2008 Ford F-250 problems
NHTSA has received 257 complaints about the 2008 Ford F-250, and 32% of them involve steering. After that come suspension (14%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 257 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 75,000 miles 209 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 29 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 19 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 19 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 19 |
What the data shows
Among the 209 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 75,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 77,000 miles (71 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 12th most-complained-about out of 25 model years of the Ford F-250 with enough data (101 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driving texas highway 183 near bertram tx, rf drivers side bf goodrich baja champion truck tire exploded causing vehicle to serve into oncoming traffic, I recovered. Tire exploded with great force causing the outer tread to dislodge causing 4000 dollars damage to f250. The tire spilt into two exposing the wire steel belts. The belts look as of they were ripped apart similar to ied explosions experienced in persian gulf. It was cool that saturday in the mid to upper 80's.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 ford f-250. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle slid off the road due to inclement weather. The contact mentioned that the seat belt unlatched independently. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The driver sustained a broken neck, broken spinal cord, dislocated jaw, dislocated shoulder, and sprained ribs. Medical attention was not required. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure.
Slowing down exiting to the left off hi-way after about a half an hour at 70MPH. Brake pedal felt like it kicked back, both brakes and steering locked up, slid unto shoulder, then everything released like normal. Brought to dealer, they replaced hyro-booster system and fluids. Issue seemed corrected, exiting right on hwy no issue, however everything locked up again first time exiting left. After 10 days researching issue, dealer assured replacing damper assembly(?) and all four tires would resolve.
While driving on the highway at about 50 MPH, truck seemed to want to wander due to excessive play in the steering box. Steering wheel would turn about 1/4 to 1/2 way before it would react. I took it to my local mechanic and he told me it could possibly be adjusted. He checked all the linkage and steering box bolts for looseness. He tried to adjust the box but there was a flat spot on the steering gear that had worn and could not adjust because it would cause the steering to bind up and not return correctly.