Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Ford F-350 SD owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced a "death wobble". The contact then received notification for Customer Satisfaction Program: 20N04 (Steering Linkage Damper Extended Coverage). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the repair was performed; however, the failure recurred approximately 5,000 miles after the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was also referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a safety complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 38,320.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds on two separate occasions, the vehicle was shaking violently and experienced the death wobble. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,426.
I have a 2018 F350 with about 60k miles, otherwise excellent condition. Problem started about 2 months ago (around Nov 2022) or about 1 month after the last shop maintenance visit. Description: Coming home from work with driving speed around 50-60 mph the front end started shaking strongly. Had to slow down quite a bit to get it under control or stop shaking. The incident has been repeated on other roads. The stimulus that starts it all is when some roughness of the road is encountered. This shaking has become violent at times and have had to take evasive maneuvering to avoid an accident or damage to the truck. No warning lamps have come on nor have any other indicators. The problem has progressed to where it may be unsafe to take it on the freeway for any trips. I do fear for my safety and have to be vigilant at all times. …
While driving on the interstate at approximately 65 miles an hour the steering wheel began to violently shake back-and-forth and causing me to lose control of the vehicle. The first time this occurred it was relatively short-lived and lasted maybe 15 seconds as a slowed. At that time I was unsure what I had just experienced and then noted it a second time up at which I had to pull the car to this over to the side of the road and stop. The last event occurred and was prolonged with really an inability to steer the vehicle I was able to stop it. I went home and started to find someone who would repair this. When describing it to the service center I was told that this is become known as the death wobble and he recommended I get it in for repair. I looked online at videos describing the death wobble this was exactly what happened to my vehicle. …
Driving at normal highway speed while going over a bridge on highway 290 Worcester, mA the vehicle went over the metal plate that connects the bridge to the road, the front end of the vehicle started to shake. Slowly at first and quickly becoming uncontrollable. The vehicle would not stop violently shaking until I brought the truck to an almost complete stop on an extremely congested highway two days before Christmas at noon time. Many vehicles around me at the time swerved to avoid hitting me, just avoiding accidentally striking my almost completely stopped vehicle in the fast lane of the highway. My confidence in the vehicle has dropped to zero and will not allow my wife or two junior operators to drive that vehicle on the highway anymore until the vehicle problem has been corrected.
Sunday 06/12/2022: Driving south in the center lane on I-65 near Shepherdsville, Kentucky, the front end of my truck began shaking uncontrollably. I had to fight to maintain control of my truck as I attempted to decelerate and steer towards the shoulder. The shaking lasted approximately 15 seconds before I could safely get to the shoulder, and numerous cars has to brake rapidly and swerved to miss me . As I pulled to the side, I exited and looked under the front end to inspect my truck for a broken part or damage. Upon visual inspection, I couldn't see anything that appeared out of normal. I contacted the auto craft shop on Fort Knox on 06/13/2022, and they inspected the truck for broken or worn parts. They reported there was no excessively worn components.
Traveling on highway with no load and no passengers at the speed of 53 mph the trucks steering wheel began shaking violently when I hit a rough spot in the road. At this point I had to bring the vehicle to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. Motorists that where behind me were doing all they could do to stay clear of me and one driver actually waited to be sure everything was alright. This was my first experience since purchasing the vehicle new and the truck only has 25,600 miles on it , and now I'm scared to drive it. I am waiting on Ford to respond since calling them. This is very scary and dangerous and I feel lucky that no one was hurt, although I thought it was going brake my hands off while trying to hold on.
In 2019 I had to take the vehicle to the Ford dealership to have it inspected for violent shaking and loss of steering control after hitting a uneven spot in the road around 55 mph on a two lane highway towing a 40' 5th wheel. The dealership added a component which eliminated the issue for a short period of time. The vehicle has low miles and has exhibited the same issue 4 times in the last two months. Once it occurred at a speed of 35 to 40 mph on a city street and the last occurrence happened while on an on-ramp to the freeway. During the latest on-ramp event it occurred while accelerating to match freeway speeds a complete stop on the side of the freeway in order to get the shaking to stop.
While traveling approximately 60 MPH on a divided four lane road the truck drove over a small bump (crack/pothole) in the road, immediately following the truck started to develop a suspension wobble that resonated through the steering wheel and increased in amplitude quickly. I quickly identified what was happening and applied a liberal amount of braking which caused the wobble to subside immediately. I spoke to my dealer and they are going to replace the steering (redesigned per the dealer) damper as a starting point. The road condition at the time of issue was cool and dry. My biggest concern is what would have been the outcome if a less experienced person was driving.
Above 50 Miles Per hour...hitting any irregularity on the pavement such as expansion joints, potholes, road joints causes the front end to vibrate violently making the truck very difficult to handle. I took it to the dealership once,(Phil Long Ford in Colorado Springs) and they replaced the steering stabilizer. It seemed that just masked the problem. 10k miles later the problem has come back and is getting worse and worse making me not even want to drive the truck anymore as it feels unsafe on the highway. Also going around bends in the highway, as low as 40MPH the truck skips across expansion joints, bucking sideways.
Suspension complaints in other F-350 SD years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2018 Ford F-350 SD?
NHTSA has 78 complaints about the suspension of the 2018 Ford F-350 SD, 38% of the model year's 203 complaints. The component named most often is front (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2018 Ford F-350 SD suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2018 Ford F-350 SD, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2018 Ford F-350 SD suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 25,000 miles, and 50% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 2 injuries to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.