Ok so one of the tech.'s that had a hand in working on my truck called me.

They put some sort of fancy "vibration finder" on my vehicle and drove it extensively. They acknowledged the vibration and the machine pointed them in the direction of the front end consistently, time and time again. They checked the front tires and said they were both out of balance. They re-balanced them and state that the highway shudder is gone.

Could this be legit? Maybe....

When I bought the truck I had the dealer (a different one) flip the white letters to the inside before I picked it up. So, its possible.
I never heard the turbo noise others complained of when having the shudder, but..I have poor hearing.
Weather never worsened the shudder and manually downshifting never improved the shudder like it has for others with mine.

But, it still felt like a misfire to me and was more pronounced when ascending hills. Although I appreciate their investigation and work, im still rather skeptical.

The engineer is going to work on it on thursday and again use this fancy gadget to see if indeed this is the issue. Im going to try and make it there to drive with him, we'll see how that goes.

When I originally shopped the truck a month ago I gave a 2 page list of problems and possible explanations to the dealer (not the current one where it is) and I specifically mentioned the possibility of an out of balance tire as they flipped the letters around. They dismissed this and said all 4 were good. I doubt they even checked them.

I hope to be back in the truck maybe thursday or saturday. Needless to say it will be driven extensively to see if it is indeed fixed.

I feel weird about this. Not sure if they are trying to take me as a fool, trying to get rid of me, or if indeed that was the issue. I will not accept a truck that shudders/vibrates however, no matter what the cause.

 

My dealer tried to tell me mine shudder was just low tire pressure. They added air and flashed the computer and the shudder went away for a few hundred miles. It came back and my tire pressure is just fine. I said all this to say that the shudder I am experiencing is not an out of balance or low tire. I wouldn't buy it if I was you.

 

Ford customer service tried to pass off the tire thing on me but, when the problem imediatlly gos away when the truck down shifts into 5th? I wouldnt buy that tire BS for one second either!!

 

I just got mine back today from an oil change and a possible re-flash and was told they could not do it because no codes were found. I explained to the service manager what some have found to help and I would call Ford customer service and see what they say. He said he would make a few calls and told me not to call them and he would get back. After an hour I called Ford and they told me if they would make a change without a code they would be liable for the truck for problems pertaining to this change. So I told her I wanted all this documented so if the problem gets worse maybe they will try something.
As for the poor mpg, the service mgr. said its not broke in yet and to wait and the gal from ford said if there is a problem the engineers would work on it but was pretty much clueless as to what I was talking about. Soooooooooo I will wait and pray it all heals itself and for you BucketMan I hope for the same!

 

That was filed in 2009 im sure that's on the 2011's

 

it is warm here in Pittsburgh and my truck shudders on every takeoff, 1-2 shift and 2-3 shift every time around 1800 rpms. it also seems to bog alot also. time to take it to the dealer for the fix that doesnt exist. if he says it is normal, then we will take another 5.0 on the lot so he sees it is not!

 

Boy, this sure sets off my BS meter, Bucketman! I had Michelin MS/2s put on mine before I brought it home just because I've had problems with the SR-As [I know others think they are great - I've had 2 trucks now that said otherwise] and anyway my Michelins are not a problem and the truck just rides fantastically. Plus, how would this only matter going slightly uphill, low rpm where our shuddering occurs?

The "Ecoboost Misfire" fix the guy on the mpg thread got makes more sense for shudder problems but he also says his mpg problem is fixed and that makes no sense. My truck doesn't misfire constantly - generally runs smooth as silk. Frankly my shudder doesn't even feel/sound like typical misfire problems I've had in past vehicles though it certainly could be that since I haven't had a misfire problem in a turbo vehicle before.

Has always felt like torque converter lock up at too low of an rpm resulting in engine lug to me and once the lugging starts, then the turbos and waste gates start fighting each other and the downward spiral occurs though I've also just at times felt a single jerk under these conditions = misfire?

Could be . . .

 

I traded for Michelin AT2's when I bought the truck but had to wait on the tires to come in which took quite awhile. I ended up putting 3000mi on their Goodyears before getting the AT2's put on. The shudder was present with the stock tires and was still there with the new tires. The tires being out of balance, improper pressure and all of that crap is not the problem. I talked to the owner of my dealership quite a bit the other day and he told me that there has been problems like this ever since the 6 speed tranny was released. 2009? And they still can't FIX it??? I will say that my shudder does not happen on every hill like it did before this TSB fix #1 and when it does, it is not near as noticeable as before either. I do feel a one time "hit" every now and then like it may be a misfire but then it just goes on like it should.

 

My shudder is gone! Temps in MN have been way above average since Saturday. Last Friday it was lows in the teens, high around 35. Shudder was present on Friday. Since then highs have been in the mid 50's to around 60. Shudder has disappeared at these temps. My fuel mileage is WAY up. Did a 5 mile test run at 72 mph tonight, flat roads and 55 degrees. Instant mpg was slightly over 20 mpg. Previously at below freezing temps I would get around 15 mpg on this stretch.

I towed 7000 lbs Friday 140 miles during the colder temps, no wind, and got 10.2 mpg. Towed it back home Sunday with temps in the 50's against a 10-15 mph headwind, and got 10.2 mpg!

I strongly feel this is a programming and/or condensation issue in my case. I am absolutely thrilled with my truck again, I'm so happy right now!

The only downside is I never took it to the dealer when it was cold, and I will not be able to replicate it for them until next winter. I know it will come back in the right conditions or next winter, but for now I am very happy.

On another note, the intermittent humming was present while towing Friday in the cold. It was not present on the way home Sunday. Also, towing that weight made the acceleration shudder VERY noticeable.

 

Forgot one qualifier...forgot that on the way home i stopped to fuel up with a quarter tank left, and filled with 89 octane as it was only 6 cents more a gallon. Don't really think that was the difference, but am going to keep a close eye on it once i go back to my usual 87 octane.