2016 Ford F-350 Sd

WHILE TRAVELING HIGHWAY SPEEDS (60MPH-80MPH), STEERING AND TRUCK START SHAKING VIOLENTLY (DEATH WOBBLE) UNTIL SLOWING TO ~20MPH. SHAKING IS TRIGGERED INSTANTANEOUSLY AFTER DRIVING OVER A DEPRESSION-TYPE BUMP WHILE IN A LEFT HAND CURVE. PROBLEM IS MOST LIKELY CASTOR ALIGNMENT NEEDING ADJUSTING (SEE FORD TSB 18-2268) OR, LESS LIKELY, STEERING LINKAGE DAMPER.

FORD DEATH WOBBLE, DEFECT IN FRONT STEERING DAMPING SHOCK CAUSES TRUCK TO SEVERELY START SHAKING WHEN 1 WHEEL HITS RIPPLE IN ROAD. YOU CANT STOP THE VIOLENT SHAKING OF TRUCK WITHOUT ALMOST STOPPING TRUCK. IT SHAKES ENTIRE TRUCK. HAPPENS ON HIGHWAYS WITH RIPPLES IN PAVEMENT OR UNEVEN PAVEMENT AT SPEEDS AROUND 60 MPH OR HIGHER. FORD WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. DEALERSHIP PUTS AFTER MARKET DUAL STEERING STABILIZER KIT ON FRONT END AT PRICE OF $600.00

STARTED MY 2016 F350 SUPER DUTY 6.7 DIESEL ON A FREEZING MORNING AND DROVE TO WORK. AT LUNCH I STARTED THE VEHICLE AND ABOUT 3 MILES INTO MY DRIVE A SLOW SPEED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WENT TO A LOCAL AUTO ZONE FOR ENGINE CODE DIAGNOSTICS AND THE READER SHOWED CODE P20BA. THIS CODE INDICATES THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE EMISSIONS DEF SCR FLUID HEATER - EMISSIONS RELATED. I HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE MY VEHICLE TO A FORD DEALER AS THEY ARE COMPLETELY BOOKED FOR SERVICE CALLS. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FOUND A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE IN PRIOR YEAR MODELS OF THE SAME VEHICLE YEARS 2011-2015. THERE IS NO INDICATION OF A CURRENT RECALL FOR THE 2016 YEAR MODEL SO WILL LIKELY HAVE TO PAY UPWARDS OF $1200 (SEARCH INFORMATION INDICATION) TO GET THIS EMISSION REPAIR COMPLETED ON A VEHICLE WITH ~60K MILES. SINCE THE BODY STYLE AND ENGINE CHANGES FOR THIS FORD SUPER DUTY MODEL DID NOT CHANGE UNTIL 2017 I'M HOPING THIS RECALL WILL BE EXTENDED TO THE 2016 YEAR MODELS AS THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH OTHER OWNERS. THE RECALL I AM REFERRING TO IS FORD CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM 18M01. THE ATTACHED PICTURE MILAGE IS NOT REPRESTETATIVE OF THIS VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 60K MILES ON IT. THANKS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

I STARTED MY TRUCK AND STARTED DOWN MY DRIVEWAY. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY HARD TO TURN SO I ATTEMPTED TO STOP AND THE POWER BRAKES WERE OUT AS WELL AND ONLY HAD MANUAL BRAKES SO I HAD TO PULL THE STEERING WHEEL HARD TO TURN AND PRESS THE BRAKES VERY HARD TO STOP THE TRUCK. I STOPPED THE TRUCK, TURNED IT OFF THEN BACK ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL WITH A WHINE AND THE BRAKES WORKED BUT NOT FULLY. IT FELT LIKE THE ABS WAS ATTEMPTING TO KICK IN WHEN PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. I TOOK THE TRUCK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE POWER STEERING PUMP WENT OUT AND NEEDS REPLACED. THE TRUCK HAS 29, 618 MILES.

WHEN THE VEHICLE SPEED IS BETWEEN 40-45 MPH THE VEHICLE HAS A NOTICEABLE VIBRATION. I'VE HAD THE VEHICLE CHECKED AND HAVE THE LIFETIME BALANCE/ROTATION AND ALIGNMENT WITH FIRESTONE. I HAVE ALSO TAKEN IT TO THE FORD DEALER AND THEY SAID THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. CONTINUES TO DO THIS SINCE I'VE OWNED IT, BOUGHT USED FROM CARMAX.

I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT AT ABOUT 60 MPH ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THE VEHICLE START TO SHAKE ROUGHLY IN AN OSCILLATING STYLE, APPARENTLY KNOWN AS THE "DEATH WOBBLE". MAINTAINING CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND REQUIRED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FORCE TO KEEP THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT AND NOT CRASHING INTO OTHER CARS OR HIGHWAY WALLS. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS WAS TO SLAM ON THE BRAKES AND BRING THE VEHICLE TO A COMPLETE STOP ON A HIGHWAY.

THE FRONT SUSPENSION EXHIBITS WHAT IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "DEATH WOBBLE". THE VEHICLE HAS HAD THE FRONT SHOCKS REPLACED, AND IT STILL OCCURRED. THE DEALER INDICATED TO REPLACE THE TIRES DUE TO CUPPED TREAD CAUSED BY THE WORN-OUT SHOCKS. THIS WAS DONE. THE VEHICLE HASN'T HAD THE DEATH WOBBLE IN THE 100 MILES SINCE. HOWEVER, THE SERVICE WRITER AT THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT "YOU CAN TELL IT STILL WANTS TO, BUT IT HASN'T YET". I GET THE SAME SENSATION WHEN I DRIVE THE VEHICLE. OUR HIGHWAY SPEEDS HERE ARE 65 MPH, AND OUR INTERSTATE SPEEDS ARE 80 MPH. PRIOR TO THE TIRES BEING REPLACED, A DRIVER EXPERIENCED THE DEATH WOBBLE IN A SITUATION THAT'S WORTH REPORTING. THE DRIVER WAS TRAVELING ON A STRAIGHT STRETCH OF 65 MPH TWO-LANE HIGHWAY WHEN DEATH WOBBLE OCCURRED. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS NOT ABLE TO BE HELD ONTO, AND THE VEHICLE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE INTO THE ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC. THIS COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A FATAL HEAD ON COLLISION. I BELIEVE FORD IS AWARE OF THE REGULAR OCCURRENCE OF DEATH WOBBLE IN THESE TRUCKS, BUT THEY ARE EITHER INCAPABLE OF FIXING THEM, OR THEY DON'T WANT TO FOR FINANCIAL REASONS. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT IN MY OPINION. I CANNOT AGREE THAT CUPPED TIRES OR WORN OUT SHOCKS ARE AN ACCEPTABLE TRIGGER FOR DEATH WOBBLE THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO LEAD TO A HEAD-ON COLLISION. IT'S MY BELIEF THAT MORE TOLERANCE SHOULD BE ENGINEERED INTO VEHICLES SO THAT PEOPLE WHO CAN'T OR SIMPLY DON'T MAINTAIN THEIR VEHICLES WILL NOT BE CAUSING AVOIDABLE FATALITIES. THIS IS THE FIRST VEHICLE THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT WORN-OUT SHOCKS OR CUPPED TIRE TREAD IS CAPABLE OF CAUSING SUCH ISSUES, AND IT INFURIATES ME THAT FORD DISMISSES IT. THIS DEATH WOBBLE HAS OCCURRED REPEATEDLY IN THE THREE YEARS WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING THE VEHICLE. MANY DRIVERS HAVE EXPERIENCED IT.