2005 Ford F-350 problems & reliability
114 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2005 Ford F-350, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2005 Ford F-350 vehicles were involved in 53 fatal crashes with 18 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Steering | 28 | 25% |
| Suspension | 25 | 22% |
| Engine | 18 | 16% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 17 | 15% |
| Fuel System, Diesel | 16 | 14% |
| Electrical System | 15 | 13% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 12 | 11% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 8 | 7% |
| Power Train | 5 | 4% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 4 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 82,000 miles (middle 50% between 44,591 and 126,175 miles), based on 92 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2005 Ford F-350. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-65 MPH and coming up to a bridge, the contact stated that the roadway was a bit wet from ice and rain, and the contact stated that the vehicle ahead entered the bridge and started skidding, so the contact let up off the accelerator…”
Air Bags · filed Apr 1, 2025
“Vehicle stalls while driving and wont start again suddenly while operating. Fuel injectors won’t feed fuel line to restart or operate. Occasional start but then stalls continuously until battery dies from trying. Will start when priming the carburetor however will not stay running and stalls out.”
Electrical System · filed Jun 14, 2024
“Twice today, traveling at 75mph on highway [XXX] (northbound and then several hours later southbound) just north of Ardmore OK, I experienced a violent shaking of the steering wheel/front wheel shimmy. The vehicle was difficult to control due to the violent shaking that did not stop until the vehicle slowed to…”
Steering · filed Feb 29, 2024
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- VIOLENT FRONT END OSCILLATION
Engineering Analysis EA08007 · opened Mar 14, 2008 · closed Mar 31, 2009
- VIOLENT FRONT END OSCILLATION
Preliminary Evaluation PE07057 · opened Nov 15, 2007 · closed Mar 14, 2008
Technical service bulletins
8 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2005 Ford F-350.
In monitoring our technical service inquiries and technical service bulletins from Ford, there is the potential for moderate to severe steering wheel oscillation (wobble) to occur. After extensive testing and outside…
PC-01.12.2016 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 12, 2016
Ford truck: some trucks equipped with a 6.0l diesel engine may exhibit a hard start/long crank or no start condition due to low injection control pressure (icp). *pe
TSB-08-18-6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 1, 2008
Slow fuel fill--mil on with dtc p0191. *nj
08-4-12 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2008
Water in the fuel tank behind rear axle - 6.0l, 6.4l and 7.3l diesel engine. *kb updated 2/29/08. *nj
07312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 1, 2007
MISFIRE AND DTC P0300. *KB
19529 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 1, 2006
Brake line modification needed due to front wheels coming into contact with the brake lines. *kb
06007 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 1, 2006
Vehicles equipped with a 5.4l 3v or 6.8l 3v engine built on or before 09/08/06 may exhibit an exhaust system noise often described as a snap/pop/tick/ping noise. *nj
071111 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions ·
SLOW FUEL FILL. *KB
07512 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions ·
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2005 Ford F-350 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2005 Ford F-350?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 82,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.