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These are owner reports from public complaints, service bulletins, and the manufacturer. Official recalls are listed separately and come from NHTSA.

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2018 Ford F-250 (Crew Cab)

F-250 crew cab steering wheel oscillation after a bump

Owner reportSteering
Symptoms
Ford technical service bulletin 19-2274, dated September 10, 2019, says some 2017-2019 F-250 and F-350 four-wheel-drive trucks may keep a steering-wheel oscillation going after a bump or an expansion joint above 45 mph (72 km/h). The bulletin says the damper on the steering linkage may have too much lag. It supersedes bulletin 18-2268. Special service message SSM 49740 says some 2017-2021 F-Super Duty four-wheel-drive trucks may intermittently show excessive steering oscillation. Customer Satisfaction Program 20N04, in the June 10, 2022 supplement, covers certain 2017 through 2019 F-250 and F-350 4x4 trucks for that oscillation. It does not add 2020 or 2021. On Ford Truck Enthusiasts, a 2018 F-250 XLT crew cab owner with the 6.2-liter engine, four-wheel drive, and about 42,000 miles wrote that a dealer named the steering stabilizer before looking at the ball joints or the sway bar. The owner wrote that the dealer said to wait on parts, pay for an aftermarket stabilizer, or trade the truck. The post does not describe a finished repair. Owners on that forum call the shake death wobble. Ford's documents say steering oscillation.
Likely causes
Bulletin 19-2274 says the oscillation may be excessive lag in the steering linkage damper. It applies when the truck is a 2017-2019 F-250 or F-350, it is four-wheel drive, and the owner describes that shake after a bump above 45 mph. SSM 49740 tells the dealer to replace the damper and, if the shake comes back, to follow the workshop manual. The messages do not say every F-250 does this. They do not name a cab. The crew cab in the forum post is the truck this page is about.
Common fixes
Bulletin 19-2274 tells the dealer to confirm the complaint, set the tire pressures to the door-sticker numbers, and replace the steering linkage damper if the package date is on or after May 1, 2018. The labor time in that bulletin is operation 192274A, 0.4 hours, and it says not to stack that time with other operations. SSM 49740 tells the dealer to install damper KC3Z-3E651-B and to use the workshop manual if the oscillation returns. If the wheel starts oscillating and keeps going, the owners describe slowing down. That is their account, not a step in the bulletin. Tell the dealer about a lift, different tires, or a stabilizer that is not Ford's. The bulletin says those changes come off before the procedure, with the owner's consent, and that taking them off is not a warranty repair. Ask whether 19-2274, SSM 49740, or program 20N04 applies to that VIN. Program 20N04 is the 2017-2019 coverage. It is not the document for a 2020 or 2021 truck.
DIY difficulty
Not a DIY job in Ford's documents. The bulletin and the service message are written for the dealer. The forum post describes a dealer visit, not a driveway replacement.
Parts needed
Bulletin 19-2274 lists steering linkage damper HC3Z-3E651-F and causal part 3E651. SSM 49740 lists damper KC3Z-3E651-B and the same causal part 3E651. The two documents name different damper numbers. This page does not pick one of them for a VIN.
Warranty notes
This is not a recall. Program 20N04, in the June 10, 2022 supplement, extends damper coverage to 7 years or 100,000 miles from the warranty start, whichever comes first, as a one-time repair, on the 2017-2019 trucks the program lists. A truck already past those limits was covered through October 31, 2020, unless the owner received a June 2022 letter, in which case the supplement says coverage ran through December 31, 2022. Affected trucks are identified in OASIS. Ask the dealer to check the VIN. Do not assume a 2020 or 2021 truck is in that program. SSM 49740 does not say who pays. The 2022 F-250 crew cab tow/haul downshift is a different bulletin and a different page.

Sources

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