This is my second 4wd F150, the first one was bought back due to the vibe issue. Anyway, my new truck (approx. 3,300 miles on it) did something very strange tonight.

I was traveling on the interstate with the cruise set at 75mph for about 5 miles or so and then all of a sudden the truck started to vibrate. At first it started off kind of mild, but got progressively worse, kind of like I had a flat tire. It got so bad that I pulled over and looked at all four tires, but there was no flat. There was a very strange odor, but I couldn't tell what it was...almost like a burning odor.

I got back on the interstate and it was fine for about a mile, but then started doing it again and it got REALLY bad (vibrating). I got off at the next exit and looked all over the vehicle, but found nothing obvious, only the strange odor again.

We decided to try and make it back to the house and it didn't vibrate again until I got up to about 60mph. I pulled over again put it in park and checked it out...found nothing.

Got back on the road and made it to the house without ANY vibration and this was about 10 miles.

This vibration was completely different from my first truck because once it started, it didn't go away.

The only thing that I know I did differently was set the Ebrake today and this was for the very first time. I set the brake when I was out at about 4PM, but the truck sat in the drive without it on until 7PM and this is when it happened.

Any thoughts? Sorry for the long post.

 

bingo, ebrake, used to be a very common problem, there is a release lever that gets stuck, needs to be disassembled and lubed, should be under warranty. for the time being, you can engage and disengage it a few times should free it up, at least until you can get it looked at

 

That my friend....is the parking brake acting up on you. There are several posts on this, how it sticks and stays slightly applied and once it heats up (the smell) it begins to vibrate the rear of the truck. Hopefully someone will post a link to that thread on what to do w/pics. If it is under warranty and you would rather take it in, they would lubricate or replace the parking brake adjuster mechanism that locks up.

EDIT: Here is the link to that post....very informative on your problem! And this might be a new record....problem solved and links to pictures and information in less than 5 minutes!

 

BUMP! Did you figure it out yet?

 

Thanks for the quick responses.

I drove the truck 3 different times yesterday and didn't have any problems with it. I think I'll try to let the dealership fix it first and if they don't do it right, I'll take it apart myself.

Hey Matt, thanks for the link to the other thread.

I love this site because it is so helpful!

 

I had the same problem this morning. I don't know if it was because it was 12 degrees out but I haven't had the e brake on for about about 3 days and I could smell the brakes when I got to work. I have an appointment tomorrow at Ford. Hopefully it doesn't damage anything when these things stuck. The truck still coasted fine so it wasn't fully engaged so I am not sure what happened. I engaged/disengaged it a couple times, I guess I will find out in 12 hrs when I get out of work.

 

I had the exact same problem and it wasn't the e-brake. It was the rear left caliper. It froze up. When it vibrates next time pull over and check all your brakes, you will be able to feel the heat coming off the rotor if you are having brake issues. Touching it will work better but will probably result in cussing and a nice burn mark to your finger.

 

A frozen caliper does indeed cause nearly the same problem as a frozen e-brake. The pad is forced against the rotor and begins to heat up....eventually the pad/rotor temp is high enough to cause the brake to fade, and any runout in the rotor causes the weakened braking action to increase and decrease once per wheel rev....hence the vibration.