We just purchased a new Ford f-150 for a work vehicle. WE have a modest construction company and our previous truck (a hand me down) finally after twenty years, bit the dust. On the spur of the moment my father (a ford truck man) suggested the ford f-150, we went with it, and purchased one 150 miles from where we live. On the drive home my husband notice the front end shimmy (vibration). We took the truck into the dealer as soon as we could get it in and the prognosis was, you guessed it "tires" and " alignment". Guess what, problem not solved!! Big surprise ( as I know realize after reviewing all of the postings)! The dealers response " I don't know how to fix the problem" Ford's response "not my problem". I am about to unleash, the truck has barely any miles on it and as far as I am concerned this thing is a lemon! I am completely disgusted and sick to my stomach about the whole thing. I will definately take this further, follow some of the advice on these postings. I am sad everyone has this problem but glad I am not alone. My business is really hrting and I don't know how to get these people to listen. Any threats I might find useful, lawsuits don't work. Hope that my business survives ford!

~peace

 

find a new "stealership" to take it to.

there are two stealerships near my house... one is EXCELENT!!!..... the other... they are completly ignorant and rude and need to be shut down.

Try a different stealership, print out some of the post that others have posted. Look at the TSB's for the 2004 F150. Print those out.

Try going to the service department EVERYDAY. That will really make them mad and make them want to fix you truck. You paid 20K or more, you have the right to raise 10 kinds of hell in order to get it fixxed. Good luck

 

Not everyone has this problem. I dont have it on my 2004 F-150 XLT. Sucks that there are some who do, but don't say everybody, most people I know in person who has this truck doesnt have the vibration problem. The person who supposedly fixed it, did they replace tires with same type tires or different type?

 

I feel you pain. They must stand by the factory warranty and fix the vehicle. Have you aked for an exchange? Take a look at the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act at: http://autopedia.com/html/HotLinks_LemonMM2.html

Go over to the "Vibration" thread and you can read all about my ordeal.

If they refuse to fix it, which they will because they can't. You need to fill out your DSB paper work. You can request it from your dealer and/or from your owners manual. Check out your warranty brochure for your truck and it will give you some more info about the DSB. You can call them at 1-800-392-3673. I know this DSB is run by Ford but one person "Labrador" claims he has had success with this process. I'm currently going through this. However, i wrote Ford a letter and did not recieve a response. I am fortunate to have a law firm on retainer and they wrote a letter to Ford for me and we finally recieved a reply stating they were investigating my claim. Standard form letter, but a response nonetheless.

I know this is your work truck and I am sorry. Once you load it up the vibration becomes much worse and the truck unstable.

Also, file a complaint with www.nhtsa.com and www.ftc.gov

 

They replaced the tires with the same generic ford "general" tires. Last week the dealership claimed they did not know how to fix the problem, and then the next day they decided to replace the drive shaft, still waiting on this repair. I read the other postings on the vibration and it seems as if some people are having the real manufactoring defect vibration and others may be experiencing just some other random vibrations associated with a truck. The vibration that we feel in our truck is insane, it feels unsafe to drive, it's more like a shimmy that travels all the way through the steering column. If the new drive shaft does not fix the problem then I will demand a new truck. I willl start the California lemon law process. I will also explore the other avenues suggested by some of you guys.

 

My opinion is dont' bother with the DSB process. It's was a joke for me and does nothing but stall and delay a resolution to the ultimate issue I've had for over a year. I know every TSB on this truck and still have the same problems after all the repairs and countless down time. Patience is over and I have taken action.
If you feel you have a good case, use your states laws to seek a resolution. I was completely fair and reasonable as I really wanted to just fix the problem. Clearly there is no stand from Ford to do this, at this point. They may have more reason to reconsider soon. I see very few posts on any resolution from Ford. There are one or two, but in general we are not seeing the manufacturer is stepping up to the plate for customers with "real" issues. I know many of you do not have this, but it's becoming well this is not imaginary and does in fact happen to a select few.

 

I have a question for you guys with vibrations. Did you test drive the truck before you bought it? I like to test drive every vehicle I buy before I sign on the dotted line, to avoid things like this. I didn't test drive my current truck before I bought it, and I got lucky enough not to get bitten by it, but with a new model year, I would definitely do it.

I believe lemon laws in most state that if they cannot fix a problem within 3 tries, they will have to buy the truck back from you. I would follow zeusdog's suggestion and start paperwork on it. Obviously it's a lemon, and if they can't fix it, they need to buy it back.

Good Luck!

 

Hi! I had the vibration in my truck when I first got it... They replaced 3 tires because they would not road force balance.... Not a problem since. Do you know if they have the ability to road force test them?

 

Test drive it? Wow....I didn't think of that!
Dude.....Have you ever been in a "relationship" when you didn't notice the problem till after the fact? Did it catch you off gaurd? You might have thought "this can be fixed" only to find later that it can't. Maybe you thought there was a problem, but the other person told you "it's not really a problem" or "don't worry, this is just a minor issue." Then later they say "it's actually not me, it's you!"

I think the others will find this a pretty good analogy of what is happening to us unfortunate owners.

 

I agree with you. Of course I test drove. If that guy had read my previous posts he would know that. Yeah, I test drove several of these new trucks. Most had the vibration and only a couple didn't. This led me to believe it was a wheel balance issue such as the Ford Service manager told me. Made sense to me. Why would Ford mass produce a truck with a major driving defect? They told me they needed to balance the wheels and it would be good so I bought the truck. Then the it hit the fan and they wouldn't stand by their word. If you want to know the entire story go to "the vibration" thread.

 

Yeah I agree it is getting old, but there are going to be about 329847238947238478923479238749238479238748 more posts on vibration in the VERY near future...
As more and more people are buying new and USED 2004's and 5's more (different) people are going to experience this problem and the posts will start all over again.
I read the posts that I want, and reply to the ones that move me. I am fortunate to have a truck that does not vibrate, however I feel bad for those that do.
All my best,
MK

 

Not proud to admit it.... I didn't test drive due to a dealer transfer (didn't have the chance). Dealer hung me out on this one and I seem to be paying for it.

 

I did test drive, and my "nibble" is the kind that goes away after 10 miles, so likely tires. I'll just wait until they have a more substantial fix than road force balancing to begin the hassle of getting it truly fixed.