I have a 2010 Platinum which I've had a lot of problems with it. My problems are vibrations and shudders around 40mph and also up around 70-75mph. I have had it in the shop 5 times for this and each time they road force balance the tires and they have even replaced two of the tires.

The dealership told me they were going to check the driveshaft and pinion angle but it seems they did not do this. Now they are trying to tell me it is normal for the Platinum. They said it is due to the suspension on the truck. I totally disagree as I haven't seen, read or been told of any differences in the suspension for the Platinum vs the Lariat. The service manager and I test drove his Lariat which is identical body and tires as mine. His truck was very smooth and showed no signs of the vibration and shudder. He admitted his truck road did not have any of the same vibrations as my truck has.

I am extremely frustrated with this situation and just want a truck which meets my expectations. This is after all the "Platinum" version, supposedly the finest, most luxurious Ford makes.

Those of you with a Platinum or knowledge of my issues, please let me know your thoughts.


2010 F150 Platinum Supercrew
145" WB
3.55 Linited Slip
20" rims w/ P275/55R20 Pirelli Scorpion tires

 

Did you get after market wheels? Because I had some black wheels with a "deep dish" lip and I couldn't keep those balanced for nothing. I would get vibrations at the same speeds your getting and they did not go away even on road force balancing. They told me the lip sat to deep and there wasn't enough backspacing to properly install the weights. The recommended putting the weights on the lip and I told them don't worry about it I'll just get some new wheels. After switching to the saleen wheels I have not experienced any vibrations.

 

They are full of crap. The suspension is exactly the same. They cleary don't know what they are doing. My first thing to do would be try another place to balance the wheels. My bro in law had the same exact issue and the garage who were working on it tried road force balance and it didn't fix it so they said he needed new tires. 4 new tires later the truck still had the same problem. They road force balanced again but it still had the issue. He took it to another garage and they road force balanced the wheels and fixed the issue.

 

Everything on the truck except for the Line-X bedliner and the Roll-N-Lock bed cover is stock including the rims which are Platinum's standard 20" Aluminum polished rims.

I am definitely considering a different dealer. Luckily there are several around the area.

FYI, forgot to mention, truck is 4x4 and also has towing package.

 

Every time I had vibrations and shutters at certain speeds in my 02 it was always my u-joints. I know the truck is new and the likely hood of them going out is a long shot. I would have the dealer replace them and try it out. Who knows you could have gotten bad set of u joints from the factory. I seen new parts come out that are bad before. A manufacturer defect should be fixed under warranty. Just my .02.

 

If it has Pirrellis, get rid of them, and you just might be surprised how much better it is.

I have an XLT with 17 Michelin's AT-2s and is smooth at all speeds. Came factory on my truck. When you go to large wheels like 20's, you loose sidewall and as such you loose flexibility in the sidewall to absorb irregularities. So any imbalance or imperfection in the wheel and or tire, can result in a vibration at certain speeds.
The Perrelis have been known to have ride issues. See if they will swap a set of wheels and tires already mounted from the factory on there and see if that helps. If it doesn't, then my guess it is in the drive line.

 

There's nothing wrong with his brand of tire! They are a very good tires and rated as one of the best tires about. Prob the quitest smoothest 20" tire of that profile I have ever ridden. The platinum is a very smooth truck with them on so no need to change tire brands. Perhaps try the tires out before claiming they are no good!

 

I work for a car dealership, and we had a new car delivery where a car had been damaged on the truck due to being tied down too hard, which bent a rim and bent the trailing arm. I'm wondering if something similar happened to your truck, damaged on the delivery truck.

 

You got any good local indy shops with good reps that specialize in wheels tires and drive lines?

If you do, take it to them and have them take a looksie, see what they might find.
You may have to pay a little bit for the labor but why not take a chance with them.
Just tell them up front what's going on.

Then if they do find something wrong at least you have the option of letting the indy fix it or taken it back to the stealership for warranty.

Who knows it might be the tire jockey at the dealership who doesn't know how to run the balancer.

 

Latest update: Dealership is out of ideas and is going back to factory for help. They did take rims and tires from service manager's truck, which we jointly drove as a comparison to mine, and tried them on my truck; the problem was still there. His truck rides very smooth and has none of the issues mine has therefore the problem is NOT tires or rims.

I'm not familiar with the local independent dealers and at this point I'm pushing Ford to either find a solution or replace the truck. I got a phone number to get the factory involved and will be calling later today. I was told this action will place it on a hotlist for multiple managers within Ford and will be managed and followed up by someone at the factory level.

I'm still looking to for any ideas and also to hear from other Platinum owners or anyone who has had a vehicle replaced. Ideas and/or adivce is always welcome.

 

Well at least they got the factory involved.
That's a step in the right direction.

Some other thoughts........

Have they checked the alignment and all alignment adjustable components?

Have they checked the rear axels to make sire they're not bent?

The cv joints up front?

Just shooting some more ideas..........

 

I've been driving my 2010 4X4 Platinum since January this year. Total mileage 3,300 miles. Stock Platinum wheels and Pirelli Scorpion tires. I have not experienced any vibration or shudder (with the exception of a washboard dirt road). Did the dealer check the limited slip differential? If it locks up, that could cause vibration and shudder.

I hope they solve the problem soon.

 

Going to a new dealership today, they are very optomistic they will find something. They are kind of like me, when you have a vibration and rule out the obvious, it has to be the not so obvious.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and I will mention all of these to them. In the mean time, please keep posting your thoughts. I really like the truck, except fot the vibration, and hope to be able to really love and brag about it. Right now its just a thorn in my butt and it ticks me off.

 

I'd threaten to Lemon Law it and demand a new truck. If they don't give you one, I'd just lemon law it

 

Well 2nd dealership was no help. They quickly realized Ford would not let them do anything and said there hands are tied. Contacted Ford directly, they say truck meets their spec therefore they will not do any further work on this problem. They did a vibration analysis using EVA monitor. Ford says they got a 0.03 G reading and anything below 0.06 G is acceptable according to their own specs. I have read a lot about these devices and see where there can be wide discrepancies in readings depending on how they are used and who uses them. When I asked a lot of questions regarding the testing and the specs, they would not answer and simply said they will not do anything else.

I asked Ford when did it become that the customer's opinion and satisfaction no longer matter. I was told directly that it did not matter if I was not satisfied; they feel it is within specs (which they set). To Ford it does not matter that it is noticeably different/worse than other comparable trucks, they say they will do nothing more.

Funny; I’m in the service business also and yet the automotive industry is the only industry I know of where the customer’s satisfaction is NOT the goal and standard by which they must work.

Unfortunately now I'm looking for good Lemon Law lawyer. If you have any suggestions let me know. FYI- I'm in Cincinnati area but I may use one of the national firms.