Complaint 1885335

Complaint Summary

SUSPENSION

Owner Narrative

I have experienced three occurrences now where the vehicle suddenly begins to violently shake while driving between 50-70 MPH. All three times I was able to pull off the highway and stopped to inspect. Tires, lug nuts, brakes, and steering all appeared fine, so I cautiously resumed my trips without further incident. I have done some research and it appears that this is a well known issue, and is known as “Ford death wobble”. While I was able to safely move to the shoulder, I would be concerned if this occurred in heavy traffic, or if it occurred to an inexperienced driver. I am submitting this report to document these occurrences. During the last incident, I did get a traction control and hill descent malfunction indicator, but both of those cleared by themselves soon after resuming my trip. I am currently in the process of upgrading the steering stabilizer system, and replacing drag link, tie rods, ball joints to prevent any reoccurrences. While I understand these items are considered “wear” items, they should not be causing this severe of a problem at only 60k miles. (And I have no guarantee these will resolve my issue - I am replacing them as preventative measures)

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.