Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Ford F-350 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Death wobble and learned about class action after I had front end repaired with complete overhaul ball joints etc in January 2018 ($2100 plus dollars) by my mechanic. May 16, 2021 experienced 3 incidents of death wobble in Oklahoma City enroute toTulsa, Oklahoma. See my mechanic on June 1, 2021.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 Ford f-350. While driving 25 MPH, the steering ability failed on the vehicle. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the wall of a bridge. The crash occurred on January 11, 2018. A police report was filed. The contact was injured and required medical attention. There were no warnings indicators illuminated before the failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The contact received an unknown recall notice from Ford motor company a week after the crash. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 125,000.
Driving thru town 25mph or less turning one corner fine then another corner the opposite direction and only steering wheel turned.my truck went straight into the rock wall damaged hood fender,bumper,headlight bezel and lights driver wheel, and when diagnosed the original problem it was the steering gearbox failure
My wife drove the truck to work. She said it was acting weird. It had slack going to the right. It was hard to turn to the left. When she got home it was worse. I opened the hood to check it for fluid.the fluid was good. I got inside to check out the steering. It had a lot of slack both directions. After a few turns the horn went off and I had to disconnect the battery in order to get it to go off. I then tried to turn the steering again. I could hear some grinding from the gear box. I disconnected the horn and reconnected the battery. I started the truck and attempted to turn the steering wheel again. This time fluid started to spray all over. I couldn't locate the source. I believe that there is a problem in the gear box. I don't know why the horn went off. It is not able to be driven. It is in my driveway parked. …
After hitting a bump in the road, the truck will shake violently and attempt to get out of control. The only way to correct this is bring the vehicle speed down to under 20 MPH. This problem began occurring sporadically about one year ago and has gotten consistently worse. It is so sever that I have decided to park the vehicle out of a concern for safety. I had the vehicle inspected at the local Ford dealership approximately 3-4 months ago and they said everything was fine. Today, I received in the mail a notice marked "special field action 09l02" that says the problem is due to tire inflation. I have the proper size tires and I keep them properly inflated. After researching this, I have noticed that this problem dates back to 2005 and Ford has sent this same notice out many times. It is not a tire problem. I believe it is a known suspension problem and it is dangerous. …
June 25, 2007, we were in montana and had just come down from approx. 14,000 ft. Pass, closed sun roof on our 2008 Ford f350 crewcab diesel, all 4 occupants (3 adults & 1 child) fell asleep @ 2:00 pm in the afternoon. Passenger woke as we were going off the pavement, tried to put truck back on pavement but front of truck would not get under control, hit mail boxes and veered to left (still unable to control) not speeding, hit head on into trees, rolled to roof. Air bags did not deploy on either side, driver side (front and back) roof crushed to top and into front drivers seat and almost to frame of window in the back seat. Why or what caused us all to fall asleep after closing sun roof, why were we not able to control front of truck (too heavy?), why did air bags not deploy and why did roof crush so far on a roll to roof, we did not roll completely over. Truck was totaled. …
The power steering pump started making a noise. The reservoir was empty. I filled it up about 100 miles later. Steering wheel started having a lot of play in it before turning the wheels. On the way to the dealer to have it checked out, lost all power steering. I had to call a rollback to carry it to dealer. This is a 2008 f350 with approximately 38,000 miles on it. Dealer informed me it will cost me $1500 to replace the gear box plus $75 towing. I feel like this is a factory defect and Ford motor co. Should pay for all repairs. I need advice and help to resolve this complaint.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Ford f-350. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering and braking system would suddenly malfunction causing the driver to nearly loose control of the vehicle. During the failures, the steering wheel would not turn in either direction and the brake pedal was difficult to depress. The cause of the failures were not determined. The local dealer taylor motor company located at 524 russ ave, waynesville, nc 28786 was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 211,000.
I have a 2008 Ford f-350 that I experienced a violent, shuddering, vibration at approximately 75 m.p.h. On interstate-75 yesterday, 09/19/2020, that almost caused me to crash. I looked online and there are many, many people who have and are experiencing the same, dangerous problem. I firmly believe that there should be a recall of the affected f-250 and f-350 vehicles and Ford should repairs these vehicles before anyone is injured or killed, if there hasn't been such a trajedy or tragedies already.
I was making a left hand turn when the steering started to wobble, shimming. I was traveling at approx. 45 MPH and had to slow to 20 before it stopped. This pick up has had small shimming before but nothing this bad. I just replaced the shocks and had it aligned. It seems to be even worse and yes I have the tire pressure at the recommended 80 psi. It is dangereous. Ford sent a letter April 2009 09l02. They pretty much said the NHTSA was looking into it and live with it. Please help!
NHTSA investigations
Alleged Loss of Steering
The Office of DefectsInvestigation (ODI) opened PE13-014 after identifying five complaints alleging steering gear failure in model year (MY) 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pick-up trucks and to evaluate the relationship between the design history of the steering gear assembly and the alleged defect.As background, ODI investigated steering gear sector shaft fractures in approximately 1.3 million MY 1999 - 2001…
Steering complaints in other F-350 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2008 Ford F-350?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the steering of the 2008 Ford F-350, 36% of the model year's 131 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2008 Ford F-350 steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2008 Ford F-350, though it has 6 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 2008 Ford F-350 steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 91,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to steering 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.