Recall Alert: 2008 Ford F-250, F-350

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will open up a preliminary investigation to review several reports it has received regarding 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup trucks.

Five complaints (of the 340,000 sold) allege the steering linkage could potentially break in some way, leading to a catastrophic failure.

One complainant stated the loss of steering resulted in a crash into a parked vehicle. A second complaint alleges a failure in the steering gear box resulted in a loss of control and departure from the roadway at 35 mph.

NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation to gather information to assess whether the vehicles in question contain a safety-related defect. The complaints cited above can be viewed at NHTSA under the following identification numbers: 10497982, 10462146, 10389703, 10331743 and 10284402.

For more information, call NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 or visit www.safercar.gov.