Ford is facing a class-action lawsuit related to a steering defect referred to as the “death wobble.” Reports of violent steering wheel shaking in Ford F-250 and F-350 trucks are causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles.
Ford Death Wobble Endangers Drivers
Ford truck owners are experiencing dangers on the road from a steering defect in certain F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup models. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 1,200 complaints have been filed related to a serious steering defect now referred to as the “death wobble.” Thousands of driver complaints list violent shaking of their truck’s steering wheel that makes it nearly impossible to steer in a given direction and maintain control of the truck. Investigations show the “death wobble” is responsible for numerous accidents and terrifying experiences behind the wheel of Ford pickup trucks.
Ford’s F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks are popular pickup models used by construction workers, landscapers, and companies that regularly haul large, heavy building equipment, tools, and materials. The steering defect creates dangerous road conditions for vehicles that encounter an out-of-control truck vehicle carrying heavy equipment. If a truck driver loses control of a vehicle carrying large equipment, the risk of serious injury and death to nearby drivers increases significantly.
There have been numerous safety complaints by Ford F-250 and F-350 truck owners around the country. In Atlanta, one owner of a 2018 Ford F-250 spoke to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta about his “death wobble” experience. Derek Spann explained how his F-250 began to shake and swerve all over the road while traveling down the I-20 with his four grandchildren in the truck. Spann claims he spent $72,000 on his 2018 pickup truck purchase based on Ford’s safety campaign but has taken his truck in for steering repairs five different times. He claims that even after repairs the wobble returned, so he rarely uses the truck anymore.
According to one Atlanta repair shop, so many Ford pickups have been brought in with the death wobble problem that a special inspection has become routine. The shop’s owner claims that every truck has a different combination of defective parts that directly contribute to the death wobble. There is no quick fix for this problem because it’s difficult to determine which steering component is causing the issue.
Class-Action Lawsuit Against Ford
Owners of F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks have been complaining about the “death wobble” since 2005, but Ford has refused to address and fix the problems. While Ford has informed dealerships around the country about the necessity for repairs when vehicles are brought in for repairs, no further action has been taken by the company. Ford did instruct dealers to replace the steering damper in 2017, 2018, and 2019 truck models, but this still omits a decade of dangerous, defective trucks. As a result of Ford’s unwillingness to resolve steering problems, a class-action lawsuit claiming automotive defects has been filed against the truck manufacturing giant.
The class-action lawsuit alleges that Ford omitted and concealed important information about truck suspension problems dating back to 2005. The lawsuit alleges that Ford knew about suspension systems prone to failure, but failed to notify customers of dangers. Investigations indicate the death wobble is caused by a defect linked to abnormal wear or loosening of the track bar bushing, shocks or struts, control arms, ball joints, and damper brackets.
The death wobble steering problem has been reported in F-250 and F-350 pickups manufactured from 2005 to 2019. Chicago car accident lawyers have seen numerous injury claims filed by local Ford truck owners. Although no deaths have been directly linked to the death wobble in Ford trucks, drivers who have experienced it claim the violent shaking seems to only stop when the truck’s speed is drastically reduced to speeds under 20 miles per hour. When traveling on a busy freeway, this poses serious safety risks for truck drivers and nearby vehicles. The loss of steering control forces truck drivers to slow down as quickly as possible and pull over to the shoulder of the road without causing an accident or getting hit by another vehicle.
Due to pending litigation, Ford has refused to comment on the matter. Truck owners and drivers participating in the class-action lawsuit are asking for a national recall of affected trucks, as well as compensation to cover money spent on necessary truck repairs and the costs of related accidents and injuries. Some injury victims have initiated personal injury lawsuits with a Chicago car accident lawyer.
According to truck owners and drivers who have filed complaints with NHTSA, Ford has blamed death wobble problems on a myriad of problems including faulty tires, improper tire pressure, tire balancing, and rotation issues, and wheel alignment, but has yet to address a fix for related steering problems.
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