Updated May 26, 2021

For years, Ford Motor Vehicle’s F-Series Super Duty truck models have been plagued by an errant suspension system which causes a vehicular condition known as the “death wobble.” This wobble is an issue that results in some F-Series trucks beginning to shake uncontrollably at high speeds.[1] Drivers report the shake as occurring after hitting a bump, pothole, or groove in the road. Complaints from truck owners about the defect extend back to 2005, with a definitive response or assistance measure from the automaker being just as prolonged. Recently, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Ford.

In June 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Ford by F-Series truck owners.^[2] The suit alleges that Ford knowingly sold F-Series trucks (specifically F-250 and F-350 models between 2015–2019) that possessed a defective suspension system. The lawsuit was brought after a Ford truck owner tried to have his suspension fixed at a San Diego Ford dealership only to be turned away for lack of a visible problem. In a brief filed to dismiss the case, Ford asserts that the Ford truck owner never attempted to have his vehicle fixed during the limited-time warranty coverage.^[3] Litigation in this case is still ongoing. However, if Ford has been proactive in any response, it has been to their legal recourse rather than consumer demands.

The lawsuit alleges that the death wobble is caused by a flaw linked to abnormal wear or loosening of parts such as the damper bracket, shocks, ball joints, or struts. As such, the shake has been a significant financial concern of Ford drivers for 15 years. The National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration has registered over 1,200 complaints, many of them about the cost of repairs.[4] Yet Ford has still not issued an official manufacturer’s recall, nor has there been a national recall from the NHTSA. Instead, the manufacturer has directed dealerships to replace certain steering components, the cost of which falls primarily to the truck owner. So far, owners of F-Series trucks that have experienced the wobble have spent thousands of dollars to correct a very dangerous issue.

While the financial cost of the death wobble is certainly important to Ford owners, the physical dangers of the defect should not be overshadowed. Lessin v. Ford states that the death wobble results in a nearly uncontrollable vibration which will “cause loss of control of the vehicle and difficulty steering while the [vehicles] are in operation at any time and under typical driving conditions or speed. This exposes the driver and occupants of the [vehicles], as well as others who share the road with them, to an increased risk of accident, injury, or death.”[2]

In January 2021, Ford filed a motion to dismiss the cases against it. The motion is still pending.

[1]https://www.motorbiscuit.com/what-you-should-know-about-the-ford-super-duty-death-wobble/

[2]https://www.classaction.org/media/lessin-v-ford-motor-company-et-al.pdf

[3]https://mccunewright.com/blog/2019/08/ford-seeks-to-dismiss-death-wobble-class-action-lawsuit/

[4]https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2019/FORD/F-250%252520CREW%252520CAB/PU%25252FCC/4×2

General Motors’ decision to hire attorney Kenneth Feinberg as a consultant regarding the company’s response to the families of victims of their faulty ignition switch has inadvertently led to the linking of 124 deaths to the defect, rather than the 13 deaths GM originally claimed to have known about. Feinberg, tasked with guiding the company through this delicate issue, reviewed over 4,000 claims of death or injury related to the recalled ignition and, after rejecting 91 percent of those claims, found that there were ten times as many deaths caused by the faulty ignition switch in GM vehicles than was previously thought.

Out of 399 claims found to be legitimate: 124 were from families of victims who died; 17 were from victims who suffered quadriplegia, paraplegia, double amputation, permanent brain damage, or extensive burns; and 258 were from victims who were hospitalized or given outpatient treatment within 48 hours of their accidents.

News of the additional claims comes at a bad time for GM, when the U.S. Justice Department is closing in on a decision regarding whether criminal charges will be levied against the company for its failure to act after first discovering the defective switch back in 2001.

It would appear that the company has attempted to make amends for the catastrophic level of damage caused by their defective vehicles; GM has earmarked $625 million for payment to the victims and their families, and this past June saw CEO Mary Barra fire 15 employees whom the company accused of failing to aggressively seek solutions to the disastrous problem. The company issued a major recall in 2014, but apparently knew of the defect in 2001, before their affected vehicles ever hit the market.