Diagsheet

2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty · symptom sheet

Suspension noise, struts or alignment

  • 587owner reports
  • 28,987median miles
  • $1,000median quote
  • 4involved a crash

Newest report Apr 5, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

587 of the 1,155 complaints on this car describe suspension, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2017 F-250 Super Duty.

Tick what matches of 587 reports

260
14
35
69
14

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the sway bar link (40 reports), the struts or shocks (14 reports), the ball joint (7 reports) and the bushing (6 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the suspension system covers the 2017 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the suspension system on the F-250 Super Duty

EA08-007opened Mar 14, 2008
Suspension · model years 2005 to 2007

Violent front end oscillation. Closed mar 31, 2009.

NHTSA summary
THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED BASED ON 78 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS OF SEVERE SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATIONS AFTER THE SUBJECT VEHICLES TRAVELED OVER AN UNEVEN SURFACE.ODI WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THESE COMPLAINTS BECAUSE MANY OF THEM ALLEGED LOSS OF CONTROL AND THE LOSS OF CONTROL OCCURREDAT SPEEDS ABOVE 50 MILES PER HOUR.AT THE TIME THESE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED, ODI WAS ALSO AWARE OF THE TSB 07-10-10 AND EARLY WARNING FIELD REPORTS THAT DISCUSSED THE SHIMMY CONDITION ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.SINCE OPENING THIS INVESTIGATION, ODI HAS CONFIRMED, BASED ON CONSUMER COMPLAINTS, WARRANTY DATA, TESTING CONDUCTED BY VRTC, AND ODI INSPECTION OF COMPLAINT VEHICLES, THAT THE OWNERS OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE EXPERIENCING SHIMMY EVENTS ON THEIR VEHICLES.HOWEVER, ODI HAS ALSO CONFIRMED THAT OWNERS TYPICALLY DO NOT MAINTAIN THEIR TIRES AT THE PRESSURES RECOMMENDED BY FORD ON THE TIRE LABEL.FURTHER, ODI HAS FOUND THAT IN ORDER FOR SHIMMY TO OCCUR, TIRE PRESSURES MUST BE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW (AT LEAST 20%) THOSE SPECIFIED ON THE VEHICLE TIRE LABEL.ODI CONSIDERS THESE UNSAFE TIRE CONDITIONS TO BE THE RESULT OF ONE OF THREE TYPICAL SITUATIONS.THE TIRES ARE BEING IMPROPERLY MAINTAINED, THE OWNERS ARE INTENTIONALLY SETTING THE TIRE PRESSURES LOW TO ENHANCE RIDE QUALITY, OR AFTERMARKET TIRES (NOT DESIGNED FOR USE ON THE VEHICLE) ARE INSTALLED TO CHANGE THE APPEARANCE OR FUNCTION OF THE VEHICLE.THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE INTENDED AND DESIGNED TO BE USED AS HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES AND AS SUCH REQUIRE
PE07-057opened Nov 15, 2007
Suspension · model years 2005 to 2007

Violent front end oscillation. Closed mar 14, 2008.

NHTSA summary
ODI HAS RECEIVED 78 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS OF SEVERE SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY AND OSCILLATIONS COMMENCING AFTER THE SUBJECT VEHICLES TRAVELED OVER AN UNEVEN ROAD SURFACE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE INCIDENTS OCCURRED AT SPEEDS OF 50 MPH OR GREATER.THIRTEEN OF THE COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY ODI ALLEGE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND THAT THE VEHICLE CHANGED DRIVING LANES UNCONTROLLABLY.FOUR OF THE COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY ODI ALLEGE THAT THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD SURFACE AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLENT SUSPENSION AND STEERING WHEEL OSCILLATIONS.IN ONE CASE THE CONSUMER ALLEGES THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD SURFACE, IT CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA.ADDITIONALFACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE OPENING OF THIS EA WERE EARLY WARNING FIELD REPORTS,SUBMITTED BY FORD, DESCRIBING SUSPENSION SHIMMY / OSCILLATIONSAND A FORD TSB (07-10-10) DESCRIBING THE SUSPENSION SHIMMY ISSUE AND HOW TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM.FORD HAS DESCRIBED SHIMMY AS SELF-EXCITED OSCILLATION OF THE STEERING WHEELS WITH ACCOMPANYING WHEEL TRAMP.THIS PE HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA) TO DETERMINE IF THE SHIMMY CONDITION THAT OCCURS ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE VEHICLE BECOMES DIFFICULT TO CONTROL OR STARTLES THE DRIVER, THUS PRESENTING A SAFETY RISK.
PE96-052opened Aug 23, 1996
Suspension · model years 1994 to 1996

Separated front suspension. Closed jan 27, 1997.

NHTSA summary
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS REPORT THAT BOLTS WHICH RETAIN THE AXLE PIVOT BRACKET TO THE FRAME CROSS MEMBER CAN LOOSEN OR FAIL, CAUSING THE INBOARD END OR THE AXLE TO BECOME DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE.OWNERS ALLEGE THAT THIS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL, HOWEVER THE COMPLAINT DATA SHOWS ONLY ONE INCIDENT WHERE THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROADWAY FOLLOWING AXLE SEPARATION, WITH NO DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE.IN ADDITION TO THE 225 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS, THERE WERE 4,315 WARRANTY CLAIMS RELATED TO THE FRONT SUSPENSION AND MEMBERS, AND 22 VEHICLES WERE REPLACED FOR GOODWILL.DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED BY FORD, UNDER REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT INDICATE THAT THE BOLTS WERE INADEQUATE FOR THE DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS OF THE VEHICLE.ALSO, BOLTS WERE FOUND TO HAVE BEEN INADEQUATELY TORQUED AT ONE OR MORE ASSEMBLY PLANTS.OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS WAX TREATMENT OF THE FRAME, CONTRIBUTED TO THE PROBLEM.INCREASED BOLT DIAMETER AND INCREASED TORQUE APPARENTLY CORRECTED THE PROBLEM.A SERVICE BULLETIN, 96-20-13, WAS ISSUED TO ADVISE DEALERS OF THIS CORRECTIVE ACTION.IN THESE DOCUMENTS, FORD ALSO REPORTED THAT A VEHICLE, EQUIPPED FOR SIMULTANEOUS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF ALL PIVOT BRACKET FASTENERS, WAS EVALUATED RESULTING IN A SLIGHT VEHICLE PULL TO ONE SIDE WITH NO LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL.ODI HAS NOT REPLICATED FORD'S VEHICLE TESTING, HOWEVER ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGN OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION INDICATES THAT EVEN IF THE INBOARD END OF THEAXLE BECAME DISCONNECTED FROM THE FRAME, THE OUTBOARD END WOULD REMAIN FIR

None of these investigations covers the 2017 model year.

What owners paid

14 of the 587 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $700 to $2,300.

$700$1,000$2,300
$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 20,000 and 40,000 miles, from the 505 reports that gave a mileage.

117
4718
26419
14720
5721
4222
1623
524
625
226

What owners wrote

“My truck has the Death Wobble . It has been worked on for the incident It happened again yesterday at least 4 times within 30 minutes We turned around and came are parked the truck. Am going to talk to the Dealer where I Purchase the vehicle and want some answers and to fix this major problem with my Ford Superduty 250 2017”

Filed Apr 21, 2024 · 107,235 miles

“While driving on Interstate steering oscillated left and right very fast. Vehicle was hard to control. Came to a stop on the shoulder of the road to stop the shaking. This is what some call death wobble. Truck had steering dampener replaced for this problem a few years ago. It only has 26,500 miles total.”

Filed Feb 23, 2023 · 26,500 miles

“I have a terrible wobble. At 36,000 miles I had this “fixed” under warranty. I now have 54,000 miles and it is terrible and getting dangerous. I know this is an ongoing issue with f250’s and terribly frustrating to have it “fixed”, but not really.”

Filed Nov 28, 2022 · 36,000 miles

“The death wobble is back. The Ford dealership where I purchased it conducted an inspection 11/1/21. They identified front-end issues not covered under the previous death wobble fix. I’ve owned three previous trucks with no violent shaking issues while driving. This should be fix by Ford!”

Filed Nov 7, 2021

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 4 of 587 reports involved a crash and 3 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

Other problems on this car