What 208 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford F-350 Super Crew

This truck has the death wobble. Started when I purchased the truck at 19000 miles. When at highway speeds, bridge joints and bumps will make the truck nearly uncontrollable. This has happened MANY times in the 80K miles that I've put on the vehicle. It has new tie rod ends, new shocks and has had several sets of tires in the 70k miles that I've owned it. Nothing that I've had mechanics do has fixed the death wobble. The most recent incident is listed below.

NHTSA ODI 11485059

My 2016 F350 tried to kill me! I was driving 58 mph on local Hwy 146 (where the speed limit is 60mph) with rainy conditions and put my blinker on to switch lanes and when doing so I ran over the reflective lane divider, located all down the roads for safety purposes that are designed to be drove on, my truck's steering wheel and front suspension began to violently and dangerously shaking uncontrollably! The issue was so aggressive I felt like my vehicle was going to flip! The other vehicles around me immediately recognized there was a problem and moved from around me and allowed me to pull my vehicle off to the side of the road finally slowing down and stopping. Once I got down to around 20 mph I was able to regain control of my truck and bring it to a complete stop. I was completely traumatized and fearful of continuing to drive the vehicle. I took the truck to a respectable mechanic shop right up the road from where the incident occurred and upon reviewing my truck the mechanic said he thinks it is what is referred to as the "Death Wobble," which I feel is appropriate because I truly thought I was going to die! The man said I should be okay to drive but to avoid going over 50 mph and to take it to a Ford dealer because they know of the issue/problem and are fixing it at no charge to customers, even though there has not been an official recall as of yet. While waiting to speak with a Ford representative I pulled videos of people experiencing the "Death Wobble" in their Ford and that was indeed what happened. I have filed a complaint with Ford and my case number is CAS-38233912-K2P7Y9, but I was also informed to notify NHTSA so they are aware of the situation as well so here I am.

NHTSA ODI 11480348

Assuming something in suspension. Uncontrollable vibration in front suspension/steering of vehicle. Not as of yet for my vehicle. Did find many reports online referencing what I/we experienced. Scheduled to take into Dealer and local service facility for further inspection. No warnings of any kind. Around 65 -70 MPH there's VIOLENT vibration/shaking on the wheels making steering uncontrollable. Vibration continues till vehicle's speed is reduced to around 40 MPH. Seams to occur when tires experience bumps/imperfections in road. These bumps/imperfections are minor at that. I have now experienced this situation now 6 times. As previously mentioned, during research I found multiple YouTube videos other online references this situation as "Death Wobble". Multiple News affiliation have done reports on this experance/situation.

NHTSA ODI 11472903

On 4/24/2022 I purchased a used 2016 Ford 350 super duty 4x4 to tow my 3 horse trailer, with around 86,000 miles on it. As I was driving on the freeway traveling about 65 mph. I went to pass a slow vehicle , went over the reflector bumps. The truck started violently shaking, I could barely control the truck. It felt like the tires were falling off. I had to stop in the emergency fast lane get out of the vehicle and check. I saw that the tires were fine. So I started to drive it again. I was able to get to the slow lane and drive again. I googled the problem and I had experienced the Ford Death Wobble. I was never told of such a dangerous problem or ever reported to Carfax. I would never of bought the vehicle If I would have known. This is a very serious problem. What can I do about it?

NHTSA ODI 11467772

My truck started severely shaking after reaching speeds of 50mph when driving over bumps in the road. Our mechanic replaced many front end suspension parts and it is still doing it. I have almost crashed numerous times. I have videos of this happening and almost crashing. This is NOT OK!

NHTSA ODI 11461607

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350 SD. The contact stated that while driving at speeds exceeding 60 MPH, the vehicle would suddenly experience severe front-end vibration and shaking nearly causing the driver to lose control of the steering wheel. The failure had occurred on multiple occasions after driving over a bump in the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who installed torsion bars to the suspension however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11454633

I was driving on the freeway and all of the sudden the front end started shaking violently like I hit washboard ruts on a dirt road at 70 mph. I have come to know this as the death wobble. Fortunately it was not very busy at the time this happened and I was able to get to the section between the onramp and the freeway. I am glad I was not pulling my trailer, it would probably caused an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11454525

Purchased truck new/no wrecks/no modifications from factory stock/ approx 113k miles/proper tire inflation Sat Feb 5th driving approximately 70 miles per hour in heavy traffic /good weather on interstate near Indianapolis the truck began violently shaking on the front end transferred up through steering wheel. The interstate was 3 lanes wide with heavy traffic in all lanes. Miraculously I was able to get pulled into left median without causing an accident. Vehicle was out of control. Waited several minutes for a break in traffic pulled back out and slowly went to next exit to examine for damage causing this. Cursory Visual inspection showed no broken parts Ford evidently knows of this “death wobble” and has done nothing to notify or repair 2016 Super Duty Models. My unsafe truck is home parked in my garage.

NHTSA ODI 11453778

I have started experiencing the known “death wobble”. I have 68585 miles on truck.

NHTSA ODI 11445395

After going over a bump in the road at 70 mph, vehicle began to shake violently. Unable to control the vehicle. Had to come to a complete stop. Checked tires, all tires were good and had good air pressure. Took the vehicle to repair shop. Repair shop referred to the 'Death Wobble' . They checked for any loose parts in the front suspension/steering and did not find any. They replaced the steering damper indicating sometimes this will fix the issue. Two months later I hit another bump at 70 mph, vehicle started shaking violently again for several seconds. Had to slow to under 50 mph for the shaking to stop.

NHTSA ODI 11445057

While driving at 75 mph my truck started to vibrate violently causing me to lose control of the steering. I backed it down to 40 mph to get it to stop. I continue to drive 200 more miles and it happened again while driving 65 mph. My research shows that this is happened to many Ford F350 and F250 trucks. I just wanted to make sure that I document that this is happened to me.

NHTSA ODI 11444225

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the passenger’s side track bar roller joint, passenger’s side tie rod, steering damper, and link boot to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,149.

NHTSA ODI 11444116

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hit a pothole and the front-end shook uncontrollably until coming to a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with an unknown front-end failure. Several unknown front-end parts needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the failure was called the "death wobble". The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

NHTSA ODI 11443743

When driving down the road, the entire truck starts violently shaking and making it difficult to control the truck. Slowing down to 5-10mph stops the shaking.

NHTSA ODI 11443229

I have a 2013 F350 King Ranch. It only has 31.755 miles on it. I’ve had it for 2 years. On November 28, 2021While merging onto the freeway my trucks front end stated shaking, bouncing and vibrating so bad that I had to immediately stop to about 5mph. This just happened out of absolutely nowhere. It didn’t do it again until I returned home. This time it again came out of know where at around 60mph. I had to come to a dead stop on the freeway. The truck was Uncontrollable. I again accelerated to 65mph. It started again and I stopped. This happened another 7 times on the way home. I could control it between 53-60mph. When I got home, both of my front tires were worn down on the outside 3in of tread. There were chucks of rubber the size of dimes that broke off during the violent shake and wobble. I had to get new tires the next day and today my truck to the dealership this morning. It is December 1, 2021. The best way I can explain the feeling is the following. It’s was like driving over speed bumps that where evenly spaces 3ft apart, all in a row. When hit them I immediately hit the brakes and it was like coming to a stop on the same row of speed bumps. The wobble was more violent and could just barely be controlled. I really thought the truck was coming apart. Then at 5-10mph it turned into smooth road. But my tires where getting more tore up during each wobble. Total of 11 wobble on a 10 mile stretch.

NHTSA ODI 11442244

Hit a small bump at 50 mph. Truck went into a harsh bounce and was only controlled when I hit the brakes hard. First time it's happened

NHTSA ODI 11442321

I'm told by the MEN..."DEATH WOBBLE"!! 2016 Ford 350 Platinum At a certain speed and with a bump in the road, FEELS LIKE THE TIRES ARE GOING TO GO FLYING OFF!! I had to get myself together fast, slow down, and get a better control of the steering! Oh man, the accident it could have caused being next to semis and the every day people driving their vehicles!! This could of caused a BAD accident on the interstate and with the road work going on in Amarillo, Texas! This scared the heck out of my daughter!! This puts EVERYONE at risk!! Oh, and we pull a fifth wheel RV!! The dealer I went to first wasn't very helpful, matter fact...I have NOT been told or not noted on my oil change/vehicle sheet that anything was wrong. This past week, I took it to another Ford Dealership.....well, everything associated with the "Death Wobble" needs to be replaced!! I've maintained and took the advice of Ford Dealerships, when I was told needed a new radiator, I paid for Ford to put one in. It's not fair that the Ford 2016 and prior doesn't get fixed free of charge or recalled and the 2017 and the above does for the Death Wobble. It's already bad enough that Ford's Death Wobble information was withheld from me as well as having a bad radiator when purchasing the truck! It's HORRIBLE that Ford KNOWS about the issue and lets it happen.....puts EVERYONE at risk around the Ford death wobble!!

NHTSA ODI 11439537

Front end shimmy few times installed new tires it seemed to help. Shimmy came back rebalanced wheels didnt happen for a while. Rotated tires and added new ones in rear. Drove for awhile seemed ok. 2 weeks ago we were driving about 50 mph had a shimmy but turned into violent shaking and truck was headingbinto oncoming traffic. My wife was screaming and ducking down. When it stopped and I steered it back to our lane. I had front end checked last year and before this incendent everything checked out good except stabilizer was dried out. It was replaced. The mechanic there informed us abpit fords problem with death wobble. Took to dealer for fix after finding letter they said steering damper replacement would fix it. It did not. Ford wanted to replace, track bar,some ball joints and bushings and another allignment. But could not state if it would fix the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11437909

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-350. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle would rumble and shake while driving at various speeds without warning. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, there was a blowout of the passenger’s side front tire which caused damage to the passenger’s side front quarter panel and step rail. The contact was able to place a spare tire on the vehicle and drove to an independent mechanic where he had all four tires replaced. The contact also took the vehicle to a body shop where he had the damage to the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and he was informed that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V246000 (Tires). The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

NHTSA ODI 11437818

ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 I WAS DRIVING MY F350 2016 ON THE FREEWAY AT FREEWAY SPEED 75MPH I WENT OVER SOME ROUGH ROAD AND MY TRUCK STARTED TO VIIOLENTLY SHAKE WITH OUT ANY WARNING. LUCKILY I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE SO I PROCEEDED TO STEER IT INTO THE EMERGENCY LANE FEARING FOR MY LIFE NOT WANTING TO HIT THE CONCRETE BARRIER. I TURNED MY EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON AND GOT OUT OF MY TRUCK EXPECTING TO FIND TIRES MISSPLACED. I GOT BACK ON THE FREEWAY INTO THE SLOW LANE AND WENT HOME SLOWLY. I CALLED MY DEALERSHIP AND MADE AN APPT FOR THE NEXT DAY. AFTER LOOKING AT MY TRUCK THEY CALLED ME WITH A $2200 ESTIMATE! MY TRUCK IS A 2016 F350 AND ONLY HAS 43,000 MILES ON IT. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING, THIS KIND OF FEAR SHOULDN'T BE EXPERIENCED WHEN I LOVE TO DRIVE MY TRUCK. I AM SURE THIS WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON ME WHEN I GET IT BACK, PTSD. NOT A HAPPY FORD DRIVER

NHTSA ODI 11435102

Death wobble happens when I hit a bump at high speeds nearly had two different wrecks losing control of the steering ability.

NHTSA ODI 11430816

I'VE EXPERIENCED 4 EXTREME CASES OF VIOLENT WOBBLING OF THE FRONT END, UTTERLY VIOLENT AND UNCONTROLLABLE. TAP THE BRAKES IT BECOMES WORST. CANT HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL, UTTERLY RANDOM HAPPENED 4 TIMES IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE THE TRUCK NOW AND IT'S MY ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORT. I AM TERRIFIED IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AND I WILL CRASH OR KILL MYSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE IN A WRECK WHEN THE TRUCK IS SHAKING OUT OF CONTROL. IT IS TRULY TERRIFYING. IN MOTION TYPICALLY ON A FREEWAY SPEED AROUND 50 TO 60 MPH.

NHTSA ODI 11415969

I HAVE EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS TIMES THE "DEATH WOBBLE" WHEN I HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD. THE TRUCK SHAKES VIOLENTLY AND TOTALLY LOSES STEERING UNTIL I CAN SLOW DOWN TO ABOUT 10 MPH AND THE SHAKING STOPS. IT IS VERY SCARY AND HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. IT HAS TO BE OVER 55 MPH WHEN IT HAPPENS. THE SLIGHTEST BUMP ON THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL WILL CAUSE IT. ONE TIME I WAS GOING ABOUT 75 MPH AND THOUGHT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET IT BACK IN MY LANE. IT REALLY SCARES ME AND MY PASSENGERS WHEN IT HAPPENS .I AM AFRAID TO LET MY WIFE OR KIDS DRIVE IT. FORD WON'T DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN TELL ME TO TAKE IT IN AND GET IT REPAIRED .I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY REFUSE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THE PROBLEMS THEY HAVE HAD WITH THESE ISSUES AND WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL.

NHTSA ODI 11398036

SEVERE SHAKING AND VIBRATION AFTER HITTING A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES NOW AND USUALLY AT SPEEDS GREATER THAN 50 MPH. THE VIOLENT SHAKING ONLY SUBSIDES WHEN SPEED IS GREATLY REDUCED IE BELOW 30MPH. IT ONLY HAPPENS AFTER A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD.

NHTSA ODI 11397493

DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS I EXPERIENCED THE DEATH WOBBLE AS THE TRUCK HIT A FREEWAY OVERPASS BUMP AND THEN BEGAN A VIOLENT SHAKE. IT WAS ALL I COULD DO TO HOLD THE SHAKING STEERING WHEEL AND BAKE TO A NEAR STOP. ACCELERATING TO FREEWAY SPEEDS IT SHOOK AS IF IT WANTED TO WOBBLE AGAIN BUT I REDUCED SPEEDS DOWN TO 55. I HAVE GOOD MICHELIN TIRES AND NO LOAD. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE 2014 GAS MODEL I HAD AND NOW I AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS ONE. JANUARY 2021

NHTSA ODI 11390906