Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
TIRES
LP-09L0204/01/200910028404Ford trucks: vehicles have experienced severe steering wheel and front wheel vibrations and oscillations after traveling over a bump or dip in the road. models f-250/350 super duty 4x4. *pe updated 7/22/09. csc letter was receive03/30/2009
190621001981318 inch conti tr all-terrain tires. *tt04/28/2006

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
TIRES
05/09/2009146001
 Complete tread separation around entire sidewall on left (driver) rear continental conitrac tr lt275/70r18 125/122s tire while driving at 55mph on pavement. the vehicle was a ford f-350 super duty pickup carrying no load. all tires on the truck are factory original with 14,600 miles and even tread wear. there appeared to be no checking or other damage to the tire prior to the incident. all tires were inflated at recommended levels. the tire is available for physical inspection. i also have photos of the tire damage. no damage occurred to the vehicle when stopping after the incident. *tr
06/09/2008270001
 Truck tends to shimmy uncontrollably after hitting bump 55 to 70 mph, when the truck had 2500 miles shocks were replaced helped problem until 15,000 miles returned to ford. tsb for problem was to install shimmy damper on lr of truck. not installed due to camper tie downs. problem continued to get worse, undriveable above 55 mph at 27,000 miles. problem does not occur when heavily loaded ( cabover camper) tire pressure not a factor loading is. i address the problem and the shimmy was related to one particular tire being mounted on the front. further investigation revealed a belt separation in the tire. all the tires had some degree of belt separation. replaced tires problem cured somewhat. the truck still exhibits the tendency to shimmy especially when lightly loaded no matter what the tire pressure is. i am a ase certified master tech and have cured 2 other vehicles. all three vehicles still exhibit the shimmy tendency but self dampen with good tires. all three vehicles had continental 275/70 18 tires oem. the shimmy tendency seems to be enhanced with the continental tires fitted and get worse with wear. there seems to be a resonance in truck front suspension that gets synchronized as the tires wear and or get a belt that is not quite true. the vehicles were all 05 & newer f250 or 350 4x4 srw with the 275/70 18 tires. all three vehicles have been made better by replacing the continentals with michelin ltx at 2 tires. they all still have identical characteristics as follows, tendency to shimmy but self dampen with the michelins fitted. are sensitive to front axle load, more weight on the axle less tendency to exhibit the tendency to shimmy, tire pressure does not seem to be a factor contrary to fords campaign 09l02. i am concerned this campaign advocates over inflating tires with light loads as cure for a vehicle or tire defect that needs further investigation. have more of a tendency to shimmy as the tires wear. *tr
04/15/20068000104/13/2006
 Bought f-350 with 7200 miles on it. vehicle has a violent front end shake when you hit a bump. it is worse at highway speeds and it is so uncontrollable that you feel you are going to loose control of the vehicle. the only way to stop it is to slow down and at highway speeds this is not wise. i have taken it to the dealership several times and they tell me it is tire pressure and or tires. i have bought new tires, had front end aligned and check pressure constantly and it does not help. i will not let others drive this vehicle and also advised the dealership the vehicle is unsafe to drive. i have only 31,000 miles on vehicle now and other than buying a new vehicle do not know what to do next. *tr
06/17/200540000250008/31/2004
 Front end shimmy on ford f350 4x4 crew cab dully, production year 2005. at about 40 mph when the vehicle hits a bump the front end starts to shake. the feed back through the steering wheel tries to shake the steering wheel out of the drivers hands. this vehicle has had the front stabilizer shock changed, the left side drag link changed and the front end re-aligned. this problem has been continuing since the vehicle as had approx 40,000 miles. currently the vehicle has 90k. i have been told that the shimmy is caused by the tire pressure, tires worn, front end wear, ect. *tr
12/19/2005050012/19/2005
 I purchased a new 2005 f-350 . since day one it has had a violent front end shake. it doesn't matter if you hit a bump or not. i will not drive it any more. i have taken it to the dealership 15 times and the have replaced the steering box, front coil springs, damper, shocks and adjusted the tire pressure. nothing seems to fix the problem. then i took it to an off road specialty store and spent $6200.00 on a 4inch suspension lift, new 35 tires ,dual stabilizing bars and new coil springs. the truck still shakes , bounces , shimmies and hops. i am forced to buy another vehicle (never ford again). i am very concerned for the safety of everyone on the road if ford does not fix the problem immediately. *tr
08/01/200750000504/20/2005
 Tl-the contact owns a 2005 ford f-350 superduty. while driving 55 mph, the rubber began to separate from the tires without warning. the contact also stated that the vehicle was constantly pulling. the dealer performed an alignment on the vehicle. no tire information was available. the current and failure mileages were 50,000.
02/10/20061112/07/2004
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving on the highway at various speeds in snow, the vehicle slides side to side. the vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection. upon inspection, the dealership could no duplicate the problem. the manufacturer was notified however, no repairs have been made.
12/09/20057000611/18/2004
 Dt*: the contact stated while driving on the highway at 40 mph in snow, the vehicle slides side to side when 4-wheel drive is in use. the tires seem to be the wrong size for the vehicle. the vehicle is regularly serviced at the dealership.
03/02/20052912111/22/2004
 Front tires are getting choppy. had dealer/service look to see what is the cause. states that tires were a little underinflated.*ak
10/19/20046008
 Consumer states the vehicle is for plowing. however, the coil springs are not strong enough to hold the plow. the plow actually drops down hitting the ground; causing the steering to become erratic or difficult. *ak the transmission had gone out, the tires weren't sufficient enough for this vehicle, the gas gauge read empty at half full due to the low front end and the consumer was told that there was no problem, there was no light in the glove box, there were not mud guards in the wheel well, the volume was inoperative on the radio and there was a problem with the throttle cable due to a two second delay when the gas pedal was applied. *sc
TIRES - TREAD/BELT
12/14/2005107/16/2005
 I have a tire vibration on my 2005 ford f-350. *nm
TIRES - VALVE
09/22/2007392801
 We have a 2005 ford f350 super duty. on vacation in september 2007, we had 2 valve stems fail from cracks which caused flat tires. the first was as the truck was parked. the second failed as we were on the interstate doing about 60 miles per hour. we heard it blow and got pulled over with no problem. we had both valve stems replaced and discovered that a third one was also cracked. we subsequently replaced all five valve stems with metal stems. *tr