2011 Ford F-350 SD Problems & Complaints

Better than average59% fewer complaints than a typical year of the F-350 SD at the same age

Owners have filed 43 complaints about the 2011 Ford F-350 SD with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is 59% fewer than a typical F-350 SD model year at the same age, making the 2011 one of the better F-350 SD years. The most reported problem area is the engine & cooling (14 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles). 7 recalls cover this model year.

43complaints
7recalls
0crashes
0fires
0injuries
0deaths

Most common 2011 Ford F-350 SD problems

  • Engine & cooling~65,000 miles
    1433%
  • Steering~35,000 miles
    1433%
  • Suspension~29,000 miles
    819%
  • Wheels & tires~40,000 miles
    716%
  • Fuel & propulsion system~77,000 miles
    614%
  • Transmission & drivetrain~42,000 miles
    49%
  • Brakes~35,000 miles
    37%
  • Electrical system~64,000 miles
    25%
  • Other / not specified~77,000 miles
    25%
  • Lights~14,000 miles
    12%
  • Body & structure~69,000 miles
    12%

Share of the 43 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.

Ford F-350 SD complaints by model year

’97’99’00’01’02’03’04’05’06’07’08’09’10’11’12’13’14’15’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’263142157158124132130217127251011950432997208209574203467189981134145148
Owner complaints per model year, Ford F-350 SD. Colour = our verdict for that year (red: avoid, orange: caution, green: better than average, blue: too new).

Best F-350 SD years: 2014, 2013, 2012. Years to avoid: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2018, 2022. Compare all years →

2011 Ford F-350 SD recalls (7)

Power train › Automatic transmission › Control module (TCM/PCM/tecm)

NHTSA recall 15V-175 · Mar 25, 2015 · 6,322 vehicles

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2015 Ford F-350, F-450, and F-550 trucks manufactured February 22, 2010, to January 30, 2015, and equipped with ambulance or fire engine preparation packages.

Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) software, free of charge. The recall began on April 22, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-360 · Jun 23, 2014 · 10 vehicles

Palfleet Truck Equipment Company, LLC (Palfleet) is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Ford F-350, F-450, and F-550 super duty vehicles modified by Palfleet and equipped with certain Muncie Power Products PTO Assemblies.

Remedy: Palfleet will notify owners, and dealers will install a new pressure switch kit that moves the switch away from the exhaust system, free of charge. The recall began on July 29, 2014.

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-328 · Jun 13, 2014 · 21 vehicles

Iowa Mold Tooling Co., Inc. will notify owners and dealers to inspect the Muncie PTO pressure switch to determine if it is from the range of defective switches and if required, remove the pressure switch assembly and put a plug in the port where the PTO switch had been installed. This switch was never being utilized.

Remedy: Iowa Mold Tooling Co., Inc. will notify owners, and dealers will install a new pressure switch kit that moves the switch away from the exhaust system, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2014.

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-327 · Jun 12, 2014 · 10 vehicles

Stahl is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Ford F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty vehicles modified by Stahl and equipped with certain Muncie Power Products PTO Assemblies. In the affected vehicles, oil may leak from the PTO pressure switch onto a thermal blanket covering the exhaust.

Remedy: Stahl will notify owners, and dealers will install a new pressure switch kit that moves the switch away from the exhaust system, free of charge.

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-382 · Jun 10, 2014 · 4 vehicles

Somerset Welding & Steel, doing business as J&J Truck equipment (J&J), is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Ford F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty chassis with 6.8L gasoline engines modified by J&J to be equipped with certain Muncie Power Products PTO Assemblies.

Remedy: Somerset will notify owners, and dealers will install a new pressure switch kit that moves the switch away from the exhaust system, free of charge. The recall began August 2014.

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-379 · Jun 10, 2014 · 16 vehicles

Utility Truck Equipment Company, LLC (Utility Truck) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 UTLI41A, 2011 UTLN41, and 2012 UTLN46 aerial trucks manufactured December 2010 to September 2013 equipped with certain Muncie Power Products PTO Assemblies installed on 2010-2013 Ford F-350, F-450 and F-550 vehicles.

Remedy: Utility Truck will notify owners, and dealers will install a new pressure switch kit that moves the switch away from the exhaust system, free of charge. The recall began in June 2014.

Show 1 more recall

Equipment

NHTSA recall 14V-307 · Jun 4, 2014 · 19 vehicles

Tactical Vehicle Outfitters (Tactical) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Ford F-350 and F-550 vehicles modified by Tactical and equipped with certain Muncie Power Products PTO Assemblies. In the affected vehicles, oil may leak from the PTO pressure switch onto a thermal blanket covering the exhaust.

Remedy: Tactical will notify owners, and dealers will install a new PTO pressure switch, free of charge. The recall began on August 1, 2014. Owners may contact Tactical customer service at 1-405-603-6700.

NHTSA defect investigations

Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2011 Ford F-350 SD:

Vehicle Commanded Engine Shutdown

NHTSA investigation RQ14005 · opened Jan 13, 2015 · closed Mar 15, 2016 · led to recall 15V-175

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this RQ to investigate allegations that the scope and remedy of safety recall 13V-535 were inadequate. Recall 13V-535 was limited to a relatively small population of Ambulance Package vehicles and ODI received complaints of pickup trucks and Fire Engine Prep Package vehicles being affected by the same defect.

What 2011 Ford F-350 SD owners say

Engine & cooling

I was passing a transport truck and just as I got even with the door of the truck my Ford f350 super duty motor quit, just shut down. A bus was coming in my lane as I was passing, the truck slowed down to let me by but I had no power, no power brakes or power steering. The bus slowed down and I braked enough to get in back of the truck and over to the side of the road. The bus went on by and the truck continued on his way and I tried to start my truck. It fired up and we drove to a tractor supply and bought some diesel oil and when we checked the oil to see how much it was down we were surprised to find it was full. We drove 200 miles home and didn't have another problem. There were no codes on the computer screen in the truck. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet but will to see if their equipment will show a reason.

138,000 miles · Dec 2016

Mar.2,2015 was traveling west on hwy. 82 about 10 miles out of prattville,al. This is a heavily traveled hwy. By truck and auto. I was given the message stop safely now and 30 sec. Later lost power on a major highway going up hill. Truck was towed to Ford dealer where I was told the truck had a recall, 14e03. I was told egt sensor #2 was replaced and the 14e03 recall was done but the two were not connected. I leaned this problem was addressed in a nov.2013 recall for ambulances but this was not addressed for the hundreds of thousands of privately owned trucks. Why? I leaned of the jan.2015 recall 14e03 when my truck was towed in to dealer. This is not only a costly but also dangerous game Ford is playing with it's customers. I was blessed!

69,000 miles · Apr 2015

Steering

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Ford f-350 SD. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shook violently. The contact had to apply the brakes to slow down the vehicle and stop the shaking. The vehicle was driven to the contact's home. The dealer (o'meara Ford, 400 w 104th ave, northglenn, co 80234) stated that there were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.

190,000 miles · Jan 2018

Vehicle wobbles/vibrates "death wobble" at high speed or when hitting a bump on freeway, only way to stop the wobble is to reduce vehicle speed to under 30 MPH, vehicle only has 35K miles, I have heard of many complaints about this issue occurring around 30K miles on fords, Dodge (a class-action lawsuit was started in 2014) & Jeep (congress has already requested a recall). I am asking that this issue is looked into further before a serious injury. Thank you

34,000 miles · Dec 2016

Suspension

Vehicle wobbles/vibrates "death wobble" at high speed or when hitting a bump on freeway, only way to stop the wobble is to reduce vehicle speed to under 30 MPH, vehicle only has 35K miles, I have heard of many complaints about this issue occurring around 30K miles on fords, Dodge (a class-action lawsuit was started in 2014) & Jeep (congress has already requested a recall). I am asking that this issue is looked into further before a serious injury. Thank you

34,000 miles · Dec 2016

Truck goes into a death wobble when driving 60mph or faster. Usually happens when you go over a bridge, cattle guard or bump in the road. Cause the cehicle to shake uncontrollably and you have to come to almost a complete stop. I have had Ford work on it and nothing has cured the problem. This issue is going to cause serious accidents if not taken seriously.

11,000 miles · May 2016

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2011 Ford F-350 SD a good car?

Based on 43 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2011 F-350 SD rates better than average: 59% fewer complaints than a typical year of the F-350 SD at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.

What is the most common problem with the 2011 Ford F-350 SD?

The engine & cooling — 14 complaints, 33% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine › diesel. Next are the steering (14) and suspension (8).

How many recalls does the 2011 Ford F-350 SD have?

There are 7 recalls for the 2011 Ford F-350 SD, the most recent from March 25, 2015 (control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.

What are the best and worst years of the Ford F-350 SD?

The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2014, 2013 and 2012. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2018 and 2022. See the full Ford F-350 SD years comparison.

At what mileage do 2011 Ford F-350 SD problems happen?

The median mileage reported in complaints is about 44,000 miles; 55% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.