Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | ||||||
| PE07057 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11/15/2007 | 03/14/2008 | VIOLENT FRONT END OSCILLATION | ||
| Odi has received 78 consumer complaints of severe suspension and steering wheel shimmy and oscillations commencing after the subject vehicles traveled over an uneven road surface. the majority of these incidents occurred at speeds of 50 mph or greater.thirteen of the complaints received by odi allege loss of steering control and that the vehicle changed driving lanes uncontrollably.four of the complaints received by odi allege that the vehicle left the road surface as a result of the violent suspension and steering wheel oscillations.in one case the consumer alleges that after the vehicle left the road surface, it crashed into a wooded area.additionalfactors contributing to the opening of this ea were early warning field reports,submitted by ford, describing suspension shimmy / oscillationsand a ford tsb (07-10-10) describing the suspension shimmy issue and how to repair the problem.ford has described shimmy as self-excited oscillation of the steering wheels with accompanying wheel tramp.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea) to determine if the shimmy condition that occurs on the subject vehicles creates a condition where the vehicle becomes difficult to control or startles the driver, thus presenting a safety risk. | ||||||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | ||||||
| PE07057 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 11/15/2007 | 03/14/2008 | VIOLENT FRONT END OSCILLATION | ||
| Odi has received 78 consumer complaints of severe suspension and steering wheel shimmy and oscillations commencing after the subject vehicles traveled over an uneven road surface. the majority of these incidents occurred at speeds of 50 mph or greater.thirteen of the complaints received by odi allege loss of steering control and that the vehicle changed driving lanes uncontrollably.four of the complaints received by odi allege that the vehicle left the road surface as a result of the violent suspension and steering wheel oscillations.in one case the consumer alleges that after the vehicle left the road surface, it crashed into a wooded area.additionalfactors contributing to the opening of this ea were early warning field reports,submitted by ford, describing suspension shimmy / oscillationsand a ford tsb (07-10-10) describing the suspension shimmy issue and how to repair the problem.ford has described shimmy as self-excited oscillation of the steering wheels with accompanying wheel tramp.this pe has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea) to determine if the shimmy condition that occurs on the subject vehicles creates a condition where the vehicle becomes difficult to control or startles the driver, thus presenting a safety risk. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 07/21/2007 | 10000 | ||
| Driving straight on a highway at 55 mph when after hitting a small bump in the road the front tires shook uncontrollably. this caused the truck to shift lanes and nearly hit another car. the shaking wouldnt stop until the truck slowed down. took 2 hand struggling with the steering wheel to keep the truck under control. this has happened numerous times and is extremely dangerous. today the truck is still totally stock with 33500 miles. please have ford issue a recall! | |||
| 05/08/2011 | 120000 | ||
| While driving at highway speeds, bumps in the road surface cause a violent shimmy. truck has stock suspension and oem tires. tire pressure is per ford specification (as indicated on the door pillar). seems ntsb has investigated and determined the issue is due to suspension modications or low tire pressure. this is not the case with this truck. all stock and deadly. ntsb needs to reopen their investigation before someone is injured or killed. | |||
| 09/22/2009 | 43365 | 1 | |
| 2005 f350 diesel dually this vehicle needs to be recalled! the letter that ford sent to owners is not accurate! it is not the tire pressure of the vehicle causing the severe shake! my whole truck shook profusely! it was quite scary. at posted highway speed limits if there is a slight bump in road you can be slowing down an hit a bump and truck begins to shake or going a around a curve on the highway at 65mph and if there is a bump in the road on the curve the entire truck shakes profusely. received a letter from ford stating it was tire pressure but my tire pressure is perfect. this is a defect that needs to be recalled immediately steering box rocker arm tire rod something but this truck is not right. i haul a 40ft trailer and if i had been hauling it i would be dead along with several other cars i would wiped out please get this vehicle recalled for safety of the consumer it is definitely not the problem that ford claims at this point. my truck needs to be repaired at the cost of ford and this defect needs to be recalled! please take this complaint seriously. someone will be killed like this. *tr | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 11/15/2010 | 72000 | ||
| I have a 2005 f350 with a 4 inch lift. i have experienced the ford death wobble 4 times in the last week. 3 times it was @ ~40 mph and 1 time it was at 75. scared me to death. my brakes don't work when it happens and i have to coast to get it to stop. i had the shocks replaced (72k on truck) so the 1st shop i went to told me that would fix it. no such luck... i picked it up and right after it did it again. i just took it to a company who wants $700 to replace the pitman arm and gear box. i have not done this yet. then i had a local 4x4 guy tell me that i need to replace the steering stabilizer shock and put a 2nd one on it. i have already spent $500 on shocks. the stabilizers will be $150. no one has a clear answer of what the issue is but they want me to keep spending $ on trying to figure it out. i talked to ford and they seem to be like i have no idea what i am talking about. there is a guy online who sells an aftermarket stabilizer system for ~$900 but i think ford should fix it this problem since its a design issue. please help me. i don't have a lot of money to keep troubleshooting this. ford should be held responsible. they say there is no recall on this issue but if you go out on the web, many other owners of my truck and the years and models around it are describing the same issue. i am scared to drive it. the shaking is extremely violent and i am lucky that the truck has been on a straightaway with no cars around me each time its happened....otherwise i could have flipped it and killed myself or someone else or someone dear to you... please look into this and see the stories on the web about people who have injured themselves and others due to this problem. something has to be done. | |||
| 07/04/2005 | 1 | ||
| On july 4, 2005, i purchased a 2005 ford f350 super duty lariat with long bed and dual wheels and 4wd at el cajon ford. from the beginning, the truck experienced severe front-end vibration when i reached about 60 mph. it continued until i got to about 80 mph. i complained about this problem from the first visit for service at downey ford. after a few visits for diagnostics, downey ford installed a dampener on the front end. it made the problem better, but it did not completely cure the defect. i eventually bought a lance camper, which was on the truck for over a year. while the truck had the 3000 lb camper on it, the vibration went away on the straightaway, but was horribly dangerous on the curves. for example, one such curve is the 605 sb to the 405 sb in long beach. i almost lost control of the vehicle/camper on this curve unless i almost stopped. i removed the camper about a year ago and the problem with the truck is worse. it now will vibrate uncontrollably at 40-50 mph. i reported this vibration problem every time i went to the dealer for service. they always said they did all they could with the dampener. i took the truck to el cajon ford about 3-4 weeks ago. now that it is out of warranty, ford now says it can fix the problem, but it has damage the front steering mechanism. the service writer said in a voice mail that downey put on a damper that was too small for my truck. i demanded they fix it free and they refuse. i want my truck fixed. this is a design defect, since it has existed from day 1. i have read on several websites that this is a common problem that existed well before 2005, but ford has ignored the safety issues. a high probability of an accident exists when your truck is vibrating and bouncing across lanes and you cannot step on the brake or make it worse! thank you, annette gilliam *tr | |||
| 10/05/2006 | 2000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2005 ford f-350 4x4 diesel dually truck. soon after i bought the truck i experienced a rough shimmy in the front end. when i go over bumps on the freeway or city streets the front end shimmy's out of control. the truck has been to the dealer on several occasions and they have told me that nothing is wrong. this is not my first full size truck and this is the first one that acts like this. several times it has sent me into the lanes beside me. i also tow a fifth wheel trailer and it amplifies the problem. this problem occurs every time i drive the vehicle and ford in not responsive to the problem. *tr | |||