Violent front end oscillation

An NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation into Ford vehicles. Closed 14 March 2008.

Investigation
PE07057
Type
Preliminary Evaluation
Opened
15 November 2007
Closed
14 March 2008

What NHTSA investigated

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.

Vehicles covered

MakeModelModel years
FordF-2502005–2007
FordF-250 SD2005–2007
FordF-3502005–2007
FordF-350 SD2005–2007

Source

From NHTSA’s investigation file, rebuilt daily. To report a problem with your own vehicle, go to nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem. All open investigations.