I just purchased a 2004 Ford F150 XLT. It drove great on the test drive on a new flat section of highway. However when I began driving around town I noticed that the truck behaved stangely on even slightly bumpy roads. The suspension vibrated and bounced; up to three or four times on every bump. When driving down a uneven sufrace the vehicle never stopped bouncing. When a small inperfection was driven over the vehicle woulld continue to bounce twenty to thirty feet past the bump. Basically it has the worst ride of any vehicle I have ever owned or driven, that includes the fire trucks I drive for a living.

I took the vehicle to the dealer and the shop foreman took it for a test drive with me. He also noticed the sloppy drive and noted and documented the problem. He called it a "afterbounce". He checked the chasis and found no problem, he then contacted Ford and found there were similar complaints. Ford is attempting to fix the problem by installing a "dampening" system on the suspension, that was origanilly designed for the 4x4's. The dampening device was installed with little or no change to the ride.

Is there anyone out there with similar prolems or a possible solution?

 

Mike...you're not the first to note the problem. Check out the thread by bgdee below and the search function for a long history of threads dating to last fall.

So, you're 'fire family'...I have a son and his wife, both Lts., in local fire depts.

 

In most states you have a few days to get out of a contract. I would take the truck back if you find "ANY" problems and get another truck or your money back. Did you pay hard earned money for a "maybe we can fix it" or “we don’t have that problem” attitude of Ford? I did and now waiting for the Dispute Settlement Board to decide my truck’s future.

 

I have noticed many similar complaints about the suspension. However, I posted this message because I havnt noticed any attempt to fix by Ford. They installed a dampening system on mine and I wanted to pass on that info,

 

Dang, I just completed a 1600+ mile road trip across NM, AZ, and CO. I love the ride.

 

there is no "cooling off period" in California, where Mike is at. once you buy it, it's yours. sure the warranty applies, but you own the truck and you can't return it in California.