For the consumers who do not have the problem...yea for you! But if you do have it is a real nuisance and if you drive a min of 80 miles a day it is even worse. So the statement "everyone has problems with their truck" must have been by someone who SO FAR has not had to experience the vibration..... hopefully your luck will hold out, with the '04 it seems to be luck of the draw and I am working on getting my truck replaced by the dealer...continuosly replacing parts Is not what I signed up for and neither was the extra's that I got with my truck.. shimmy, shake and vibrate were not listed on the deal invoice. I am telling everyone I know about it and making them aware of this website as well. I am not anti-ford in fact I still want a ford....less the extra's I received with the current one...

 

I just bought an 04 F150 Screw FX4 with 3.73 gears, 18" BFG and there is no vibration right now but the bed does shake at times. The dealer said that there is a fix for the vibration, check tires, replace driveshaft and pinnion gears in the rear end. He also said if I experience any vibrations at all just call him and they will check the tires and replace the parts needed.

 

I just got back from the tire dealer and i think they solved my problem, at least on my test drive, about 10 miles down the road an back it so far is fine. They changed my tires again, went with a different brand, Mirada made by Goodyear but this time they went with a 275-60-20, gives me more sidewall, like the looks better on the truck compared with the 285-50-20. Anyway the test drive was great no shimmy, vibration, shake, nil, nuttin just a goood smooth ride so maybe this solved the problem. The tire dealer tells me they are working on a steering stabilizer design because they say that is what is needed to counter the sensitive steering rack on these trucks. They said they have had several 04 F-150 come in with this problem and they said they dont know why Ford has'nt designed a stabilizer to take the nibble out of the steering. My F-250 Superduty had one but it was a solid front axle with tie rods and a track bar, but anyway I might have found the right tire and wheel combo to fix the problem. They also told me the weight of my 20" wheel which is 55lbs compared to stock 18" wheel which is 32lbs will make a difference on the front end, so they just had to find the right tire to go on it. So maybe its fixed . Later.

 

Please let us know how your efforts on replacement go. Is this a lemon law situation? I feel exactly as you do - all this trouble was not listed on the invoice. It's hard to believe this is the luck of the draw. Surely there is a common tie among the vibrating trucks and surely Ford engineers know exactly what the source of the problem is. People are replacing various parts seemingly to no avail. Diagnosing a vibration problem is not all that complex. My fear is the chance that Ford engineers will find a "quick (meaning cheap) fix" seem slim. The problem was identified a year ago, was it not? Dan Stiles

 

DCURRY: Just letting the facts known that many 2004 F150 do not even have this problem. I have no shimmy and no vibration. I do not think it is luck.

 

Sales and Service personnel are great and working with me all the way trying to resolve the vibration delima. They have given me a truck f-150 to drive while mine is in the shop again........ amazingly the truck they gave me has the same problem with vibration as did the last two I drove while my truck was in the shop. I read that Ford was going to have a satellite meeting about the fibration problemson the 21st?? I have requested that the ford engineers be involved on mine at this point....you see I really would like the truck back do not look forward to finding another truck if a solution is not found soon. The salesperson is trying to get the service deparment to put new wheels and tires on my truck and who knows what else...... they have all the time they need because I do not want it back a 3rd time with the SHIMMY! Thanks to all who have posted all their trials and errors when dealing with this problem it has been very informative and may help find a commone solution. The power of the net never ceases to amaze me!

 

Hey guy I hope you get your truck fixed. Ford will get this thing ironed out and your problem will be solved. I am glad you had a good experience with the dealer so far. The dealer that treats you right knows youll come back and be a repeat customer.

 

I've been shopping for a 04' f-150 4x4 supercab at several dealers over the past week. Have driven many trucks, seems like 30% (hard to beleive) have some type of shimmy, from very minor to severe. All have been from 40mph to 60mph. The truck I will probably buy runs smooth at this point, but some of the shimmiers have not had their problems until a few thousand miles have been driven on them. that worries me. Anyway, this truck is a "job 2" production, does anyone out there have a job 2 that vibrates or has ford tweeked the line enough on job 2 to have solved the problem?

 

How do you know if your truck is a job 2 or a job 1?


Jon

 

There is a few posting about new 2005 Trucks with the vibration too. So Ford has not fixed it, don't know to fix it or what is causing the vibration.

 

Job 2 is listed on the window sticker under "optional equipment"

 

Since buying my Ford F150 Supercrew 4x4 a little over 3 months ago the dealership has had it as long as I have. This truck has been back there numerous times for the steering wheel vibration. The truck had a vibration in it originally and I was assured it was just a wheel balance issue so I bought the truck. So, when I was in the dealership and they couldn't balance the wheels they told me one of the rims was bent and they needed to order a new one. That wheel was replaced and the truck still vibrated. Since then they have replaced the driveshaft, added a steering damper, replaced all the General tires and wheels at least one time, replaced the front hubs and wheels again. The truck still vibrates. So, I finally had to meet with the Ford field service engineer today. He drove it. Told me it was a "characteristic of these trucks" Basically, they all do it. Some people just don't notice it. We took a Lariat out for a drive and it did a similar thing but not as bad as mine. If this is the case, why didn't the salesperson or service people tell me that when I bought the truck? After all there was a TSB about this problem back in February. I'm ****ed and seeking legal action. I have a 15 year old Bronco that doesn't drive this bad and because of this I'll never buy a Ford again. I have been extremely patient and Ford is not doing the right thing. A $35k brand new truck should drive as such.

 

This is what a 26 year Ford Service Engineer told me about the 2004 F150 trucks. Basically, they all are POS's and Ford should do the right thing. I have had my truck back several times for this issue and many parts replaced. If this is a characteristic of these trucks, why didn't the sales staff and service staff tell me that when I questioned them about it. The first TSB about this problem that I can find was back in Feb 2004. I'm very upset and will do my best to see this issue through. I encourage others to do the same. Remember when Firestone tires exploded?

 

Hey I sure cant blame you Id be upset too. I hope Ford gets this problem fixed for your sake and everybody elses. Looking at that thread where people have no vibration is puzzling whats different about there trucks.

 

It just sucks that Ford wont do the right thing. They rather have to deal with a lawsuit and give me my money back then to give me a truck that doesn't have these problems. They've really screwed up. It's going to cost them twice as much and the loss of a loyal customer.