22 F-150 Tire Vibration

[Jayet96]

I think the problem with the dealers are once they replace a part they rule that part out in any future diagnosis. The private mechanic who drove my truck said at around 55 he started feeling the vibration and immediately knew it was the driveshaft. The hanger bearing was very loose and the driveshaft was out of balance. The dealer kept saying to me “That’s hard to believe “. So apparently I had two new bad driveshafts. I’m hoping that the third is the charm. So maybe a bad run of defective driveshafts. It’s not like they would tells us about them unless a tsb comes out.

Do you feel your vibration in the steering wheel as well?

I think the problem with the dealers are once they replace a part they rule that part out in any future diagnosis. The private mechanic who drove my truck said at around 55 he started feeling the vibration and immediately knew it was the driveshaft. The hanger bearing was very loose and the driveshaft was out of balance. The dealer kept saying to me “That’s hard to believe “. So apparently I had two new bad driveshafts. I’m hoping that the third is the charm. So maybe a bad run of defective driveshafts. It’s not like they would tells us about them unless a tsb comes out.

Do you feel your vibration in the steering wheel as well? I just swapped tires; brand and load rating to see if it helps.

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[NB64]

No, it was always in the pedal and seat area.

 

[richardrocks]

The saga continues… the brand new driveshaft was suspect by the private shop. The driveshaft was sent out and was checked today. The driveshaft shop said “ this driveshaft is very out of wack. They are afraid to balance it because they believe that my entire drive train warranty could be voided. I spoke to the service manager and explained. He said that he finds that hard to believe. But once he found out who check the balance he said he would order me another driveshaft today.

Yup. With all the work you’ve done for Ford, you should be on their payroll.

Mine goes in Tuesday and I’ve summarized for the dealer and the corporate rep with everything I read and experienced. I don’t have high hopes for a resolution.

I waited years to own this truck….it’s hard to fathom that a pulsating / vibrating (fine like an electric toothbrush) would be the issue that makes me look elsewhere ?

 

[NB64]

Yup. With all the work you’ve done for Ford, you should be on their payroll.

Mine goes in Tuesday and I’ve summarized for the dealer and the corporate rep with everything I read and experienced. I don’t have high hopes for a resolution.

I waited years to own this truck….it’s hard to fathom that a pulsating / vibrating (fine like an electric toothbrush) would be the issue that makes me look elsewhere ?

I haven’t had a new truck in 12 years. I had to wait almost 6 months for this to arrive. But I’m determined to get this fixed and move on with my life. I’m thankful that the dealer is also determined to fix the issue. If I didn’t send my truck to independent shop the dealer would have ruled out the driveshaft and tires. Yet the shop found two tires out of balance and a brand new driveshaft out balance and too much play in the carrier bearing. I hope you figure out the issue with your truck.

 

[richardrocks]

I haven’t had a new truck in 12 years. I had to wait almost 6 months for this to arrive. But I’m determined to get this fixed and move on with my life. I’m thankful that the dealer is also determined to fix the issue. If I didn’t send my truck to independent shop the dealer would have ruled out the driveshaft and tires. Yet the shop found two tires out of balance and a brand new driveshaft out balance and too much play in the carrier bearing. I hope you figure out the issue with your truck.

I admire your patience and resolve and appreciate your willingness to keep us updated.

 

[GT4]

Read this whole thread because I had similar issues to many of you—fine vibrations on my pedal, seats, steering wheel. It was occurring while my foot was on pedal, off pedal, slowing down and accelerating. It really got bad above 75ish mph, and I really only noticed it one day when my truck was at about 20k miles on the odo. One day out of the blue, I noticed my truck was driving differently, and I could easily tell. One thing about us F150 guys; we love our trucks and know when something isn’t quite right.

I’ve had tire issues since the beginning; only 3k miles in, I hit something hard on my driver side front wheel the highway. Couldn’t avoid it. Replaced only one new OE Hankook tire AND new 20” dark rim. They were so new it wouldn’t cause an issue by doing just one. No further damage to suspension or anything else. Fast forward 17k miles later, I know have 20k on it. I found an unrepairable damage due to a screw in the driver rear tire. Great. Now I had to buy two new tires on the rear at Big O. Those tires ended up being Hankook Dynapro AT2 but more all-terrain than the OE AT2s that came with the truck. Big O guys shrugged thier shoulders and said it was the only ones that were order-able for them. Whatever. Didn’t make me happy but I rolled with it because I had to for awhile longer. But I realized, ever since those tires were replaced, my truck shortly after started acting up with the vibrations.

I didn’t think it was the tires, and instead thought more along the lines of the transmission or driveline. Finally, after having enough of it at 32k miles, I spoke with my very good service mgr at my Ford dealership about it extensively. I scheduled them to look at the driveline and check the vibration frequency. Brought it in to drop off, talked with him, and he noticed my mismatched Hankook tires (front AT2 OE less aggressive, rears AT2 more all-terrainy). The service mgr at Ford said the first thing the tech would do is want to get all new matching tires. I agreed, but was skeptical it would actually end up being the tires. But we gotta cross it off. So I went back to a different Big O location to get a matched front and rear. Long story shorter, I now have 4 brand new OE Hankook Dynapro AT2 tires (that it rolled off the line in) and a fresh alignment. To my surprise, the vibration is completely gone! I’ve probably driven 10 miles in total so far, but I haven’t felt the vibration where I previously would have! I was praying it would be as simple as the tires.

Hopefully it stays this way and won’t come back, but I’m definitely excited it appears to be gone. For me, it seems it was as simple as four new matched and balanced tires.

 

[NB64]

Dealer called yesterday and said my driveshaft came in. This one took less 5 days as opposed to my last one took over a month. The service manager just ordered me another one after a very reputable driveshaft shop checked my new one that only had a couple hundred miles. The hanger bearing is loose and out of balance. I’m suspecting that it was probably dropped after disappearing in transit for a month.

 

[richardrocks]

Dealer called yesterday and said my driveshaft came in. This one took less 5 days as opposed to my last one took over a month. The service manager just ordered me another one after a very reputable driveshaft shop checked my new one that only had a couple hundred miles. The hanger bearing is loose and out of balance. I’m suspecting that it was probably dropped after disappearing in transit for a month.

Is it expensive for a private shop to diagnose a driveline issue? I’m guessing that many dealers won’t dig into this and/or don’t have the tools or expertise.

 

[NB64]

Is it expensive for a private shop to diagnose a driveline issue? I’m guessing that many dealers won’t dig into this and/or don’t have the tools or expertise.

It cost me all said and done $325 including a road force balancing. It also got me another driveshaft that the dealer would have completely ruled out in any future diagnosis. This guy in the shop just by driving it on the highway told me that the hanger bearing had the symptom of being loose and unbalanced. He also said that a tire or two was out of balance. The driveshaft shop confirmed everything he said and the day I picked it up they did the road force which showed two tires out of balance ( after dealer recently did balance and ruled that out) one tire was out 1/2 ounce and one 3/4 oz. So this money for me was well spent. The dealer probably would have replaced the rear end next or given up on me. I really want to move on from this experience.

 

[BigDaddy]

To all of my fellow vibrating friends,
4 months, 7 dealer visits, a BBB complaint (this is really the only thing that worked), over 30 days at the dealer but i think the vibration issue has finally been solved. Here is a breakdown of what went down, hopefully some off you will be able to force your dealer into doing the same and stop your shakes. I was always steering wheel and drivers seat, never felt anything of consequence through the gas petal.

Tires road force balanced and rotated - no effect
All 4 tires replaced (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Complete removal of rear end and inspect nothing found - no effect
Replace drive shaft - no effect
Some computer stuff to transmission that I wont pretend I understand - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Tires road force balanced and rotated for the 37th time - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
I'm sure there were several other things done that I don't remember - no effect
Opened a BBB complaint, Ford sent an engineer to dealer
Front differential replaced - Picked her up this morning, Viola! she drives like a Mercedes!

Only put roughly 50 miles in but they felt like I was actually driving the $75k truck that I paid for. I will update if anything does not hold.

 

[NB64]

To all of my fellow vibrating friends,
4 months, 7 dealer visits, a BBB complaint (this is really the only thing that worked), over 30 days at the dealer but i think the vibration issue has finally been solved. Here is a breakdown of what went down, hopefully some off you will be able to force your dealer into doing the same and stop your shakes. I was always steering wheel and drivers seat, never felt anything of consequence through the gas petal.

Tires road force balanced and rotated - no effect
All 4 tires replaced (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Complete removal of rear end and inspect nothing found - no effect
Replace drive shaft - no effect
Some computer stuff to transmission that I wont pretend I understand - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Tires road force balanced and rotated for the 37th time - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
I'm sure there were several other things done that I don't remember - no effect
Opened a BBB complaint, Ford sent an engineer to dealer
Front differential replaced - Picked her up this morning, Viola! she drives like a Mercedes!

Only put roughly 50 miles in but they felt like I was actually driving the $75k truck that I paid for. I will update if anything does not hold.

I’m glad to hear that you finally found your issue. They replaced my driveshaft and it felt better but this morning it still doing the same thing. I’m removing this driveshaft Monday and dropping it off at the driveshaft shop to have it checked. I don’t know if there is something that can cause a new driveshaft with a hundred miles to suddenly become unbalanced. The shop told me to drive the truck without the shaft to see if I still have the vibration.

 

[Jayet96]

To all of my fellow vibrating friends,
4 months, 7 dealer visits, a BBB complaint (this is really the only thing that worked), over 30 days at the dealer but i think the vibration issue has finally been solved. Here is a breakdown of what went down, hopefully some off you will be able to force your dealer into doing the same and stop your shakes. I was always steering wheel and drivers seat, never felt anything of consequence through the gas petal.

Tires road force balanced and rotated - no effect
All 4 tires replaced (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Complete removal of rear end and inspect nothing found - no effect
Replace drive shaft - no effect
Some computer stuff to transmission that I wont pretend I understand - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
Tires road force balanced and rotated for the 37th time - no effect
All 4 tires replaced again (20" Pirelli's) - no effect
I'm sure there were several other things done that I don't remember - no effect
Opened a BBB complaint, Ford sent an engineer to dealer
Front differential replaced - Picked her up this morning, Viola! she drives like a Mercedes!

Only put roughly 50 miles in but they felt like I was actually driving the $75k truck that I paid for. I will update if anything does not hold.

Thanks for the update. I just replaced tires from E rated 275/70 18 to C rated 275/70 18 and it was a touch better. Took it in for a road force balance at discount tire and while the road force was fine the tire shop that installed had counter balanced a couple of the tires supposedly cancelling out each other. Now the truck rides 90% better. I still have a small vibration but it’s more road specific to asphalt. No extreme seat or steering

 

[Snakebitten]

I wonder if it's a coincidence that an unusual number of front differentials have come apart (literally busted) on some of these trucks, and some of these vibration issues.

It's very possible for a front differential to introduce NVH into the drivetrain and be felt by the driver/passenger.

 

[richardrocks]

Amazing. What a journey through hell. Im SL happy to hear that you got to the bottom of this!

I’m taking mine in on Tuesday and have already sent your post to the service manager.

I’ve already had my IWE replaced so hopefully they’re willing to get to the bottom of this.

 

[BigDaddy]

I’m glad to hear that you finally found your issue. They replaced my driveshaft and it felt better but this morning it still doing the same thing. I’m removing this driveshaft Monday and dropping it off at the driveshaft shop to have it checked. I don’t know if there is something that can cause a new driveshaft with a hundred miles to suddenly become unbalanced. The shop told me to drive the truck without the shaft to see if I still have the vibration.

Ha, I'm picturing some Fred Flinstone feet hanging out the bottom of the truck for power. Should up your MPG though.

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