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

At speed on interstate after hitting bumps in the roadway front end started to wobble bad. Had to slow down below 45mph to get wobble to stop.

NHTSA ODI 11494312

Ford sent me a recall #22S35 regarding a clock spring contamination of the steering wheel date (5/2022) notice beginning in 6/2022 to have it repaired by making an appt with a local dealer however, the dealer service advisors at Tustin Ford in Ca told me in multiple calls to them that Ford does not have the parts built yet. Please advise John J. Rochefort (949) 285-7171 jrmw@cox.net

NHTSA ODI 11494234

The airbag light is on as the spring in the steering column has become contaminated which caused audible cracking sounds in steering column, degrading steering and the horn not to function.

NHTSA ODI 11490710

I have had multiple repairs done and several components replaced and im still fighting a death wobble issue. It occurs at normal opersting speeds above 40mph when you travel across bumpy surfaces.

NHTSA ODI 11489165

Death wobble occurred this morning for the first time ever. It was terrifying for me and my children. I had to slam on the brakes so hard that I nearly slid off the road! The fact that Ford doesn’t acknowledge this is ridiculous. I hope and pray that this does not occur with my children in the vehicle, or while I’m hauling my horses.

NHTSA ODI 11486890

violent shaking from front end at moderate highway speed experienced when bumps road or when driving on groved surfaces. problem confirmed by ford mechanic and repaired at my expense. Approximately one year later same violent shake. same ford dealer replaced parts originally repaired by them. from time to time a less severe shake has been noted. Have repair invoices. concerned this problem will result one day in loss of vehicle control.

NHTSA ODI 11485129

While driving on a highway I went over a bump in the road and the vehicle started shaking violently and I could not control it. I applied the brakes and slowed to about 30 mph and the shaking stopped. No other motorists were involved.

NHTSA ODI 11483883

Traveling on uneven road leads to uncontrollable driving when u hit a bump the front end shakes to the point you have to stop even when passing a vehicle on interstates ( my incident) my mechanic has changed numerous parts , rotated tires ( installed 06 21) i cannot let my wife drive this truck for fear of her not being able to control the shaking if she hits a bump especially while on the interstate I just think she would freak out I did the first time now I am very cautious when driving but in Louisiana it is impossible to miss a bump

NHTSA ODI 11483909

the front end started the death wobble and i lost control and ended up in the dirt in the center divider of the freeway.

NHTSA ODI 11482158

On 08/01/2022 at approximately 1400 hours, I was driving my 2016 Ford F250 4x4 and towing a 5th wheel trailer weighing approximately 14000 lbs. I was traveling at approximately 60 MPH when I hit a small bump on I-215 which caused a violent shaking from the front end of the vehicle (condition commonly referred to as "death wobble"). I immediately released the accelerator to try and correct the violent shake, but the condition continued. I attempted to brake, which caused the condition to worsen and brake efficiency was greatly reduced. Allowing the vehicle to coast and slow down without brake input was the only way to correct the condition. Once we slowed to below 45 MPH, the condition was no longer present. I inspected the front end suspension and steering components of the vehicle. I discovered the ball joint (Ford Part# MCF-2225) securing the track bar to the front axle was warn and had excessive play in it. This play allowed the front axle to have lateral movement perpendicular to the vehicles travel. All other suspension and steering components checked okay. After replacement of the track bar ball joint, the condition has not reoccured. The defective ball joint is available for inspection, however it fell apart when pressed out of the front axle. This issue caused a severe reduction in steering and braking, putting myself and those around me at risk. As the truck is no longer in warranty, it has not been seen by the dealer or a third party. There was no warning prior to the condition occurring.

NHTSA ODI 11479074

While driving south on interstate 59, I crossed over a bridge and when I went across the bridge to highway connection and it had a bump in it at this point and at 65 mph the front end went into a violet shimmy and with cars on both sides of me it was all I could do to keep from colliding with the other cars before I could get the truck stopped and off the road. I have inspected all the front ball joints and wheel bearings, can't determine what caused it, but now I'm scared to drive it.

NHTSA ODI 11474590

The front-end of vehicle begins to violently shake after crossing over a rough spot in road or driving over grooves in road. The only way to stop the violent shake is to extremely slow or stop the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11473134

Writing about the so called "death wobble" of the steering wheel. It happens over 50 mph and when hitting even smallest pot hole or a bump.

NHTSA ODI 11472987

My truck regular experiences violent shakes when I hit bumps in the road when traveling over 45MPH. I was on a bridge today and had to slow traffic to less than 30mph to control the shakes. The last 4 times I have entered the freeway at a specific entrance I have experienced the violent shakes, requiring me to enter the emergency lane to gain control.

NHTSA ODI 11472165

My vehicle violently shakes when hitting even the most minute bump in the road, known to some as the "death wobble." I took it to the dealership to inspect and Ford will not fix it, unless I pay. It is a safety issue and in the last month, I've had four instances where I have stopped traffic behind me while the truck was shaking and it literally bounced its way into another lane. I am a service member and I'm pretty sure if I am injured, the military will sue Ford for the hospital bill. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by Ford. There are no warning lights or warning before it occurs, other than I know to drive real slow and not hit bumps. It cannot be trusted on the highway, so I avoid it now. The first time it happened was in 2021 and I've talked to Ford since, but there is no safety recall.

NHTSA ODI 11471027

On approximately 26 May 2022 I was driving down an entrance ramp to I-77 and the front end of the truck started shaking very severely -- violently. This was without any warning and I had never experienced anything like this before on this vehicle, or any other vehicle I had ever driven. I took my foot off the gas and pretty much coasted to the side of the road to a stop. I caught my breath, suspected there was an issue with the shock absorber, and slowly accelerated again and merged onto the interstate and drove the rest of the way home. There were no more similar instances like this for several days. When I got back to my RV I check the shock and could see no problems. On 5 June I went to a local Firestone Service Center for an alignment check and to see if they could find a problem. They made minor corrections to the alignment; told me they could find not problems, even though they told me the tech said there was a lot of vibration at about 55 MPH when he took it for a test drive; and then advised me to take it to a Ford dealer for review. On my drive back to my RV I experienced about 4 more instances of very severe and violent front end shaking of the truck, typically when I was at 55 MPH or faster. In each case the shaking would not stop until I pulled over and came to a stop. On Monday, 6 June I visited two Ford dealerships and one independent repair shop to try and get an analysis and fix. I have been able to make an appointment for 8 June. During the drive back to my RV on the 6th I experienced 3 more vibration events. One of these was as I was decelerating and exiting the interstate and was traveling at about 45 MPH. This front end vibration shakes the front end of the truck and steering wheels extremely bad. I was able to maintain control but it would not take much to send the truck into a sideways skid. From what the Firestone tech told me I believe they were able to confirm the vibration issue, but they did not communicate the severity very well.

NHTSA ODI 11467981

THE TRUCK HAS THE DEATH WOBBLE. I HAD DEALER BALANCE DRIVESHAFT 2X, AS WELL AS, THE DEALER ADJUSTED THE ALIGNMENT AGAIN... THE TRUCK IS STILL EXPERIENCING SUSTAINED STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATION AND I AM AGAIN EXPERIENCING THE DEATH WOBBLE, LESS THAN 1,000 MILES AFTER THE MOST RECENT REPAIR. IT IS VERY UNFORTUNATE THAT CONSUMERS PURCHASE 50K+ DOLLAR TRUCKS AND SO MANY PEOPLE ARE NERVOUS DRIVING THEM DOWN THE ROAD. FORD KEEPS THE MONTRA UP OF SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. REVIEW THE DATA, THE DATA WILL TELL THE STORY. CHANGE POINTS. ROOT CAUSE AND PERMANENT COUNTERMEASURES. I HAVE REVIEWED THE HISTORICAL F250 CREW CAB 4X4 COMPLAINT DATA ON THIS SITE (NHTSA) AND THE DATA DOES TELL A STORY. THAT STORY IS VERY CLEAR THAT FORD IS NOT CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING THE DEATH WOBBLE ISSUE ON THE SUPER DUTY, INSTEAD IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE. THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE POINT WITH THIS FOURTH GENERATION F250. (2017,2018,2019) AS OF 11/21/19 THE FOURTH GENERATION F250 SUPER DUTY HAS HAD MORE NHTSA SUSPENSION AND STEERING COMPLAINTS FOR THE DEATH WOBBLE THAN THE PREVIOUS TWO GENERATIONS COMBINED. (9 YEARS. SECOND GENERATION 2008-2010 AND THIRD GENERATION 2011-2016) THE CURRENT REPAIRS (COUNTERMEASURES) ARE NOT EFFECTIVE AND ARE NOT PERMANENT. THIS CAN CLEARLY BE SEEN IN THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA. THE REPAIRS EITHER DO NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AT ALL OR ARE ONLY A TEMPORARILY BAND AID FOR THE ISSUE. THIS IS TRULY A SAFETY CONCERN AND TO DATE NOTHING HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO CORRECT THE ISSUE. PLEASE, OPEN AN INVESTIGATION AND FORCE FORD TO PERMANENTLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11459237

When driving my 2016 Ford F250 Diesel at 70MPH I hit a bridge transition on Interstate 24. It had a bumpy transition between the road and bridge itself. The trucks front end started shaking violently and the steering wheel was difficult to control from shaking side to side. At first I thought that I blew a tire or that one of my front wheels was about to come off. I hit the brakes to try and get the shaking to stop to no avail. I had to slow down to about 20 mph before the shaking stopped. In the meantime there was a semi behind me that almost rear ended me and had to swerve violently to avoid rear ending me because I had braked unexpectedly. The road conditions were wet with moderate rain and 60 degrees F. I continued driving and it happened 3 other times in the same trip. Two of the other times happened at a rough bridge transition and once was when I hit a pothole at highway speed. Because the truck is a heavy duty truck, I often pull a trailer loaded with granite (up to 26000 lbs GVW. That Day I was carrying a 9500 lb forklift on the trailer transferring it to a jobsite which made bringing the truck slowing down even more dangerous. The next day I called the Ford Dealership to tell them of the problem and the service writer said "oh, you got the Death Wobble". That sounds horrifying in and of itself. I asked him if Ford takes care of this and he said "no, I don't see any recalls on it." This is something that Ford absolutely should take care of. I don't know what causes it, but it is terrifying when it happens and I feel lucky that that 80,000 lb semi didn't devour the back of my trailer and truck. I have scheduled a service appointment to look at the problem but I have little confidence after reading about this issue online that Ford will take any responsibility for this issue. I feel that this is something Ford should be FORCED to fix. Sincerely CONCERNED/SCARED

NHTSA ODI 11452962

There is a problem called death wobble with our 2016 F250 truck. Driving down the highway and you hit a dip going over a bridge or a hole in the highway and it starts to wobble and you can hardly control it, you can not apply brakes because it feels like it is going to turn over with you. We use this truck in the roofing business and if we had had the trailer behind it there would have been an accident because there was traffic around us but have been able to stop before an accident. There is always two or three worker riding in the truck and they were scared to death. I do not want someone to be killed because of this problem. I called the dealership were I purchased it and they are telling me I have to pay for the repair. I know there is a class action lawsuit against ford for this problem and don't feel I should have to pay for the repair. I have had two independent service center check it and there is no problem except the wobble they have both driven it and both told me it is the death wobble. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer because they said they would charge me to do that. There is no warning sign that this is going to happen. It happens if your speed is o 65 to 70 miles an hour. I have contracted Ford Motor Co and was advised to write a letter to the office in Dearborn, MI and I will do that when I finish this report. I feel like there should be a recall on this problem before someone is killed or seriously injured from it , if they have not already been. This had happen several time in the last week. I am giving you the last date it happen below.

NHTSA ODI 11448267

Driving 65mph on I40 hit a transition area of the pavement and the truck began the shake violently almost unable to control truck due to the shake. Had to come to a complete stop to make it stop. Happened again when I hit the next bump. I have read this is referred to as the death wobble. It is very scary and could cause an accident even loss of life due to an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11448068

The front suspension shakes violently after encountering an irregularity in the road commonly referred to by the f250 community as " the death wobble".

NHTSA ODI 11446594

I have experience severe steering oscillation on numerous occasions. The vehicle has 48755 miles as of 28 DEC 21. This condition occurs at highway speeds when driving over a rough road.

NHTSA ODI 11445316

Have been experiencing Wobble of death multiple times driving on the highway. Very scary. Having to stop or slow down quickly in heavy traffic. The Last time was 3 times in 15 minutes on 12/26/21. This happened on IH 10 leaving Beaumont. No warning signs or messages. Just started shaking violently.

NHTSA ODI 11444973

Both Control Arm bushings and Steering Stabilizer have both failed causing a severe Death Wobble at highway speeds. This condition has nearly caused an accident on 4 separate occasions.

NHTSA ODI 11441935

I have experienced what is known as the “DEATH WOBBLE” with my 2016 Ford F-250 super-duty pickup. I have taken it back the dealer after the first incident to have it repaired ($291.00) worth and it done it twice since then, less than 3 weeks after repairs. I’m out of town now so I hope I can get it home for it to go back to the dealer for more repairs. I don’t agree with Ford motor co. Decision not to recall all the trucks with this issue. I will not buy another Ford truck unless I know for sure this is resolved.

NHTSA ODI 11441615