steering wander
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 4
Likes: 1
steering wander
I just bought a new 2020 F250 Lariat with 6.7 Powerstroke for towing my 5th wheel camper. I noticed when I took for test drive the steering felt a little easy. I drove home on highway 35 miles and noticed whenever the steering wheel is centerd the truck tends to wander and follow the road. I called the dealer when I got home and they said bring it back in on Monday. I did and they put it on the alignment machine and took it for a test drive and said they could'nt find anything wrong with it. So I have driven the truck two more weeks and it has not gotten any better. I have had three other F250's and 2 F150's and they have never had this issue. This vehicle does not have the adaptive steering but does have a great turning radius as compared to other F250's. Has anyone else had this issue with their new truck? I plan on taking it to another dealer close to the house. I have 1000 miles on the truck now. Thanks
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 314
Likes: 13
15 min and a tape measure has mine driving almost as good as my f 150. I tightened the steering gear but wasn't completely happy, then found the toe needed adjusted. 3/8 of a turn on the tie rod and it is good to go. My guess as in any production environment some of these trucks get rushed through and get a little less fine tuning that others. Cj
Trending Topics
New User
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
Likes: 1
Just bought a new 2022, F250 Power Stroke and it drifts constantly. Your always fighting the steering. Leaving the dealership I noticed right away that something was wrong with the way the truck steers and drifts. It takes continuous steering effort to keep it in the lane. It has 100 miles now and no different. It has been at the dealership since I bought it. Ford is telling them that everything thing is OK and it takes a while to break in. Bull Crap. The service manager said if they take the stabilizer off it drives perfectly. Pretty sad if you have to start taking parts off a new $80K truck to get it to drive correctly. I have had 8 new Ford trucks over my lifetime and I never had one back for any issue. Extremely disappointed with this new truck, Has anyone bought a 2022, F250 that drives straight down the road?
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 752
Likes: 519
It should be correctable. Often times adding just a little toe in will do it. Might need to look at the caster as well. A good alignment shop is what you need. Ford gives a wide range of "acceptable" in their alignment specs. So, if your truck falls within that range, the dealer will ignore whatever adverse symptoms you have. A good alignment shop will address the symptoms.
Cross-Country
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 95
Likes: 36
Just bought a new 2022, F250 Power Stroke and it drifts constantly. Your always fighting the steering. Leaving the dealership I noticed right away that something was wrong with the way the truck steers and drifts. It takes continuous steering effort to keep it in the lane. It has 100 miles now and no different. It has been at the dealership since I bought it. Ford is telling them that everything thing is OK and it takes a while to break in. Bull Crap. The service manager said if they take the stabilizer off it drives perfectly. Pretty sad if you have to start taking parts off a new $80K truck to get it to drive correctly. I have had 8 new Ford trucks over my lifetime and I never had one back for any issue. Extremely disappointed with this new truck, Has anyone bought a 2022, F250 that drives straight down the road?
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 8,634
Likes: 2,429
My '19 has always had a bit of a wandering feeling on the highway. They say the tires need 300mi to break in, in your case I would give it at least that amount of time, then reevaluate the condition. Seems a little odd that removing the stabilizer makes it track straight (according to your dealer).
The wandering feeling I have experienced has remained after thousands of miles, and even though my factory stabilizer was changed out (Bilstein) at around 3k miles, it had no affect on the slight wandering feeling. One of these days I'll get it on an alignment rack, I suspect it could be dialed in better.
The wandering feeling I have experienced has remained after thousands of miles, and even though my factory stabilizer was changed out (Bilstein) at around 3k miles, it had no affect on the slight wandering feeling. One of these days I'll get it on an alignment rack, I suspect it could be dialed in better.
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 4
Likes: 1
Steering Wander
I had the same problem on my 2020. I replaced the stabilizer at about 3000 with some change. I took it back to the dealer several times with no change. At 5000 miles I rotated the tires. The dealer adjusted the toe in when it pulled slightly to the right. I believe it was the tires mainly it stopped when I rotated. I have 31000 now with no problems.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 164
Likes: 20
The wandering may improve with miles but I’ve replaced the stock caster bushings on my last two super duties to absolutely cure the wandering.
Seems around 4 degrees positive caster really makes a difference in stability. Took me 1 1/2 hour to replace the bushings on my ‘22 then had the alignment checked……it was right where it should be.
I got the bushings from SPC.
Seems around 4 degrees positive caster really makes a difference in stability. Took me 1 1/2 hour to replace the bushings on my ‘22 then had the alignment checked……it was right where it should be.
I got the bushings from SPC.
Last edited by Norris McCarty; Dec 10, 2021 at 06:58 PM. Reason: Add
5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 48
Likes: 17
From: West Tennesse
My 22 F350, 7.3, CCSB wandered real bad when I drove it off the lot. Stepping up from a 2010 F-150 that tracked perfectly I wasn't happy. I had read on the form someone else had the same problem and said to give it 3,000 MI. At 2,000 miles mine started to settle down and now with almost 3,000 miles it's perfect. Maybe it's just the Goodyear tires, don't know but I never thought it would have settled down as bad as it was. I was afraid I was going to get pulled over for dd.