Lawsuit: Ford knew about “death wobble” in trucks

Current and former owners of the vehicles point to abnormal wearing or loosening of the damper brackets, ball joints, control arms, shocks and struts, and claim there are problems with the track bar bushings that cause the violent shaking customers call the “death wobble.” Control can easily be lost when the wobble occurs while driving highway speeds, according to the lawsuit.

A Ford truck typically experiences the death wobble when traveling more than 50 mph and at least one of the tires hits a groove or bump in the road. The plaintiffs claim the only way to control the violent shaking is by quickly reducing speed, a dangerous move when driving in traffic.

The lawsuit references 1,265 death wobble complaints that were submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between March 10, 2005, and February 6, 2019. According to data from the lawsuit, 12 reports involved crashes and injuries and 82 complaints indicated a loss of control of the trucks.

Additionally, 148 complaints were filed by customers who said they were afraid the death wobble would kill them.

Many customers complained the wobble occurred before the trucks had 36,000 miles on them, and 30 complaints claim the alleged problems started before 5,000 miles.

The plaintiff says Ford routinely tells truck owners the wobble is related to improper maintenance even when the warranties are still good so the automaker doesn’t have to pay for repairs.

According to the proposed class action, Ford knows the suspensions and steering linkage systems are defective but continues to conceal the facts. The plaintiff says he wouldn’t have purchased the truck, or would have paid less for it, if Ford hadn’t concealed the death wobble.

The Ford truck death wobble lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California – William Lessin, et al., v. Ford Motor Company, et al.