general problems of the 2017 Ford F-350 - part 1

While traveling down the road a bump or dip in the road causes the front wheels begin to shake and jerk violently causing the vehicle to drift over the road and loose steering control. This situation is amplified when carrying or pulling a load and is extremely difficult to manage and stop once started. Braking exacerbates the situation resulting in almost loosing control. This has happed multiple times, multiple dates over the years, at different speeds usually over 45mph.

I experienced what is known as the “death wobble” after contacting a bumpy road at approximately 70 mph. I was able to exit the freeway and determine that it wasn’t a blown tire or some other condition that caused this. After some research on my vehicle, I determined that this “death wobble” is fairly common with my model and year of truck.

I’ve been having repeated issue with a death wobble I’ve replaced my draglink and tie rod end and it hasn’t helped in the slightest.

When towing a fifth wheel trailer and going down a hill the vehicle went into an oscillation that caused sever wobbling of the front end almost causing me to lose control of the vehicle that was towing the trailer. This was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced in my life. After doing some research Ford motor company knows about this issue and has yet to recall this problem it is also known as the death wobble. Is it actually going to take someone's death to see something happen about this well know issue, I certainly hope not and I hope the NHTSA will do something to force Ford motor company to correct this issue before someone does die from the "death wobble".

At differing speeds the truck experienced the "death wobble" causing the front end of the vehicle to shake uncontrollably. This happened 2 times before I had the tie rod ends replaced and several times afterward. You have to almost stop the vehicle to get the shaking to go away. It is a tremendous safety risk and could cause an accident due to the shaking or due to needing to slow almost to a stop - which could cause a rear end collision. This is a common problem with Ford f250 and f350 trucks. I had my mechanic inspect all the front end parts and he recommended replacing the tie rods and track bar. No warning lamps or other symptoms. The issue happened out of the blue.

While driving at 60 mph pulling 5th wheel RV death wobble occurred. Steering was very difficult. Immediately started slowing speed until steering became possible.

Experienced a hard death wobble going downhill towing an RV. Took truck to dealer (jones Ford in wickenburg az. ) they said it was brakes and rotors. Truck had 40,000 miles. Death wobble is a known problem. Not confident that it was only the brakes after reading what others have been told.

Truck started doing the death wobble when hitting brakes and sometimes when hitting bumps in the road. Death wobble was very violent and last for a few seconds each time before we could get vehicle stopped. I made my local Ford dealer aware of my problem and they inspected it and said it was related to the drive shaft recall. I made the earliesr appointment which was a couple weeks later. I dropped my vehicle off and they said that due to this recall malfunction it had caused damage to my tie rods and drag lengths and those parts needed to be replaced. They said their damage was directly correlated to the drive shaft recall however I would have to pay out of pocket for that to be fixed ($1400). They have had my vehicle for a week and fixed the tire rods and drag lengths but do not have the part for the drive shaft recall. They have no time line for when they will be able to get the part and told me I may come get my vehicle and use it while I wait for the part but I have to sign a waiver stating that it's dangerous to drive. They refuse to give me a loaner vehicle if I would opt to leave my vehicle there while we wait for the part. I'm currently trapped in texas with 2 horses and can't get back home to pennsylvania because my vehicle is unsafe to haul the horses back 26 hours.

While driving on I-25 south of denver on 4/13/2023, I drove over a pothole in the interstate. Immediately the front end began to violently shake resulting in me applying the brakes and rapidly slowing from 65 mph to ~30mph before the shaking stopped. I was then able to continue on. Today (4/15/2023) while traveling to boulder CO on us highway 36, the vehicle again began to violently shake as I drove over a bridge expansion joint. Again I had to rapidly decelerate from ~65 mph to ~30 mph before the shaking stopped. Known as “the death wobble”, this issue is well known in these vehicles and must be addressed by the manufacturer.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle drove over a speed bump and started shaking violently. The vehicle had experienced the death wobble. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000. The VIN was not available.

Steering wobble - I was driving on I-5 at 70 mph and ran over a small pothole. The steering started violently and uncontrollably shaking. It caused the truck to drift into the left lane but fortunately no other vehicle was along side. I was able to regain control by cautiously slowing down to about 35 mph. At that point the shaking stopped and steering went back to normal. Checking the tpms, the tires were properly inflated at the time. I went on to drive another 200+ miles without further incident. The 2017 f350 truck had 28,328 miles at the time and has only been driven on paved roads. I have noticed in the past that hitting a bump in the road seems to resonate rather than just an initial “bump” like other vehicles I’ve owned. The truck is well taken care of and has never been in an accident.

Steering stabilizer/damper. Truck has the death wobble going over 50 mph.

While driving at freeway speeds, I hit a bump with the front tires and the whole truck starts shimmying to the point I can hardly keep it on the road. I have to rapidly deaccelerate to a speed between 25 mph and 50 mph ( it varies on each occasion) to keep control of the vehicle. This has happened 5 times in the last week. The truck just turned over 28,000 miles. I'm afraid to drive it now. After the 1st occurrence I had the tires inspected and balance che ked but was told they were ok.

Traveling on the highway at approximately 65mph. Encountered a bridge expansion joint and the front tires and steering wheel began shaking violently which resulted in loss of steering and brake control. Apparently, this is a known issue with these trucks.

While driving on the freeway at approximately 60 mph the left front wheel hit a small pothole. The truck immediately begin shaking violently. The extreme shaking involved the entire front end of the truck and the steering wheel. The shaking lasted for approximately 30 seconds and stopped once the speed was reduced to about 40 mph. No warning lights or warning indicators came on before, during or after the incident. I am very fortunate that I was able to maintain enough control of the vehicle to not hit the center median on the freeway or other cars to my right. Extremely dangerous situation!.

Third time returning my Ford f350 to the friendly Ford dealership where it was purchased because of death wobble. Vehicle is driving at high speeds all three times has been on the freeway and all of a sudden it shakes violently and almost loses control of vehicle. The first time happened in January 18 of 2020 the second time happened June 25 of 2022 and then just three days ago October 12, 2022. The vehicle was almost crashed the last two times it happened. The shaking was so violent on the last time did it caused my fuel line to come loose and spell diesel fuel all the way back into town. Again it has been to the dealership three times now to fix the problem and was told this last time that everything looked ok and that I had to test drive it and re-create the situation in order for them to diagnose it. Extremely dangerous to re-create the death wobble. During the second incident when my wife was driving with my three children in the back she narrowly avoided colliding with a concrete barrier. The most recent incident with my self driving and my three children in the back and my wife in the front seat almost caused an accident with a semi driver and the person behind me as it shook violently and I tried to get off the road to stop shaking. There were no warning lights messages or other symptoms of problem prior to the failure. Vehicle has been inspected three separate times by friendly Ford of las vegas at 660 n. Decatur blvd. , las vegas, nv 89107. Do not feel safe driving the vehicle.

Truck has was is called a death wobble. At highway speeds the steering will vibrate violently after crossing an expansion joint or bump in the road. Braking or rapid slow down will resolve the shaking. The issue seems to be getting worse. The truck was taken to the dealership for repair. The repair will cost several hundred dollars and not covered by the warranty. The mileage of the truck is 80,112 and is 90% highway miles.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 67 mph and going over a bump on the roadway, the vehicle started sharking uncontrollably. The contact was able to stop on the side of the road and waited until the vehicle stopped shaking before the vehicle started to operate normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the front-end of the vehicle was repaired however, the failure continued. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the steering dampener needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 139,000.

Traveling down the road at or around 62 -65 mph and you hit a bump truck goes into a violent shake that can only be stopped by slowing down below 40 mph. You have to immediately start slowing down, and it there is someone following that isn’t paying attention it going to get us rear ended on the highway. The truck has 54,000 miles on it. Ford should own the problem.

Okay, been hearing a lot of noises up underneath it, got under there and looked at my heat shields, that are just flaking off everywhere. I'm scared that my truck is going to catch on fire at this point. All of the heat shields around pretty much everything are disintegrating and falling apart. I've already filled out several of these and I went and tried to turn the truck in and to no avail. They have done everything in their power to not fix nothing on my truck. Nothing. I need some help. Please give me a call 984-303-2866 the linkage, the power door locks and the door handles leaking, are all problems that I have and every one of them they know about and I'm scared that the front end is going to fall apart because of that linkage problem. . I can't get them to do nothing for me. I'm so tired of dealing with them and I was going to buy another truck from them and now I'm on the verge of not buying another one from them cuz they won't even fix the problems on this one. I would really appreciate if somebody would reach out to me and help me. Someone please give me a call and let me know what steps I need to do to get this taken care of. Thank you very much. I firmly believe that with your help they will do the right thing. Thank you have a blessed day.

That the intersection of 1010 and rhodes road 6204 ten-ten rd, apex, nc 27539. . I have been driving it and steady crossing my fingers hoping to god my tires don’t fly off and hurt somebody or kill somebody or me… I just can’t do it anymore, I have got to get the thing in the shop it’s got the death wobble and is just starting to scare me. . I love my truck I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but it’s definitely got a problem I honestly think it may be several different things but at any rate it needs to be fixed.

Sunday, April 3, 2021, I was driving from rte 95 to rte 128 and the 2 lanes began to merge, but as I was driving the truck hit a bump and I got the death wobble. I had to come to, almost, a complete stop on the highway, with another car coming in behind me. I got through this one, but as I was beginning to accelerate onto rte 128, the truck began once again to shake violently. It did happen again during this one trip. This also happened 2 other times, in March. Our mechanic replaced tie rod end-right lower outer and steering stabilizer on, Thursday, March 31, 2021.

Purchase the truck used from a Ford dealership February 15, 2022 w/39k miles that came with blue oval certified gold warranty that had an instant inspection. Took delivery February 25 was a online purchase. A week later March 5 driving thru a construction zone at 55mhp at high volume traffic and right front tire hit a high spot of the interstate in the right lane and the trucks steering wheel went into a valent movement/shaking left and right that it was so difficult for me to hold on the steering wheel. This death wobble didn't stop till I was able to exit the interstate at a 40mph speed. Its obvious the previous owner didn't address this issue. Thank god I was driving because my wife wouldn't been able to hold on the steering wheel as it was purchase to tow our 5th wheel camper. It fears us now towing the camper safety. It's unbelievable Ford never issue a recall for this issue. Its obvious someone must lose a life before a recall is issued.

I have experienced the very common problem of death wobble several times. Uncontrollable shaking of the steering wheel.

March 1st 2022 driving at highway speed on rt 495 s in massachusetts truck suddenly began to violently shake front end side to side. I was forced to brake, slow down till shaking stopped. Luckily cars behind me and to my right side were able to avoid hitting me. I pulled off highway and checked for something broken or loose. In forward and reverse I couldn’t find anything obvious. Will take my truck to shop today to have front end checked. During violent shaking it was all I could do to hang onto the steering wheel. If I’d only been using one hand who knows what would have happened.

Ford death wobble occurs at highway speed when hitting a bump in road. Vehicle is uncontrollable until reducing speed below 45mph.

My truck started to have a death wobble.

Traveling on interstate at 65mph and truck shook violently out of control after hitting small pothole. Felt like front wheels were wobbling with no ablility to steer safely. After braking hard , problem went away around 35 or 40 mph. Super scary and extremely dangerous.

While driving on a local 6 lane hwy, I traveled across the seam in the pavement from asphalt to concrete at an overpass bridge. The transition from asphalt to concrete resulted in a terrible vibration in my steering wheel that caused the steering wheel to come loose from my hands. I grabbed the wheel and held on and slowed the truck down until the vibration stopped. This is the 5th time this has happened. The truck shakes so violently that it feels like a wheel was coming off the front axle.

When you hit a bump at road speeds (45 mph+), the steering wheel shakes wildly and you have to slow down immediately to avoid losing control. First happened about 12 months ago. Was not a common issue until more recently. Now it seems to be nearly every time I drive it. Ongoing issue now.

Driving on highway at 65 slight bump in road & steering wheel went crazy violent vibrating in front end. Had to reduce speed to 20 to get it to stop shaking. Continued down road same thing happened. Shaking is uncontrollable almost crashed. Vehicle can be inspected it does it if I hit a bump or go over 65. No warning lights.

Death wobble lost all control of steering.

Death wobble: traveling at 65 mph, I hit a bump and the front end of the vehicle started shaking violently. I had to hit the brakes and slow down to about 35 before it stopped. This happened 3 times. This is a relatively new vehicle with 50,000 miles. The dealership claims no knowledge or responsibility. This is reported on line chat rooms and u tube extensively.

Death wobble started to occur around August 2021. No prior incidents. After the first time it would continue to happen anytime driving between 45-60 mph and hitting a bump in the road. Once you found a bump that would trigger the death wobble, you could easily recreate the problem. Once the death wobble starts you have to slow down to 5-10 mph before it’ll quit. During the wobble it is impossible to control the vehicle as the steering wheel shakes violently and it feels like all wheels are bouncing opposite of one another creating a very scary and violent situation. I had a repair shop go in and replace anything that could be related and had 2 different alignment shops look into the problem. Ultimately nothing solves the issue.

While driving at freeway speeds of 60+mph and go over any bump in the road - such as a bridge transition that should be barely noticeable - the truck begins to shake uncontrollably and will push you into other lanes of traffic. The only way to get control of the vehicle is to brake hard and fast getting below 40 mph so the shaking will stop and you can regain control of the vehicle. It is unbelievably unsafe, dangerous and absolutely frightening. It is terrifying to drive my $60,000 truck. This occurs on a daily basis if driven at those speeds. Although we have not had an accident as of yet, it will happen if we drive the truck on the freeway. Extremely disappointing that the us department of transportation has failed to do something about this. It has and will continue to kill people on the road. Ford must be mandated to fix these trucks.