the trip. The vehicle was taken into the dealer athens Ford 4260 atlanta hwy, athens, GA 30606 (706) 521-0778 and they replaced a trackbar. The issue happended again multiple times after 3 to 6 months. The vehicle was taken back in to the dealer and this time and they replaced the trackbar ball joints. The issue occured again after another 4 months and this time they diagnosed the issue as replacing the steering dampener after running specs on all parts of the front end of the vehicle. The most recent issue happened on a 500 miled trip with the " death wobble" . The manufacturer simply told the contact to take the vehicle to another dealership or trade it in. The failure mileage was 30,000. Tf.

Violent steering wheel wobble and cab vibration when hitting uneven surface driving at highway speeds (55-70mph. ) when the wobble occurs, it is impossible to steer and the only remedy is to slow as quickly as possible to around 40mph for the wobble to go away and regain control. The mileage when it started was approximately 40k and has progressively gotten worse. Now with 67k I have actually been forced off the road as I couldn't steer it away from the median. As soon as my speed dipped to approximately 40mph I regained control and was able to get back onto the freeway and proceed to the next exit for inspection. Initial diagnosis is bad ball joints on both front end sides. Be prepared to slow to 40mph quickly on a busy freeway if this ever occurs to you.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford F-250 🔎.

My vehicle has a death wobble when hitting a bump at freeway speeds. I received a notice from Ford that this is an issue with these vehicles; special field action 09l02 dated January 2018. I wasn't aware that this was a common problem, but recently talked with someone who owns the same vehicle and he happened to ask if I had the same experience. Upon receiving the notice and recalling that conversation I thought I should file a formal complaint. In particular at highway speeds, a slight bump in the road can cause the vehicle to rattle and shake in a manner that makes the vehicle uncontrollable until you come to a virtual stop. I have had almost a dozen occurrences. My mechanic checked the vehicle and alignment and steering issues, tie rods and ball joint etc. Then after it happened again sent me to the tire shop. The tire shop checked the tires and sent me back to the mechanic. The mechanic checked the vehicle again, replaced some warn parts in the steering column (I believe it was a bushing somewhere, but can confirm if needed, I have records somewhere). That decreased the frequency, but I still have experienced it twice since then. It seems intermittent, and frankly almost random as I can not always recreate the conditions that cause the problem. I can travel along the same route, same speed, and not always experience the loss of control I call a death wobble. When it does happen, as described in the sfa you have to let off the gas, apply the brakes and hold the wheel straight. It's a serious safety issue, and scared the hell out of my father and daughter when they experienced it with me on a freeway overpass that curved and I had to brake hard and couldn't steer.

See all problems of the 2008 Ford F-250 🔎.

The truck has a wobble at 55 to 85 miles an hour. It has been in the shop 3 time and will f250 will shake so bad it hurt your insides. They have replaced traction control for and ball joint, drag bar and hardware, road forced balance the tires and still will shake your teeth out of your head.

Death wobble- several times when traveling at speeds of 65mph or higher, the front of the vehicle begins to shutter and shake violently until the vehicle is slowed down to below 40 mph. Ball joints, steering damper, shocks, and tires have all been replaced however, the vehicle continues to perform dangerously at highway speeds.

While driving the truck at a speed greater than 40 mph, when you hit a bump in the road, the steering wheel and truck begin to shake to the point of non control. I've had the vehicle looked at by 3 mechanics and replaced ball joints, stabilizers, tie rods, etc. Nobody can fix it. Ford won't admit anything is wrong. . Read more...

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.

When driving at 65 mph, and the front tires hit a large bump or pot hole, the front end goes into a violent shake. This has happened (3) times in 2-weeks. On the internet, it is known as the "death wobble. " the shaking in the steering wheel was so great that it vibrated me into the next lane and I almost caused a serious accident on the freeway when I had to come to a complete stop. I took my truck to Ford and they do not recognize my complaint. All they could offer was to replace my ball joints, shocks, steering stabilizer, and track bar "at my expense. " I have researched this condition on the internet and see a substantial amount of complaints pertaining to the death wobble, and unanimously, every person says that Ford does not recognize this as a problem. My truck is unsafe to drive and is parked until I can afford the costly recommended repairs.

See all problems of the 2009 Ford F-250 🔎.

The contact owns a 2009 Ford F-250 sd. While driving 55 mph over a pothole, the vehicle started to shake violently without warning. Once the speed was reduced, the vehicle stopped shaking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician replaced the track bar, ball joint, bushing, and the steering damper. The remedy failed to repair the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 98,000.

My truck is at the dealership for the 3rd time for having the �death wobble�. First time they replaced ball joints. Second time they replaced a bar and ball joints. It wasn't long till I felt the shimmy again. At this point I am afraid to drive it because I carpool my 3 grandkids around on a daily basis and I don't want to risk their lives. You never know when the death wobble is going to happen but it is usually when you are driving 55-70 mph and hit a slight bump in the road. The wobble is so severe you can hardly keep control. You have to hit your brakes and decrease your speed until the wobbling stops. This could prove to be fatal in heavy traffic. If you google the death wobble there is a lot of information on it and it has happened numerous times for several years. I can not understand why there has not been a recall on this. I dropped my vehicle off at the dealership yesterday and as of tonight I have not been notified by them. Can anyone tell me what would be a permanent repair for this problem? if there is not one then Ford should have to buy back the vehicle and destroy it to prevent severe injury or death to someone. I love my truck but now it has proven to be unreliable and possibly dangerous.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. While driving approximately 50-65 mph, the front end of the vehicle shook severely. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the passenger side ball joints were damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

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.