What 286 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford F-250 Supercab

Driving out of state and twice in a three hour period have experienced the death wobble on the interstate , now trying to continue under 50 mph because it is a very scary shaking .

NHTSA ODI 11584218

After we drove over a bumpy section of road the truck experienced uncontrollable shaking. The road conditions were not severe, but were the cause of the shaking. During the immediate aftermath no input was possible apart from taking my foot off the accelerator. The shaking was severe and uncontrolled causing other vehicles in the vicinity to react. It felt like the truck was going to flip over. This has now happened several times since we purchased the truck. We recently had new brakes installed, but that is not the reason for the shaking.

NHTSA ODI 11583465

-I was driving 65 mph in morning rush traffic when I drove over an overpass. Near the end of the there are some small wrinkles in the concrete. Once I drove over these wrinkles in the pavement, my steering wheel and front end started violently shaking. I removed my foot from the accelerator and once my speed decreased to I'd say 20-30 mph the shaking stopped. My research show that this if referred to as the Ford Death Wobble. -The system that failed were likely the track bar bushing, damper bracket, ball joints, control arms, shocks, and struts. Yes, the truck is available for inspection upon request. -When the front end of the truck started violently shacking I was going 65 mph in lunch rush hour traffic. I'd say that my life and the life of the drivers of the vehicles to my left, right, and rear were at risk. -No, the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or anyone else. -No, the vehicle or components have not been inspected by anyone. -No, there were not any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, nor did any warning appear during or after the shaking. -My best assessment of the cause

NHTSA ODI 11570757

Increase of speed on a rough tar highway road caused a violent Death Wobble.

NHTSA ODI 11563476

My truck has developed what is colloquially called a death wobble. The truck shakes wildly and aggressively when hitting a bump. It happens most frequently when crossing the transition from roadway to bridge. But it can occure from a bump in the roadway. When it occurs I have no control. I have paid to replace the steering damper That did not alleviate the problem. My truck is a 2016 Ford F-250 Super Duty. This wobble has occurred several times. To date, except for the initial occurrence, this has only occurred on interstate highways at regular highway sppeds depending on the particular state speed limit. The initial event occurred on a state highway in Colorado while negotiaing a sweeping left curve. Thereafter, it has only occurred on interstate highways. Speeds have alwasy been 60mph or above, depending on speed limits and trafic conditions.

NHTSA ODI 11550227

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving and making a turn into the driveway, the steering wheel lost power steering functionality inadvertently and made a clicking sound. The airbag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and to a secondary dealer, Bill Utter Ford (4901 S Interstate 35 E, Denton, TX 76210), where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11548217

Death wobble at approximately 60 mph. The truck is absolutely uncontrollable when this occurs. The only way to stop it is to stop the vehicle. This is a known issue with this truck. Will have it evaluated at a shop next week.

NHTSA ODI 11546248

DEATH WOBBLE! Driving at any speeds from 30 MPH to highway speeds of 65-70 MPH, the front end (front suspension) of the truck will Wobble Uncontrollably in a Vehement and Violent Manner, making driving unsafe with loss of steering after hitting a small bump or dip in the road/highway. The condition is worse when pulling a 30 foot gooseneck trailer. I have replaced the front shocks, steering damper, and rear shocks and to no avail, the Death Wobble still occurs! This is Major Safety Concern and Life Threatening to myself and anyone on the road during the Death Wobble, and seeing the reaction of other drivers in the opposite direction should be cause for concern! My truck is at a dealer now for inspection of the front end suspension system (drag link, track bar, tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, tires, and alignment), to include the engine mounts, which were worn and deteriorating (I noticed this when I was replacing my steering damper) probably from the Death Wobble. The tires were balanced and rotated on September 9th by Discount Tire and the technicians there didn't see any problems with the tires or the wheels. I get my tires balanced and rotated about every 7,500 miles and I keep an accurate vehicle history of my truck.

NHTSA ODI 11546284

In 2022 Ford issued a recall for my 2016 F250 for the clockspring. In mid 2023 for said sent me a letter telling me the parts are in stock contact a local dealer for repair. I dropped off my tuck and 2 day later I was told by deal it’s fixed come pick it up. I got in my truck and all the same issues were there. Airbag light is on, steering is sticking, no horn or other electrical working on steering wheel. The dealer said they did a temp fix which I later found was not true, Ford has no temp fix. After contacting Ford directly and being sent to another dealing by Ford Corp I was told Ford has no part number or fox for trucks with heated steering. Ford has failed to remedy as their team does not have a part made to correct. This is a safety issues and they have a dealer saying don’t worry your airbag will deploy. Fraud along with failure to remedy in a timely manner.

NHTSA ODI 11545730

Vehicle developed a death wabble at 98,000 miles and is getting worse. hit a bump and started to wobble violently and had to hit brakes and pull to side of road and stop to get to quit wobbling. happened two more times on the way home. thought i was going to loose control of vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11542734

Death wobble. I took it to Vallery Ford in Waverly Ohio. They told Ford recommended that the steering linkage be replaced. They did that and told me the truck was repaired and ready to pick up. I picked it up and as soon as I got over 45mph and ran over a seam in the road the death wobble was the same. I turned around and took it back. They acted like they didn't believe me. I waited about 1 1/2 hours and the service manager finally drove it. When he came back he apologized and said he thought he was going to die. So I left the truck there again. The next time they called to say it was repaired I went back to pick it up. They replaced tie rods, ball joints and track bar ball joints. I drove it home and it kind of bumped along and the steering wheel wasn't straight it was off center to the right. I called them and they told me to bring it back again. I waited at the dealer because they said it would only take about an hour to realign it again. When I drove away the steering wheel was not straight, it was not straight to the left. Turned around and took it back. They said maybe one of the tie rods was defective. I left it there. After about a week and a half they called and said it was done again. I picked it up today. As soon as I got over 45mph the death wobble was back as bad or even worse before I took it in the first time there. I left it, but they said they don't know what else they can do. It's not safe to drive. I'm 68 years old, I am lost over this. What can I do?

NHTSA ODI 11541245

HIT A POTHOLE FRONT END SHACKS HAVE TO STOP FAST VERY BAD

NHTSA ODI 11537959

Severe shaking of front end at highway speeds (55-65mph) causing inability to control steering causing immediate reduction in speed to avoid accident and stopping. No warning lamps or messages prior to vehicle shaking. Road was dry and normal conditions. Did not hit any hazard, no potholes, or debris causing damage or explanation as to why truck began to shake. Safety of driver and passengers were at risk due to possible loss of control if continued driving. Problem continued returning to home where vehicle parked approximately 25 miles at 45 mph with no major shaking. This occurred August 6, 2023, at approximately 5:00pm. There was me and one passenger on way to doctor appointment in Tulsa, a 4-hour drive. Did not trust vehicle safety to continue trip. Drove it home and parked. Vehicle is going to be taken to Ford dealership, in Idabel, OK, where purchased and all maintenance has been done. Truck has 33,971.5 miles as sitting now. Not used extensively, highway miles. Will drive to dealership on August 16th, 2023. Leaving it there for them to diagnose and repair the problem. Available to be inspected.

NHTSA ODI 11537554

I have difficulty maintaining control of my 2016 Ford F-250 (purchased in 2019) after hitting any bumps going highway speeds, and is notably worse if this happens during any non-straight sections of highway. Commonly referred to as the "death wobble," it does truly feel like the front end of my truck no longer has traction with the road and I am unable to steer the truck safely until the "wobble" resolves, typically once I reduce my vehicle speed under 40mph. There have been instances when I have hit a bump on the highway while the highway is curving to the left or right and my truck will skitter into the next outside lane without my control and have luckily avoided crash/injury. When I am towing my camper (31' 5th wheel), the issue seems to be deflected back to the trailer so I hit a bump and the front end movement gets transferred to the back so I have my trailer whipping back and forth until I reduce my travel speed. I have brought this issue to the attention of more than one Ford dealership and have had my vehicle inspected. I have had the steering damper replaced twice without resolution. One dealership noted a tire arm with "some play" which I chose to have replaced without any significant change in this issue. This dealership did acknowledge there was some steering/control issues with the truck prior to the part being replaced. They also recommended I replace my tires to reduce this issue, which I did, and have not noticed a change either. I maintenance my vehicle as recommended and this issue has been ongoing since 2021. At no point has any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms appeared for this issue. My traction control light doesn't even illuminate when I have lost control of my vehicle and moved into another lane involuntarily.

NHTSA ODI 11531856

Upon hitting small road bump while accelerating to highway speed, steering wheel started violently shaking (death wobble), had to decelerate quickly to regain control. Upon later inspection found steering damper bad and some resulting ball joint play in several areas due to bad steering damper.

NHTSA ODI 11525599

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel was stiff and made rattling sounds while making a turn. The air bag warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the horn, cruise control, phone, and radio buttons on the steering wheel were inoperable. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that parts were expected to become available in the third quarter of 2023. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11523219

A notice of recall was received July 2022 by my family with the following numbers: Safety Recall Notice 22S35 / NHTSA Recall 22V337. I called NHTSA today to follow up on this notice, which in July 2022 I was told by Parsons Ford the fix was not available as of yet. [XXX] with NHTSA gave me a number to Ford's customer care hotline. Ford contacted Malloy Ford in Winchester VA which is suppose to call us when an actionable fix is available. They have no clue when that will be so I contacted NHTSA again today which now says there is no recall on my vehicle. So are we driving a vehicle that could potentially kill us or not. Why would the recall disappear within hours of talking to NHTSA & Ford? INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11513232

When I drove over 50mph and hit any bump the front of the truck shakes wildly. Online says DEATH WOBBLE. This has been going on for 4 months. When taking my children to school 20+ miles away on the highway this has happened several times to and from school on the same day. Other vehicles move out of my line to avoid me while I slow the truck to under 45 mph. They are scared and nervous about getting to school safely. My mother and wife refuse to drive the truck after experiencing this while driving. The fuel injector now also has a problem. The truck is going in to be serviced for the failing fuel injector and death wobble hopefully today if Waldorf MD Ford has openings I am awaiting a call back. It has not been inspected yet only diagnostic at AutoZone showing the fuel injector error code. No warning was given prior to this happening, the truck was riding smoothly, hit a bump in the highway and went crazy. Then it did it again and again and again.

NHTSA ODI 11503106

I was experiencing what is known as the "death wobble" in my 2016 Ford F250 FX4 truck. The truck only has 56,000 miles but is out of warranty. I recently spent $1326.00 to have the problem repaired. Apparently this is a major problem with these trucks. I have the repair bill but didn't include it with this statement.

NHTSA ODI 11502376

On a highway, 65-70 mph, drove over a rough patch of road and truck front end began to shake violently(death wobble). Happened three times on same day, same trip. On all occasions we were very lucky to be able to stop or slow down without being involved in an accident. I spent $5000 this past summer that was suppose to have fixed the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11501635

Entered a highway on-ramp, accelerating to 65-70 mph, drove over a rough patch of road and truck front end began to shake violently(death wobble) we were very lucky to be able to slow down without being involved in an accident. I spent $5000 this past summer that was suppose to have fixed this problem.

NHTSA ODI 11501639

Truck was driving 70 mph going to TN when it started shaking and grinding or awful noise. Lost control of steering d/t shaking. Slowed down and pulled over to side of road to check vehicle equipment. Made call to my son who said it's the death wobble, advised to slow below 60 mph. No death wobble again unless I hit a bump then it started again.

NHTSA ODI 11500521

At highway speed on Interstate-95, I hit a rough patch of asphalt paving and front end of vehicle began to shake uncontrollably. Vehicle continued to shake violently until speed was significantly reduced below the flow of traffic thus creating an extremely dangerous situation. All 4 shocks and steering stabilizer were replace with upgraded Bilstein brand products bya Ford master mechanic within the last 6 months.

NHTSA ODI 11496146

Violently shaking can not control truck, I’ve looked this up and it is known as the death wobble. It looks like they have recalled /027 but not 2016 models what can be done about this. It has happened about 6 times in 3 days

NHTSA ODI 11495025

There was a violent shaking from the front end od my Ford F250 Super Duty trucks happening on the freeway while driving over 50 miles and hour. This has happended 3 times in the last 6 months. It is very dangerous and causes other vehicles around to try and get out of the way. It only stops after reducing to a dangerously low speed on the freeway. It is very scary and life threatening in my opinion. Please recall and correct!

NHTSA ODI 11494981