2005 Ford F-250 STEERING,SUSPENSION
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
While driving at 65 Mph, towing a fifth wheel camper, encountered a mildly rough section of highway when entire front end began to wobble and shake violently. Slowed the vehicle, maintaining control. When going back up to speed, the same shaking occured again. Also noted a less violent shaking at 45 mph. Took vehicle to have new tires rebalanced but did not change condition much. Inspected front end components. Currently replacing steering damper and shocks in hopes of correcting issue. All other components new or nearly new (3 years) with no issues. Vehicle and components can be inspected, and all replaced parts will be kept for inspection if required. Safety of my vehicle and others on busy highway could have been compromised had I not slowed and maintained control. The problem is being dealt with by me, as I do most maintenance on vehicle. The vehicle has not been seen or inspected by others except by tire mechanic who noted no obvious issues but did re-balance all tires. There was NO advance warning of a failure or compromise.
towing a trailer, traveling at 70 mph, I hit a pothole and vehicle violently shook. The episode lasted for approx 30 seconds. It was very Difficult to maintain control and I almost ran off the road. It happened several times before I took it for repairs. The stabilizer bar was replaced, however the violent shaking has still continued.
Front end suspension shimmy> My granddaughter and I were driving at 60mpa and hit a bump and could not control shaking of truck until pulling over to stop. This happened without warning. Had to drive back roads to get home.
Driving on the freeway at apps 65 miles per hour, the truck hit a numb in the road and started to shaking causing the truck to shake violently. I was able to get to the side of the road and slow down which eased the shaking. I started driving again and after reaching speeds this happened two more times, then I got off the freeway and drove backroads home under 40 miles per hour.
A SCARY AND SERIOUS WOBBLE AT 35 MPH. HAD TO CREEP HOME. ALMOST LOST CONTROL.
MY TRUCK VIOLENTLY SHAKE AT ANY TIME BETWEEN 30 AN 70 MPH I HAVE TO SLOW DOWN TO MAKE IT STOP WHICH COULD CAUSE A ACCIDENT IT HAPPENS IN THE CITY AN HIGHWAY
SEVERE STEERING SHAKE AND FRONT SHIMMY AFTER GOING OVER ROUGHNESS IN ROAD. VEHICLE HAD TO BE SLOWED TO ALMOST REST TO STOP SHIMMY. HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES. *TR
DRIVING ON INTERSTATE AND RAN OFF ONTO RUMBLE STRIPS ON SIDE OF ROAD AND WHEEL SHAKE BECAME EXTREMELY VIOLENT.HAD TO BRING VEHICLE DOWN TO 30 MPH FROM 75 VERY QUICKLY AND ALMOST WAS HIT FROM BEHIND DOING SO.HAVE SEEN THIS AND HAD IT HAPPEN ON OLDER TRUCKS THAT HAD EXCESSIVE WERE IN TIE RODS AND WORN FRONT END PARTS BUT THIS TRUCK IS TIGHT SO I THOUGHT. FIRST TIME FOR THIS AND IT WAS VERY FRIGHTEN COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW VIOLENT SHAKE WAS. FORD DOES NEED TO ADDRESS THIS OR OFFER A FIX BEFORE SOMEONE DOES GET HURT. WONDER HOW MANY ARE OUT THERE THAT PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN RID OF OR NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT IT? *TR
DURING HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND YOU HIT A SET OF BUMPS OR A SINGLE BUMP MY TRUCK WILL VIOLENTLY SHAKE AT THE FRONT END. IT FEELS LIKE THE WHOLE FRONT END OF THE TRUCK IS COMING APART! FORD WILL NOT ADMIT ANYTHING IS WRONG.. THERE ARE COUNTLESS ENTRIES ABOUT THIS ALL OVER THE WEB.. IS SOMEBODY GOING TO DO SOMETHING?? *TR
CRUISING ALONG THE HIGHWAY, IF I HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD DOING ANY SPEED OVER 55 MPH THE TRUCK BEGINS TO SHAKE VERY BADLY!! SO BAD THAT I CAN HARDLY CONTROL THE TRUCK. ONLY WAY TO MAKE IT STOP IS TO SLOW TO 40 MPH. VERY UNSAFE TO DRIVE ON ANY HIGHWAY!! THERE IS NO BAD PARTS ON THIS TRUCK...
MY KIDS AND I WERE DRIVING ON I-70 WEST COMING FROM CAMBRIDGE OHIO TO COLUMBUS. WE HIT A ROUGH SPOT IN THE ROAD AND THE FRONT END STARTED SHAKING VIOLENTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THE WHOLE TRUCK WAS SHAKING. I LET MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND CHANGED LANES. THIS DID NOT STOP THE SHAKING. I WENT OFF ON THE BERM AND CONTINUED TO SLOW DOWN. AT APPROX. 35-40 MPH IT STOPPED SHAKING. I CHECKED THE TIRES AND ALL WERE FINE. WE PROCEEDED ON AND ROUGHLY 10 MILES DOWN THE ROAD IT DID IT AGAIN. I AGAIN TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS AND HEADED TOWARDS THE BERM, I DID TRY HITTING THE BRAKES THIS TIME. BRAKES MADE NO DIFFERENCE. THE SHAKING DID NOT STOP UNTIL WE WERE BETWEEN 35 AND 40 MPH. I HAVE OWNED THIS TRUCK SINCE IT HAD 5,000 MILES ON IT AND HAVE TRAVELED THIS ROAD MANY TIMES. THE TRUCK HAS ALWAYS BOUNCED AROUND WHEN HITTING ROUGH ROAD SURFACES, HOWEVER, IT STOPPED ONCE PAST THE ROUGH SPOT. MY TRUCK IS ONLY USED OCCASIONALLY AND HAS ALL OF ITS ORIGINAL COMPONENTS IT LEFT THE FACTORY WITH, INCLUDING THE TIRES. I CAN NOT FIND ANY LOOSE TIE ROD ENDS. ONCE I GOT HOME I TURNED OFF THE TRUCK AND WHEN I WENT TO RESTART IT TO PULL INTO THE GARAGE THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. THIS COULD OF BEEN TOTALLY COINCIDENCE, HOWEVER, I BELIEVE THE VIOLENT SHAKING CAUSED A BATTERY PLATE TO SHORT OUT. IN MY OPINION THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND IS NOT A SAFE CONDITION FOR ANYONE TO BE IN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IF MY WIFE HAD BEEN DRIVING, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. I APPRECIATE YOUR PROMPT ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER AS IT COULD HAVE VERY SERIOUS AND UNFORTUNATE CONSEQUENCES FOR OTHER OWNERS WHO COULD EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM, AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT WARNING.
I OWN A 2005 FORD F-250 CREW CAB 4X4 LONG BED TRUCK ALL STOCK. WHEN DRIVING AT SPEEDS ABOVE 55 MILES PER HOUR I EXPERIENCE VIOLENT SHAKING FROM THE FRONT END WHICH IS CALLED DEATH WOBBLE AFTER DOING RESEARCH. FORD SAYS THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE TRUCK AND THAT IT IS FINE. THE WOBBLE ONLY STOPS WHEN MY SPEED IS DECREASED UNDER 40 MPH OR SO. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE TRUCK IS EXTREMELY HARD TO CONTROL AND REQUIRES YOU TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES AT HIGH SPEEDS. I HAVE FOUNDS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ONLINE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE 05-06 SUPER DUTY TRUCKS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME DOZENS OF TIMES AND I'M TIRED OF IT. I PUT A LARGER SIZE TIRE ALL THE WAY AROUND AND IT DIDN'T HELP ANY. *TR
STEERING ISSUE WITH MY FORD SUPERDUTY F250. SINCE DAY 1 THE STEERING WHILE DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE TENDS TO WANDER. FEELS LIKE YOU ARE DRIVING A BUMPER CAR IN TRAFFIC ONLY HOPING YOU DO NOT HIT ANYONE. FORD ENGINEER SAID IT WAS A PROBLEM THEY SUPPOSE TO HAVE FIXED. IT HELPED FOR A WHILE APROX. 21/2 YEARS BUT AS THE TRUCK GETS OLDER IT IS STARTING TO WANDER MORE. HAS ABOUT 1-1 1/2" OF PLAY IN THE STEERING WHEEL. ITS LIKE DRIVING A 1968 FORD. HAVE READ SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER FORD BUYERS WITH SAME ISSUE. FORD SENT A NOTIFICATION A WHILE BACK AND STATED THAT WHEN THIS WANDERING OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING TO JUST SLOW DOWN. WELL THAT'S ALL FINE AND DANDY EXCEPT MY WIFE AND I TOOK OUR 2 HORSES TO FLAGSTAFF ,AZ. A FEW WEEKS AGO FOR A TRAIL RIDE COMING UP FROM PHOENIX, AZ. WE HAD TO DRIVE UP THROUGH STEEP MOUNTAINS AND THEN COME BACK DOWN STEEP MOUNTAINS. THE SPEED LIMIT IS 75 BUT WE WERE ONLY DOING 60-65 MOST OF THE TIME. MY TRUCK IS RATED TO PULL 12500 LBS. AT ONE POINT THE TRUCK DECIDED ON ITS ON TO WANDER ABOUT 2 FT. TO THE RIGHT COMING DOWN A MOUNTAIN AT THIS POINT I WAS ONLY DOING ABOUT 60 FORTUNATELY SINCE I WAS CONSTANTLY HAVING TO WORK THE STEERING WHEEL BACK AND FORTH I WAS ABLE TO EASE OFF THE THROTTLE AND BRING IT BACK IN LINE AFTER AWHILE. AGAIN FEELING LIKE WE WERE PLAYING BUMPER CARS ONLY THIS TIME WITH 2 HORSES IN THE TRAILER WHICH THE WEIGHT WAS ONLY ABOUT 6000LBS. THE HORSES WERE NOT MOVING AROUND AS THEY WERE BEAT FROM THE DAYS PLAY. THE WHOLE ORDEAL REALLY RATTLED US.THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR A LONG TIME AND IS ONLY GETTING WORST. I KNOW I AM OUT OF WARRANTY BUT SINCE FORD SUPPOSEDLY FIX IT BEFORE I THINK IT IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE. IT ALL POINTS TO A BAD STEERING BOX OR BAD FRONT SUSPENSION. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED HAD I NOT GOT THIS TRUCK UNDER CONTROL AND THE HORSES WERE NOT SAFE THEN. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED AS FORD HAS NOT BEEN MUCH HELP TO ANYONE. THEIR LITTLE NOTIFICATION TO ALL OWNERS OF THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE A REPAIR. *TR
I EXPERIENCED A SEVERE AND VIOLENT SHAKING OF THE FRONT END OF MY 2005 FORD F-250 TRUCK WHILE TRAVELING 60 MPH OVER A SLIGHT ROUGH PATCH ON A HIGHWAY. I LOST CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE AND WAS FORCED TO SWERVE OFF THE HIGHWAY. I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE VEHICLE DIRECTLY BEHIND ME. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE TRUCK BECAUSE OF THIS VIOLENT SHAKING IN THE LAST MONTH. I HAVE HAD THE TRUCK TO A LOCAL INSPECTION STATION AND THEY REPLACED THE STEERING STABILIZER AND DID AN ALIGNMENT. THIS DID NOT HELP. I HAVE CALLED THE FORD DEALER I PURCHASED THE TRUCK FROM AND THEY SAID THEY NEVER HEARD OF ANYONE HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH ANY FORD TRUCK. OBVIOUSLY, THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. I ONLY HOPE THERE IS A RECALL BEFORE TOO MANY PEOPLE DIE. *TR
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Quick Summary
The 2005 Ford F-250 has 14 STEERING,SUSPENSION complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.