Ford Super Duty owners have complained about a problem commonly known as “death wobble” for years now, which is typically a violent shaking or wobbling that occurs while driving, generally at speeds above 50 miles-per-hour. The problem reportedly stems from defective suspension components, and spurred a lawsuit that was partially dismissed a few years ago because more than one plaintiff who had their truck repaired has not experienced this issue since the repairs were completed. It was previously unclear if plaintiffs in the case would wind up pursuing class action status, but now, that’s precisely what has happened.
According to Car Complaints, the Ford Super Duty death wobble lawsuit – Lessin, et al., v. Ford Motor Company, et al – has been certified as a class action, roughly five years since it was originally filed, but only for 2005-2007 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 and F-350 owners located in “Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas who purchased or leased a Class Vehicle for personal, family, or household purposes from an authorized Ford dealership within the United States,” according to the filing. This means that business vehicles and those not purchased from a Ford dealer aren’t included.
Thus far, Ford has argued that the statute of limitations on at least some of these pickups expired a long time ago, and previously noted that none of the plaintiffs were refused a free repair from a dealer, nor did any of those owners experience multiple unsuccessful repair attempts when their warranties applied – meaning that no breach of warranty occurred.
Regardless, the lawsuit states that Ford should “repair, recall, and/or replace the Class vehicles and to extend the applicable warranties to a reasonable period of time, or, at a minimum, to provide Plaintiff and Class Members with appropriate curative notice regarding the existence and cause of the Defect.”
Comments
I have same problem with a 2015 F350.
I have a 2014 f350 had the components replaced twice at a cost of little over 2000.00 each time ford only warranty’s repair for a year
I’ve owned three Super Duty’s, live in New Mexico, and have never experienced a “death wobble”. I’m beginning to think lots of people are just jumping on someone’s bandwagon hoping to get free money. Better check what you’re going to get vs the lawyers take.
I have a 2020 F350 DRW long bed that has had more front end alignments than it has had oil changes. I’ve never owned a vehicle that consumed tires at the rate this truck does. The front tires were on the outside to the point that the tires become slanted across the tread face. I typically get less than 20,000 miles out of front tires. In terms of cost, that comes to roughly $700 every time I have to swap out the tires on the front of this truck. My rear tires wear abnormally, but in the middle of the tire. I have been to at least six Ford dealerships and inquired about what could be done with this “bowlegged” truck and they all kind of a different rationale for what’s happening and no idea how to fix it. I’m a former – and I emphasize former – Ford truck bigot, but no more. No more Ford trucks for me. The same truck also had to have its engine replaced at 26,400 miles and the transmission rebuilt 49,000 miles. I will say that Ford picked up the tab on that as the truck was in warranty, but it should never have gone that way. With the engine was two cylinders were mailed wrong and truthfully, I have no idea what the issue caused the transmission to fail was. I’m to the point where this overpriced vehicle cannot be trusted to do the simplest of task. Whatever happened to “quality is job one“?
I have a 2003 F250 Super Duty regular cab long bed and I’ve experienced this once several years ago on the freeway. I was traveling at 55 mph and transitioning from a 3 lane to 6 lane freeway. The 3 lane freeway merged into the 6 lane with a slight elevation drop. At the bottom of the drop my truck began to shake violently enough for me to immediately begin slowing down and attempting to move to the shoulder where the shaking stopped when I got down to 40 mph. Initially the shaking made me think one of my front tires had blown but once I got down to 40 the shaking stopped and my truck appeared to be rolling just fine.
In the U.K. I’m sure that for safety reasons the limit for towing a trailer is 50 m.p.h., if the plaintiff’s drive above that speed, I can only say at their own risk, don’t blame the vehicle.
It’s not a direct result of towing, but one of maintenance and design. A properly maintained vehicle will not experience the “death wobble”, even if towing. And likewise, worn front suspension/ steering components will cause this issue, with out without a trailer. There’s many videos of both the issue and fix online. Ford has been known for this issue for decades, and yet they’re not the only vehicles that can develop the wobble. Yes, people do jump on the wagon for free money, even if they give away their personal right to sue for a few dollars. I’ve received checks for under $1 from settlements from these lawsuits with other companies, that i never knew i was involved. Had it been aware of the lawsuits, I would have opted out and retained my right to sue. The few pennies I’ve been paid pale in comparison to how much I’ve paid to these companies, to which they will quickly recoup.
Unfortunately, the breaking system has this problem. It is a little scary, but I’m used to it . I didn’t know there was something I could do about it.
I currently own a 2016 F250 6.7l Lariat that has the death wobble at speeds over 55 mph. Few times I have almost lost this vehicle and narrowly missed causing a severe collision being nearby others while it is happening. The only way to regain control is immediate deceleration with no braking and tight steering wheel control. This is a serious issue.
It’s the trucks, not the people. In the USA we drive above 50 mph every day. I have a 2000 ford Raptor, and it does the same thing at different speeds.
I have a 2015 F350 and spent 5000 to fix the death wobble, and it didn’t just occur when towing. You have to slow down to below 35 mph to stop the wobble, which on the freeway is unsafe. With the roads in Calif this occurred way too often.
I have had multiple super dutys, 2008, 2016 2017,2024.
I have no clue what this death wobble is, never experienced it with any of them. Also the other people i know that owned them never mentioned this makes me have doubts.
Is this supposed to be like the jeep wobble?
Lucky you. For those of us who have experienced it, it is not pleasant.
I have a 2018 f350 dually longbed and had it in the shop twice for this and the alignment checked more than that at the dealership.
The best alignment experience so far was at a fleet tire service center. The truck has driven better since then.
Unfortunately the class action does not appear to cover Idaho.
My 2015 F350 long bed no problem… my 2022 F250 has a problem with it once it starts i have to go to a complete stop and slowly come back up to speed
Had first Death when husband was driving. My first experience had to come to complete stop after pulling out of traffic. 2rd experience had to come to complete stop after hitting 58 miles a hour. It’s not a pleasant experience like having blow out or quickly deflated tire