2006 Ford F-250 Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2006 Ford F-250 most often describe violent front-end shaking after hitting a bump or uneven pavement, usually at highway speed, which they say sometimes takes a hard slowdown or stop to recover control. Reports of steering looseness and heavy play, stalling, and various 6.0L diesel and 5.4L engine problems show up less often but tend to appear at higher mileages.

1. 1
   Suspension

   Front-end shake after bumps ("death wobble")

   • 118 complaints (53%)
   • median 51,000 mi at 4.4 yrs old (101 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2006–2024

   Complaints describe the front end shaking violently after hitting a bump, pothole, bridge seam or uneven pavement, often at 40-75 mph, with the steering wheel oscillating and the truck hard to keep in its lane. Many owners say the only reliable way to stop it is to slow down or brake hard, and that dealers told them tire pressure was the cause, could not reproduce it, or suggested dampers or alignment without resolving it. Some mention replacement of ball joints, steering box, dampers or tie rods with the shaking returning. Reported from a few thousand miles up to well past 150,000 miles, most commonly in the 20,000-70,000 mile range and when towing or traveling at highway speed.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Drive the truck over broken pavement and a bridge seam at highway speed during the test drive. Ask whether the front dampers, ball joints, tie rods and steering stabilizer have been replaced, and whether the steering-oscillation bulletin was applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a 2006 Ford F-250 super duty truck. When I hit a rough spot in the road the front end shakes so bad you have no control of the steering. The only way to get it to stop shaking is to get on the brakes and stop. I have been back to the dealer and they tell me there is nothing wrong. Someone is going to get killed if this is not corrected.”

   NHTSA complaint #10360390, filed 2010-10, 25,000 miles

   “I have a problem with my 2006 Ford F-250. My front end wants to veer off the road when I hit pot holes in the road. I have traveled the same roads with my work truck, 2006 f-150 and have little or no problems compared to the f250. I have taken my truck to the dealer I purchased the truck from and have no success getting the problem resolved.”

   NHTSA complaint #10316933, filed 2010-03, 1,200 miles
2. 2
   Steering

   Steering vibration and loose steering feel

   • 127 complaints (57%)
   • median 57,000 mi at 5.0 yrs old (108 state mileage)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2006–2024

   Owners describe steering wheel shake and wheel hop that starts over minor road irregularities and gets progressively worse, along with a vague or loose steering wheel that needs constant correction on rough roads. Some reports involve hard-to-turn steering traced to the power steering pump, and several say dealers could not diagnose the vibration or attributed it to tire inflation. Spread from very low mileage up through 180,000 miles, with many reports between 20,000 and 70,000 miles.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Check for play in the steering wheel with the engine running, listen for pump whine at low speed, and inspect the steering stabilizer and front-end components for wear.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Truck death wobble - dri\ving on I 25 at about 60 MPH we hit a small bump in the road and the truck began to violently shake. We thought we had a blowout, but the tires were ok. In fact, before our trip we had our tires checked and were told they were fine. After going to a dealer I have discovered that this is a known problem called the death wobble . It is an engineering defect and has nothing to do with tires as Ford would like to assume. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10850525, filed 2016-03, 11,000 miles

   “Hello, I have a Ford f 250 super duty king ranch 4x4 diesel that my wife and I always wanted. We bought from a used car/truck lot. The rims and tires are brand new as is alignment was also had done to fix the problem right out of the gate but it didn't.. When the truck gets to 44 miles an hour and up to 50 MPH my f 250 hops land I don't know if its from the front or back but I think its happening in the front the way it feels on the steering wheel.. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10679011, filed 2015-01, 118,000 miles
3. 3
   Engine

   Stalling or sudden loss of power while driving

   • 36 complaints (16%)
   • median 98,286 mi at 6.3 yrs old (35 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $2,542 (median of 7 quotes)
   • filed 2006–2023

   Complaints describe the engine quitting without warning at speed or while pulling a trailer, leaving no power steering or power brakes and requiring a coast to the shoulder. Owners report various diagnoses: fuel injectors, throttle body, alternator, a fuel injector control module or an STC fitting on the diesel, and in several cases repairs did not stop the recurrence. Reported from around 1,000 miles to over 230,000 miles, with many cases on 6.0L diesel trucks and several while towing.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask for service records covering injectors, the fuel injector control module, throttle body and the diesel STC fitting. Have a scan tool check for stored codes and confirm the truck restarts reliably from cold.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Truck stalled at intersection. Complete power outage, no brakes, etc. Manages to restart. Problem recurred two additional times. I limped to a local mechanic shop who scanned the engine codes. He told me it was the throttle body and charged me $550.00 to replace it. Truck had 47,000 on it at the time. In my opinion this part should last well into the 100,000 mile mark.”

   NHTSA complaint #10694333, filed 2015-03, 46,500 miles

   “I have over 118 pages of repairs dealing from electrical, suspension, engine failure, turbo, fluid leakage, oil cooler failure. Ejectors, glow plugs and counting. They continue to reoccur time after time and dealer will not cover. I met alot of consumers that has the same vehicle and they all are having the same problem. I know that Ford has sued the designer of the 6.0 engine and won billions but will not attempt to assist the consumer. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10487269, filed 2012-12, 400 miles
4. 4
   Engine cooling

   Overheating and coolant or cooling-system faults

   Mentioned in 4 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners describe the temperature gauge climbing or false overheating warnings while the engine does not actually seem hot, coolant loss with white smoke from the exhaust, and one report of the engine overheating with no gauge indication. Some mention a service bulletin and paying for diagnosis and repairs themselves. Mostly reported between about 35,000 and 200,000 miles, often while towing or on a long trip.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check coolant level and condition, look for residue or white staining around the degas bottle and hoses, and ask whether the thermostat or sending unit has been replaced for gauge issues.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have a 2006 Ford f250 6.0 it has been towed 8 times, I ve had turbo,injector,electrical,wheel,trans problems since day one of purchase. Theres over 16 pages of mechanical problems that has been performed and counting. I know I am not the only one thats having these problems and I can't get much assistance from Ford. It going to take someone like this agency to help us. This is alot when you pay $51000.00 plus addition repairs for a vehicle with a extented warr.”

   NHTSA complaint #10444599, filed 2012-01, 139,000 miles

   “My Ford f250 super duty 2006 model truck started up just fine on way to job site and then about 1:00 p.m. That day my truck over-heated even though no indication on the electrical panel. I saw white smoke coming out of tail pipe, started over-heating, and I was losing power in motor. I put water in coolant over-fill because all of my antifreeze drained out and I just had put in prior to this date above about two weeks. I regularly change the oil and maintain all the fluids and do required maintenance on truck per the mileage. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10552902, filed 2013-11, 196,000 miles
5. 5
   Engine

   Spark plug breakage and exhaust noise on the 5.4L

   Mentioned in 4 of 60 sampled complaints

   Complaints describe spark plugs seizing or breaking off in the cylinder head during service, with several plugs needing to be bored out, and one owner reporting an engine tick shortly after purchase. Others report a snap, pop or tick exhaust noise, and one report notes the exhaust manifold separating from the heads. Repairs are described as costly and not always covered. Reported from about 2 days after purchase up to roughly 100,000 miles, most often when plugs are first serviced around 60,000-70,000 miles.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the spark plugs have been replaced and by whom, listen for ticking or exhaust leaks on a cold start, and check the exhaust manifolds and studs for cracks or missing hardware.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I purchased a 2006 Ford f 250 with the triton 54 . I had it for 2 days when the motor started ticking. I'm told that it's a spark plug issue and no one is willing to work on it due to the high cost of fixing the problem when the plugs break off in the head and they also said it will probably blow a sparkplug out . This will cost aprox. $3000 to fix .”

   NHTSA complaint #10381722, filed 2011-02, 58,000 miles

   “While traveling on vacation with a travel trailer in tow, the temperature gauge on our 2006 Ford-F-250 (with a 5.4 liter engine) indicated the engine was overheating. After stopping several times on the berm of an interstate, there was no indication that the engine was hot. Since we were traveling on a holiday, the truck was first taken to a pep boys location where their evaluation showed there was no sign of overheating. We were advised of a service bulletin issued on this vehicle stating that it might exhibit false overheating. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10427254, filed 2011-09, 48,845 miles

Buying note. A highway-speed test drive over rough pavement is the single most useful check on this model year, since front-end shake and steering looseness are the most commonly reported items. Beyond that, ask for records on plugs, cooling-system work and diesel engine repairs, and budget for front-end and steering wear items on higher-mileage trucks.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.