Hello,

Sorry if this has been beaten to death, but regarding the steering wheel shimmy on 2004's I have the option of returning this truck to the dealer next week and getting my trade-in allowance back. Trying to catch up on all the previous treads on this issue is a daunting task.

I just blindly walked into the whole issue (Including the Tech Service Bulletin 03-20-8) on steering wheel vibrating which many people are reporting. I have to make a quick decision as to what I want to do regarding the return of the vehicle or not.

Can I have a show of hands (yes/no or an explanation, fix,etc) if you are having steering wheel shimmy and if you run OE tires and wheels or not.

I had a wheel and tire set put on immediately after I took delivery of this truck (which only complicates things) so I don't know if I had this problem or not prior to the wheel/tire set. Discount Tire has tried 3 different sets of tires on my 200 mile truck now and I have shimmy on all of them. 3 different sizes at that. 285/50, 275/55, and now I have 265/50-20 Falkons which look real nice. They are almost dead-on vs the overall rolling diameter and have an aggressive enough look for me. They have a very reasonable width which the dealership could not argue with as well since the OE's are 255/65-17's.

I was really wondering if the problem was a bad aftermarket wheel during these 3 balancing attempts, the whole time not knowing the vehicle itself had issues. I have to say that other new 2004 F-150's I test drove had way too much steering wheel feedback even with OE tires/wheels.

I need to hear from you 04 owners! Even if it is yes or no.
Thanks in advance,
Reid in Houston

 

Moved to the 04 Forum...

 

No vibration or steering wheel nibble. XLT flareside 4X4, factory 17" wheels and the "cheap" General tires.
But if you are having these problems and cant get it fixed, it might not be a bad idea to take the money and go find another F150 that doesnt have these problems. Maybe you can find a dealer that will allow you to drive it for the weekend before you buy. Tell him why and maybe they will be more understanding.

 

I’ve had my truck since 10-24-03. Initially I had steering wheel nibble. At approximately 1,000 miles, I took it to my Ford dealership and expressed my concern. They checked my tires and found one that was bad, it had excessive road force. Took a week to get the replacement tire but since then I haven’t had any problems with vibration or nibble. I have BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A P265/60R18. You need to have your dealership check road force variation and rim run out. Mine were done on a Hunter GSP 9700 machine.

 

depends on what you want to do. might be able to get an 05 next time and hopefully some of this will be fixed... or wait for the 06 thatmight potentially have the 6.2L


if mine had unfixable problems and i had the option to give it back i would without a doubt tho

 

I have an April '04 built Lariat Supercab 4x2 with the factory 265/60/18 BFGs. For about the first thousand miles, I had a steering wheel shimmy, but two rotations and about 6000 miles later, I don't notice it anymore.

 

2004 F150 FX4 SuperCrew with 1200 miles
18" FX4 Wheels & BFG Rugged Trail Tires (Factory)

No shimmy or vibration - but my bed does do the cha-cha (on occasion). Not enough to feel it in the truck - I just see it in the side view mirror.

IMHO, If they can't fix it and they'll take it back so you can buy another (without losing $$$), I would do it.

Good luck!

EDIT: Added mileage

 

What is road force variationnn????

 

Here's a pretty good explaination of road force variance from Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...uniformity.jsp

 

Give the truck back...Get a different one if you still want one...my 2 cents...

 

2004 Screw with 410 miles and 17" tires (the basic ones). I've had no shimmy problems so far and hope like the ****ens I don't have the problem. Sorry to hear your woes.

 

That was the question I was going to ask was if everyone who had the shimmy and the nibble were people who had the aluminum wheels or not? I have the 17" steel wheels and Michelin tires and my truck is smooth. If so, I'm beginning to think that the type of wheels might be the difference. Might have something to do with the vibration problem too.

 

If you can take it back without losing a dime, I'd do that. You are supposed to enjoy a new vehicle, not try and fix something that is wrong with it straight from the factory as soon as you get it. It will cause nothing but headaches for you and you'll just have bad feelings about the truck for the rest of your ownership.

Besides that, the seats are so damn uncomfortable that you may want to look at something else if you drive a lot. I know now that seat comfort is going to be a primary feature I look for when I purchase all future vehicles. I always checked for roominess, but always seemed to ignore the actual seat. That's the price I pay for ordering without test driving.

 

My seats are very comfortably. I hear Dodge has good seats

 

Believe it or not, they do. Probably just to make up for the bad everything else.