2018 Ford F-250 SD Steering Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  8140%
• 25k–50k
  9949%
• 50k–75k
  189%
• 75k–100k
  10%
• 100k–150k
  21%
• 150k+
  10%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Ford F-250 SD owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH over a bump on a bridge, he lost control of the steering wheel. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving to his destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the steering damper to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the steering dampers to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds above 50 MPH, the vehicle experienced violent shaking and vibration after driving over a bump in the roadway and while driving onto uneven pavement. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the steering dampener under an Extended Service Campaign. The contact stated that the replacement part used to repair the vehicle was the same part that was originally installed during the manufacturing of the vehicle. The contact was concerned that the part would eventually fail again. The manufacturer was not yet contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the front end was shaking and vibrating, and the steering wheel was uncontrollable. The contact had to hold the steering wheel tightly to keep the vehicle under control. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the dealer and was informed of a steering damper failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the steering wheel seized with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle displayed the death wobble. The failure had occurred three times. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the contact was not able to speak with a representative. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel started to shake significantly. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering damper needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,000.

While driving on I-40 east of Nashville, TN on Sunday June 13, 2021 I drove over a bridge expansion joint which sent my truck into an uncontrollable shaking of the front wheels and steering wheel. I was able to get truck onto the right shoulder and stop the shaking. I remembered getting a recall letter from Ford about this and notified a Ford dealer to get my truck into shop. The steering dampener (item in the recall), was replaced on June 30. On Sat July 3, I drove to Atlanta from Knoxville and on the way back I experienced this severe shaking three different times. Once on an expansion joint, once on a place where removal of lane markings had left gouges in the asphalt, and once again on a small pothole. My three passengers were terrified, as was I because we were in heavy traffic each time and in one location no place to pull off to safety. …

When driving above 50mph we experience a problem that our Ford service department originally called the Death Wobble, it is now called High Speed Oscillation. The steering wheel and entire front end of the truck shakes violently and I have to slow to almost a complete stop in order to regain control of the vehicle. We have have the steering damper replaced twice (the tech today said about every 20,000 miles) and the truck is in the dealer for the third time addressing this issue. This third time the work that is also being done involves a large nut that requires 450#'s of torque to adjust. We had to replace tires that wore out prematurely. This last time the impact of the violent shaking caused the other vehicles on the road to move away from us because they could see something was wrong as well. I don't scare easily, but these events are terrifying. …

On September 28, 2022 i was driving my Ford F-250 on Interstate 10. I was in traffic and had other vehicles in front of and behind me. I hit a small bump in the road and my steering wheel in front tires began to shake so violently I began to have difficulty steering the vehicle. I had to slow the vehicle to 30 mph to regain control. As I begin to slow the vehicle the shaking became more violent. Luckily there was an opening on the right side for me to try and steer the vehicle to the shoulder. Other vehicles around me noticed the issue and also had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. My truck has 89,000 miles on it and has been properly maintained. I had this vibration also previously and the manufacturer installed a new component at 56,000 miles. I contacted the same dealer who did the repair. They stated that Ford's recall was only to replace the part one time. …

2018 has Death Wobble which has been reported by many and a recall was issued but we have taken it back 3 times for this recall/death wobble=tie rod, sector shaft, drag link replaced (the first time it wasn't recalled yet so we had to pay for it and still have not been reimbursed) last 2 times they fix the tie rod, shaft or whatever but it keeps happening and it is scary. Lucky not to have caused an accident. Also because of the "death wobble" it has ruined the alignment and some tracker line thing as well as our tires and we have to pay for those things even though it is caused by the death wobble/recall?! …

Steering complaints in other F-250 SD years