My truck only has 17200 on it. I have a little steering wheel shake in it. I was going to have the tires balanced to see if it fixed it at the dealership. Should I pay for this or should warranty cover it. I don't think I should. I also don't think it is the tires causing the vibes because usually unbalanced tires make the whole truck shake and you feel it in your seats.

 

I'm floating in a similar boat to you with around 19k... the nibble at 70 to 75mph is getting annoying but, it's still not bad.

I'm due for a rotation -- I'll probably foot the bill for a balance but, if that doesn't solve it, I may escalate it to the next level and push for warranty assistance in solving the problem.

 

I had the same problem, only difference was I was able to balance the tires myself, and it would go away for about 1000 miles.....turned out the Goodyear tires were bad, and Ford has a TSB out on it.....take it to the dealership and let them deal with it, it's NOT supposed to do that.

 

Good luck guys im waiting too here from ford on a replacement truck, my steering wheel shakes violetly at 72-75mph been in 5 times ford field engineers involved,still no fix fords been suppose too call me 3 times well guess what no call. field engineer wont even call me so thats were i stand .

05 f-150 scab 12,700 miles .............

 

When I had the OEM tires on I actually had the same issue as both of you. I went to the dealer and explained my problem. I also said, "I assume it's not supposed to do this and I have been rotating in accordance with suggested maintenance so it will be covered by warranty....correct?"

There answer was yes and they paid the bill.

Of course the issue with my aftermarket wheels and tires is an entirely different ball game.

Duke

 

do not pay for it!
I had my tires balanced like 5 times before i finally had them replaced under warrenty. And had brakes remachined (3 times), turned (3 times) and replaced like 2 times.

My steering on my 04 was way different then my new 06. The 04 had nimble steering and would vibrate somewhat when brakes applied.

 

Good luck guys, Ford has NO IDEA what is causing the steering wheel nibble. They have a TSB that they follow to attempt diagnosis, they eventually start throwing parts at it. If your under 36K insist they do something about it. They will usually start with Road Force Balancing the wheels/tires.

Have seen alot of people with the same issues.

 

Balacing it what does it for me, and usually the balance stays good for a long time. But if i take it to get tires at a place that wont road force, it vibrates

 

Dumb question here... explain the difference between 'road force' and standard balancing... Sorry to be a bonehead here... just never totally understood it.

 

road force balancing they find the high and low spots of the rim and tire,, then match up the points so that the tire rim combo is as round as can be then balance it

 

In a nutshell, the balancer uses a calibrated drum pressing a specific amount of weight as the tire is spinning, ensuring that the tire is "round" as it's going down the road, simulating the weight of the vehicle on the tire. Tires can be balanced without any load on 'em 'till the cows come home, but put 5000 lbs of truck on them, and it's a whole new ballgame. The idea behind roadforce balancing is to try to balance the tire as accurately as possible under a load.

These trucks are very sensitive to tire imbalance. Ford says for best effect, roadforce needs to be less than 24 lbs (mid-low teens or lower is even better), and they need to be balanced within 10 grams of zero.

 

Thanks Gator and Quintin!! I really appreciate the internal Ford insight as well Quintin!

 

Id be happy with a nibble, ive had 2 sets of new tires roadforced how many times, new shocks, new rack, new hubs, bearings and brakes,new rims, etc etc, cmhawkins is correct ford has no idea or solution for this problem ........

 

Will aftermarket tires fix the problem? Is it just the fact that the factory tires are a lower quality and basicly crap?

Tom

 

Um i dont thinck so ive had BFGs,good years and michilens on my truck but no luck so far, Everyones at a lose to why these vib issues are occuring ????