Update:
- A California federal judge certified some subclasses in a Ford class action lawsuit that claims the company knowingly sold F-250 and F-350 trucks with a dangerous “death wobble” defect.
- On Nov. 7, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia filed an order denying certification of a nationwide class and trimming or partially trimming 13 of the 30 claims in the lawsuit.
- Judge Battaglia denied certification of the nationwide class based on violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act because the plaintiffs didn’t address the variations in claims across the states.
- Plaintiff William Lessin claims Ford has known about the defect in their trucks’ suspension and steering systems for 14 years but failed to recall the vehicles or warn its customers about the potentially dangerous problem.
(June 13, 2019)
A recent Ford class action lawsuit claims that the company knowingly sold F-250 and F-350 trucks with a dangerous “death wobble” defect.
Plaintiff William Lessin claims that Ford has known about the defect in their trucks’ suspension and steering systems for 14 years but failed to recall the vehicles or warn their customers about the potentially dangerous problem.
The problem, referred to as a “death wobble,” allegedly stems from a defect in the trucks’ steering linkage and suspension systems.
According to the Ford class action, the defect leads to difficult steering and intense shaking even when drivers are driving in normal conditions.
“The Death Wobble is typically triggered when the class vehicles are traveling at speeds above 50 miles per hour and one of the tires hits a groove or bump in the road,” Lessin argues in his Ford truck class action. “This causes a violent shaking of the vehicle, which can only be controlled by a sudden reduction of speed.”
The Ford defect may present itself in abnormal wearing of several vehicle components, according to Lessin’s Ford class action. He claims that unusual wear or loosening of the track bar bushing, damper bracket, ball joint, control arms, shock absorbers, and/or struts can lead to the defect.
“The violent shaking of the vehicle can cause loss of control of the vehicle and difficulty steering while the class vehicles are in operation at any time and under typical driving conditions or speed,” the Ford class action lawsuit claims.
“This exposes the driver and the occupants of the class vehicles, as well as others who share the road with them, to an increased risk of accident, injury or death.”
Lessin reportedly purchased a 2011 Ford F-250 in 2010, believing that his truck was free of defects. However, Lessin allegedly experienced the “death wobble” and took his truck in for repairs multiple times over the span of three months.
Despite being diligent with his repairs, the Ford dealership allegedly refused to acknowledge the problem and honor the truck’s warranty for repairs. Due to his issues with the dealership, Lessin says he needed to spend more than $1,600 on repairs to fix the issue and he claims that his truck’s value has decreased.
Lessin’s experience reportedly represents that of numerous Ford truck owners. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) allegedly received 1,265 reports of the “death wobble” defect between March 2005 and February 2019. Some of these reports describe accidents and injuries due to the dangerous defect, the plaintiff states.
The Ford class action lawsuit claims that the automaker should have warned consumers about the defect as soon as they started to receive reports of the issue. Lessin also says that the company should pay for repairs on all affected vehicles.
Lessin seeks to represent a Class of current and former owners and lessees of model year 2005 to 2019 Ford F-250 and F-350 trucks.
Lessin and the proposed Class are represented by Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright and Mark I. Richards of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP; and Douglas C. Sohn of Sohn & Associates.
The Ford truck wobble defect class action lawsuit is Lessin v. Ford Motor Company, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv01082, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
Washington residents: Did you receive a ‘refer a friend’ text for Capital One, Venmo, Tesla, Coinbase, or another company?
September 23, 2025 | Legal News
6 thoughts onFord class action subclasses approved
My name is Ryan. I bought
a 2017 F250 4×4
I’m sitting here watching my livelihood in my life. Be ruined because of a death wobble on my truck.. I can’t use my truck. Ford wants $6000 to fix everything That was caused by a faulty damper link in the steering column that Ford doesn’t want to recall. All my suspension destroyed my truck can’t be driven. I lost the ability to continue growing my companies and livelihood. I lost everything because I don’t have a truck that I can operate with. Thanks ford for allowing your customers to suffer.
My 2017 F250 diesel had extreme death wobble that several ford dealers ignored. All my front suspension components have been compromised due to the severe shaking at high speeds on the highway. The cost to replace these components and the premature wear of tires has cost me thousands extra. I resolved the wobble with a simple suspension upgrade that Ford should have been able to resolve many years ago. Compensation from Ford for premature wear and costs and denial of the serious matter is the least they can do if you ever want my business again!!
Same with me, except I spent money getting mine fixed out of pocket
I have a 2012 F250 super duty diesel. 3 times starting with 50,000 miles took in for bouncing, jetting, then another time. The 3rd time approximately Oct. 2024. WORST, jerked truck into another lane! Thank God nothing was beside us! JERKED STEERING WHEEL OUT OF BOTH OF MY BROTHER’S HANDS! HE COULDN’T CONTROL IT! I HAVE WORK SHEETS! THEY ALWAYS say it’s a tire. NO ONE sees anything EXCEPT FORD! I’ve been STOPPED because of SPARKS coming from under it when BRAKE LIGHTS stayed on & BRAKES WOULDN’T released! I had it TOWED to DEALER 2 TIMES within about 30 days! THIS TRUCK ONLY HAS 119,700 MILES NEVER been off MAIN ROADS, DEALERSHIP ONLY WORKED ON IT!! WORST TRUCK EVER! 1ST & ONLY F250! NEVER WILL OWN ONE AGAIN! I just had work paid for THEY SAID RECALL but outdated.. correction TOWED 2xs 2023.
How can I get on this class action suit, for Ford? I have a 2016 F250, I purchased used from Ford, that has been back many times for the steering and nothing has solved to problem. I feel if Ford is going to sell trucks for 70K and up, this issue should of been resolved years ago.
I own a 2002 ford explorer sport and I bought it in 2014 with 5000miles. It was like brand new. Still smelled like a new vehicle. It was stored in a climate controlled garage and so therefore low operation of vehicle but maintained its parts integrity. I have always experienced this death wobble since I bought it. 10 years later now has 80,000miles and it of course has become worse . I drove over a small patch of rough road under construction in a town doing 35mph and i lost control immediately and almost rolled it. Anytime I’m driving on a highway if it’s a choppy road I have to be super vigilant about potholes or bumps especially if it’s a curved road at higher speeds. It’s beyond dangerous.
This is just hazard #1 of many that I experience in this Ford. I’m aware of many other owners who have the same issues due to faulty manufacturering of these vehicles. Ford has to do better. Or pay for it. People are losing their hard earned money, their vehicles, and sadly, some lose their lives. Greed is a deadly sin for a reason.