Hello all. I've been lurking for about a week since I bought my 04 Lariat 4x4 screw. It was a demo driven by the owner of the dealership and It 5400 miles on it when I bought it. I've read in horror about the problems some are having here, but so far my truck drives like a dream. With the exception of the brake dust I don't have any of the common issues. Should I be worried that they may still appear, such as the vibes? Have those of you without the vibes had your tires rotated routinely with no problems? I've been very happily driving Chevy's for the past ten years after I went through all the hassles of a Ford by back of a 94 F250. For those of you having problems now you have my deepest empathy. I know exactly what you're going through and I hope all is resolved quickly to your satisfaction. Anyway, did I make a mistake giving Ford another chance? Am I out of the woods in regards to the vibe and or differential issues? Might they pop up later? Should I be afraid to have my tires rotated? Any comments appreciated.

 

My '04 FX has been smooth-riding since Day 1. I rotated the tires at 10k miles and, 8k miles later, it stills rides perfectly with no vibrations, rattles, or squeaks. Knock, knock, knock....

 

Do not drive that truck!!! The tires will wear out and the windows will get dirty!
Just kidding....These are great trucks; I wouldn't worry about anything; it will take the fun out of it, and you'll lie awake at nights. Maybe the first year production problems (example you mentioned: vibrations on some, but not all, trucks) are way more in the forefront than years ago because of great forums like this one, but all in all, I really believe a huge percentage of F150 owners are happily driving down the road with a smile on their face and Willie Nelson on the radio. Enjoy it!
Larry in SF, CA

 

The only trouble you hear about the f150's are on here or any fourm on the internet. Ford makes an unbelieable amount of f150's, given how many are made not many have problems at all with there trucks! The people that do have problems, come on here for advice or to complain about these problems, but the mojority of the new f150 owners are very pleased with there trucks as I am! :-) Don't worry about a thing!

 

Thanks fellas, I'm feeling a little better now. It's been a very nice truck so far, and since I bought it with 5400 miles on it I was hoping any problems would already be evident. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

Not to rain on the party, but I know 4 people that have different models of the F-150. Not to mention myself. Of those, 3 are having trouble with this vibration issue to differing degrees. Also, the loaner truck I was given when Ford had mine for their final repair try under the GA Lemon Law shook worse than mine. I will say that 1 of those 3 people I mentioned had his vibration taken care of with a new set of tires. He just had flat spots that never rolled out. The other 2 and myself have been working our way through the GA Lemon Law system. To be fair, maybe the fact that I know 3 people with the same issue and got a rental with the same problem is just an anomoly. Who knows. From what I have read though ( and since this started, I have read a lot), I don't remember too many people saying that the vibration showed up after 5000 or 10000 miles. My uneducated opinion is that the truck either has it or doesn't from the beginning. At least everyone I have dealt with (Ford Area Rep not included. He was a dink) has been extremely understanding and as helpful as possible. They didn't have to rent me a vehicle for the 14 days they had it on the final repair try, but they did and even went above and beyond and got me a truck, because I was in the middle of doing some landscaping at the new house we had just bought. Good luck. I hope you don't go through this also.

 

Sorry about your situation shakyford. As I said in my first post I went through it all ten years ago. FWIW I found the Texas lemon law to have no teeth, at least at that time. As luck would have it I met an attorney through a friend that had a good deal of experience dealing with the big 3 and had a working relationship with thier attorneys. All it took was one letter to Ford and one meeting with thier attorneys for Ford to buy my truck back. Ford also paid my attorney's fees except for about $100.00 for him to draft the initial letter. I hope you get your situation resolved soon.

 

my mom has a 04 f150 and it shakes. . . . she just got it in march . . .she put alot of milage on it . . any reasons on why it shakes???? and ive told her not to drive it till the shop looks at it. . . .because my dad the "mechanic" says there is nothign wrong with it. . .but all this just started happening within the last week or soo. . if she stays below 80kmph its fine but once it goes over that it vibrates

 

I did have the shudder in the rearend but that has since gone away on its own. The truck runs like a dream. Just installed the superchip tuner and the airaid today to go with my Borla exhaust and the truck is awesome. I wouldn't worry about a thing.

 

this is happening in the front . . . i thought it was the tire because the one that was on was getting flat so we took it off and put the spare on. . . do you think that the spare rim is thinner then the other one?? or could the spare be warped??

 

oh and now the engine light is on first it was constantly on and now it blinks. she looked it up in the book and it said that there is water in the gas tank and the tank is 3/4 full. . .

 

Hi aplomb
My trucks just a little reg cab STX, but she don't shake, she don't shimmy, She just hauls as*.

Just changed the tires/rims from 17 mich to 18 BFG and I was worried that I might induce the dread vibration, but no sweat smooth as silk at 80+ just like always.
Chris

 

I wouldn't worry about it. I not only rotated, but upgraded to 18" FX4 take-offs w/ no problems. I have 9,000mi on my FX4.If you read too many of those posts you'll drive yourself nuts!! Any problem could happen to anyone with any truck at any time. Why waste your time worrying about it instead of enjoying the best truck out there?

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm taking to the dealer in the next day or two to have the ring and pinion replaced (rear end howl...of course) and to have the 5000 mile service done. I'll admit I'm a little worried that working on the differential and/or rotating tires will induce the vibes. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again for the positive replies.